Customer Reviews

Taggart: Killer Set

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For those who love intelligent, well-crafted British mysteries--real, honest-to-goodness whodunnits--rarely does a series come along that is as good and as satisfying as Taggart. I had never even heard of the series prior to taking a chance on the first dvd set, and I've eagerly ordered every set that's been released since--and I've not been disappointed! The series is very much in the tradition of Inspector Morse and A Touch of Frost, and fans of those two superb series won't be disappointed with this one. The storylines are well written, with complex plots and plenty of suspects and red herrings. While most series cram the story into 100 minutes, ten of the twelve currently available episodes are over 2 hours in length (around 130 minutes) which allows enough time for the proper development of the story. The series is set in Glasgow, Scotland, and the only thing I ought to mention is that, while most characters speak with easily-understood English or Scottish accents, there is the occasional Scottish accent that is as thick as treacle and very hard, even for a die-hard anglophile like myself, to come to grips with; even Taggart's accent, while not too thick, requires close attention. But it would be a shame for anyone to be deterred on that account, for this really is an outstanding mystery series and it's well worth making the effort with the accent.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart is a cantankerous, street-wise, dedicated police officer who is initially paired with a young, university-educated officer named Peter. Taggart has little respect for Peter's educated ways, and his relationship with Peter is reminiscent of Delziel's with Pascoe. Taggart doesn't fare much better with Peter's successor, Michael, a young, non-drinking, non-smoking, card-carrying Christian who has a lot to learn about being a cop. As with the aforementioned series, although the crimes are serious and often brutal, Taggart is infused with welcome moments of humour, which take the form of little remarks or jibes and which, as with the other series, are based on an understanding of the characters and their relationships with each other. Fortunately, there have been enough episodes released that one is able to get a real feel for Taggart as an individual.

To date, four sets (each featuring three episodes) have been released, with a fifth set ("Evil Eye") due for release in October. "Killer" is the first set in the series, and it is followed chronologically by "Death Call," "Cold Blood," and "Root of Evil." The series should be watched in chronological order because, although each episode is a complete and separate story, there is some carryover so far as the underlying relationships go. I am assuming "Evil Eye" will follow the others chronologically.

The first episode was produced in 1983, with the rest of the currently available episodes following from 1985 to 1990. Taggart apparently ran for over 20 years, and it is a testament to the quality of the show that it was able to continue--and to continue successfully--despite losing it's title character! Tragically, Mark McManus (Taggart) passed away in 1994. According to the text-based bio, McManus lost his mother and two sisters all within a two-year period; tragically, he then lost his wife to cancer. Overcome with grief, he took to drinking and died of pneumonia 8 months later. Wisely, the producers of the series elected not to replace McManus.

In conclusion, Taggart is an absolutely first-rate British mystery series with complex, well-thought-out, challenging, and very satisfying plots with climaxes that in most cases come as a complete shock. In short, it's just perfect for curling up for an evening in front of the telly whilst trying to figure out whodunnit. This is a series I have enjoyed immensely, and I highly and unhesitatingly recommend all the available dvd sets to all fans of top-notch, intelligent British mysteries. If you have enjoyed any of the aforementioned series, you will not be disappointed with Taggart!

While finding some other detective series more intriguing, I thoroughly enjoyed Mark McManus as Taggart, a rather discouraged Glasgow detective with no illusions about his fellow human beings. There is nothing in this world like a Scots brogue and I love to hear the lilt of it. But living in Central Texas, I would very much have enjoyed this series better if there had been closed captions to capture all the nuances of the language. Listening to it with the walls shaking just to hear is a little discouraging. They really should have done that! But it is among the cream of the crop in British detective series if a little clotted.

This is the story of a 60 year old crusty police detective in Scotland. The characters are very distinctive. Unfortunately, after 35 episodes the actor playing Taggart died and some episodes later the medical examiner was played by a less distinctive actor and the series was less entertaining with the remaining characters who were about 30 years old and not as eccentric.

The plots are extremely complex and convoluted. You have to have good people skills at remembering names and faces to figure things out. There is no summary at the end like Poirot gives. Engineering nerds like myself have to view several times to get the details.

I first saw episodes of this series on TV many years ago. When those stopped, I looked for them on video or dvd, with no success. I am really thrilled that they are finally available for purchase. The only negative issue I have is there are no closed captions. To anyone who has seen any of these episodes, this collection is for you.

The plot and the main characters are very interesting. My problem with this DVD set was mostly the production quality. Not being scottish i had trouble understanding some of the dialogue to begin with but the seemingly constant change in volume levels along with the background noise made hearing and understanding the conversations very difficult.. I am 60 yrs old and retired from a factory job so much of this could just be my hearing but i don't notice it on most of my DVDs. The stories themselves were most interesting and if you enjoy early television mysteries like Mission Impossible and the like then you should enjoy this DVD set. I am glad i purchased it but the much later version was for me more enjoyable and i doubt that i will be purchasing more of these early sets.

This set includes the pilot episode which resulted in the series that became a British mainstay. That episode, Killer, is a serial killer tale with a by-now conventional ending (though the ending is not telegraphed along the way). Taggart is a rough-around-the-edges Glasgow detective. Crusty and clip in his speech, he takes on a DS assistant who has studied in a public school and then the Univ. of Edinburgh. The sergeant is not afraid to disagree with his superior and eventually the crime is solved. The supporting cast is strong, the plot engaging. The direction is good, but the shifting between film and tape for exterior and interior shots is quaint. The biggest challenge is the Glaswegian accent and there are no subtitles. At some points the American audience is likely to get somewhere between 50%-60% of the dialogue and lose the rest. Crank up the volume and listen hard. The accent is compounded by the (plausible and appropriate) use of Scottish idiom (e.g. 'when he was wee' rather than 'when he was young' or 'when he was little'). Soldier on. It's worth the effort.

Sorry, but with most things British the sound has been fair to poor quality but this tops the list as the worst of the lot. Couldn't understand more than half the words they speak between the shoddy audio quality and the mumbled speech and the indecipherable accents. Will be selling mine on eBay after giving up on them unwatched. Love my British murder mysteries, but I'm an eccentric who prefers to hear and comprehend the spoken words.

This is volume 1 of the original series.
The proper sequence to view these sets is:
1) KILLER set
2) DEATH CALL set
3) COLD BLOOD set
4) ROOT OF EVIL set
5) EVIL EYE set
6) VIOLENT DELIGHTS set
7) THE HIT MAN set
8) RING OF DECEIT set
9) DEATH WITHOUT DISHONOUR set
10) HELLFIRE set
11) PRAYER FOR THE DEAD set (the last Jim Taggart episode)

For those that don't know, this is the pilot which was made in 1983, so obviously the indoor production is bad. I prefer the later ones with "mike Jardine" and "Jackie Reid".

But knowing it's early TV (bad production) it still is enjoyable with characters and storyline, and especially if you are a fan to get the storyline from the beginning.

I am an expat Scot, who needs her Scottish dialect every so often, so love it.

Looks like a low budget soap opera done in the 70's. Acting is bad, lighting is bad, editing is bad. I don't know why other reviews were so high, unless they were acting in the series.