Product Details

• Actors: Robbie Coltrane, Barbara Flynn, Christopher Eccleston, Lorcan Cranitch, Geraldine Somerville
• Directors: Charles McDougall, Jean Stewart, Julian Jarrold, Michael Winterbottom, Richard Standeven
• Writers: Jimmy McGovern
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• DVD Release Date: February 24, 2004
• Run Time: 468 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000X2EU6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,885 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #2 in	Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > British Mystery Theater > Cracker (UK)
  #46 in	Movies & TV > Television > HBO > HBO Films

• For more information about "Cracker - Series 2" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 2 in The Cracker Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Cracker: Series 1 was fine--a terrific premiere and two interesting sequels introduced freelance police psychologist Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald (Robbie Coltrane) and his family and colleagues—but series 2 is unexpectedly and vastly superior. The three miniseries included on these discs are exemplary thrillers (even better than the first trio), but the real leap forward is in the stories' deepening complexity and fascinating intertwining of Fitz's strained relationships and work.

"To Be a Somebody" begins where series 1 left off. Fitz and his wife, Judith (Barbara Flynn), and two kids are living together again, but the rotund profiler--still juggling multiple addictions to booze, gambling, nicotine, and overall self-destructiveness--is on a new, downward spiral. His name is also mud with Detective Chief Inspector Bilborough (Christopher Eccleston) and would-be lover and police detective Jane "Panhandle" Penhaligon (Geraldine Somerville). But a series of class-anger killings by a psychotic welder-turned-skinhead pulls Fitz into a case so disastrous that every major and minor character is profoundly affected. Portraying the murderer, Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting) is brilliant, as terrifying and sympathetic as Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle.

The emotional and dramatic fallout of "To Be Somebody" carries over to "The Big Crunch," in which Fitz's relationship with Jane intensifies while he pursues a religious cult that may be responsible for a girl's abduction. The final story, "Men Should Weep," concerns an investigation into an unnerving string of rapes by a masked, mutilated cab driver. More startling is a link between these crimes and eruptive events in the lives of Fitz, Judith, Jane, and thickheaded, thorn-in-the-side copper Jimmy Beck (Lorcan Cranitch). A breathtaking climax and shocking, cliffhanger ending make "Men Should Weep" a must-see for thriller fans. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Second in a series of three DVD releases of the popular PBS Mystery series; including 9 hours of programming. Robbie Coltrane's outstanding creation of 'Fitz', in the PBS series Cracker 1 continues his journey as a criminal psychologist in three more episodes: To be a Somebody, The Big Crunch, and Men Should Weep. 'Fitz' combats personal crises and professional challenges when racism, religion, and murder get in his way.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marriage, Life, and Whiskey - all on the rocks., December 30, 2003

By	phimseto (Chestnut Hill, MA United States) - See all my reviews

File "Cracker" series two under that rare category of "Great Television Seasons of All-Time."

The second season of Cracker picks up a short while after the events of series one. On the personal front, Fitz and his wife are still coping with their marriage issues while at the same time he deals with a rather put-out Jane Penhaligon and the affair that wasn't. On the professional front, the gambling debts weigh a little heavier as Fitz finds his police work curbed courtesy of a standing grudge between himself and DCI Bilborough over their last case together.

Into these lives come three extraordinary stories and a cast of characters that will irreversibly change the course of events in Fitz's world. The first story, "To Be A Somebody", is considered the strongest of all three seasons. It features a tour de force performance by Robert Carlyle of "Trainspotting" fame in a teleplay that discourses vitriolically on themes of immigration, family, and class warfare. The second story, "The Big Crunch", features Jim Carter (Brassed Off) and Samantha Morton (Minority Report) in a melancholy tale of greys in the decidedly black and white world of organized religion. The final story of the season, "Men Should Weep" offers no denouement and no respite, a powerful and personal story that will leave you waiting breathlessly for the release of series three.

Through all the tales of crime and punishment, the story of Fitz and his life is interweaved. The beauty of the show, indeed its greatest strength, is in how seemlessly that story is told and how it manages to compliment the overarching plot of each episode. "Cracker" is as good as television gets, and season two is the very best of a great series.

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Drama, January 11, 2009

By	ric03 (Rossendale, England.) - See all my reviews

This review is about the episode 'To Be Somebody', which is available separately in the UK. I first watched this when it aired in 1994. It was the first episode of Cracker I watched and I thought it was fantastic. I was only 20. Add the best part of 15 years and I've finally watched it again... So now what do I make of it?

I'm surprised I didn't come back to this sooner. Coltrane is perfect as Fitz. Many have tried to play the angry, hard-drinking detective but nobody comes within a country mile of this acid-tongued colossus. He is hilarious at times, genius, tragic and brutal at others. A chain-smoking, workaholic, alocoholic, womanizer who also likes an 'occasional' flutter. Add to that, the utterly convincing performance of Robert Carlyle as psychotic skin headed killer, Albie Kinsella; the beautiful and poignant writing of Jimmy McGovern; and a rock-solid supporting cast (including a great Christopher Eccleston, Ricky Tomlinson and sultry Geraldine Somerville as `Panhandle') and it is pretty incomparable.

If you like crime dramas and haven't seen Cracker, get this episode, you'll probably buy the boxset. If, like me, you thought it was good at the time but have forgotten just how good, do yourself a favour and give it another go, you won't be disappointed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this here if you love this series, December 16, 2008

By	Joseph M. Fucci "drummerboy843033" (boston, ma) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have looked at the series everywhere and by far Amazon has the best price, if you like this british tv series buy it here.