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Rumpole of the Bailey - Seasons 1 & 2 Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 12 Reviews)

When Will the Remaining Rumpoles Appear on DVD?
I have long been a great fan of Rumpole and She Who Must Be Obeyed. This set has just 12 of the 42 episodes. I am eager to know when the remaining 32 episodes will be released on DVD. Can anyone tell me?

The gang's all here--on DVD at last
By far, one of the more popular series that came over the Atlantic to our PBS television stations was the six-season "Rumpole of the Bailey" with Leo McKern as the craggy-faced barrister. Few of us realized that there was once a single Rumpole teleplay, "Rumpole and the Confession of Guilt," now available on an Acorn Media DVD (AMP-6684), that inspired the series and is a Must for fans of what followed.


While all six seasons have been long available on video tapes, about a year ago HBO finally came out on DVD with the first two seasons. After a wait for the rest, A&E has suddenly put out not only the first two seasons as a redone boxed set (AAE71659)but at the same time has given us seasons three and four (AAE71664). Added to the format are introductions to each episode by Rumpole's creator, John Mortimer; but I am afraid all he talks about is the plot and reveals too much of what follows. Better to skip them on first viewing.


So now we have the first 12 episodes with all the amusing characters, most of whom drive Rumpole up a wall, the leader being his wife "She Who Must Be Obeyed" Hilda Rumpole, played first by Peggy Thorpe-Bates, then by Marion Mathie. Most of his fellow lawyers are pretty incompetent chaps: Guthrie Featherstone (Peter Bowles), Claude Erskine-Brown (Julian Curry), and "Soapy Sam" Ballard (Peter Blythe). Even worse than these are the judges-from-hell: Graves (Robin Bailey), Bullingham (Bill Fraser), and Oliphant (James Grout).


The professional women are far more competent: Elizabeth Probert (played first by Samantha Bond, later by Abigail McKern) and Rumpole's favorite "Portia," Phyllida Trant and later Mrs. Erskine-Brown (Patricia Hodge).


Other than the humor, the insight into the British legal system, the high quality acting, and the immortal family of villains, the Timsons, we have the double plots. Each episode develops a theme that is the basis of both the trial in question and of the events of the framing device. For example, the trial of a neo-fascist who wants a purely white England takes place after Hilda has commented on the number of non-white faces in London lately.


An added inducement to purchase the first boxed set of seasons 1 and 2 is the inclusion of the feature-length story "Rumpole's Return." Seeing him stretched out by a pool in Florida is worth the price alone.


Grab these and wait with me impatiently for seasons 5-6 to appear shortly.



Rumpole Forever!
This DVD set contains the full episodes of Seasons 1 and 2 of Rumpole, and also has as a bonus the single episode Rumpole's Return. These date from the late 1970s and early 1980s but don't seem out of date at all. The first season's shows are all dated with the year they supposedly occured, starting with 1967 and going on until 1977. The characters all age appropriately and incidentally provide a good record of changes in British fashion. (All except Rumpole, who always dresses the same.) Rumpole is an embarrassment to his chambers in Equity Court because he won't get rid of his old hat and won't give up representing petty criminals, who bring down the tone of the place, according to some of the snootier barristers. He is likewise exasperating to his longsuffering and loving wife Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed). Rumpole is fully aware that he aggravates everyone around him and delights in doing so. It is this cheerful bullheadedness that makes Rumpole so charming, and makes this set of videos a real treasure.

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