Beck: The Series - Volume 1 [DVD]

In the various years I lived in, or commuted to work in, Norway (1991-2008), I saw some of the earlier Nordic Noirs, and got to like the occasional Beck episodes that I managed to watch....but on Norwegian TV, no English subtitles, so my understanding was, at times, limited by my Norsk abilities.As I'd started buying Nordic Noir sets a few years ago, I tried to find the Beck seasons, from the start. I was delighted to see BBC4 were going to show 'volume 1' & 'volume 2', but hadn't appreciated they began with episode 26, the last of the original 4th season. It took a bit of research & badgering old colleagues in Norway, but I finally got the full list of episodes & different box set releases.....but buying them was another challenge.A combination of Norwegian Reg2/Pal sets & the recent BBC Vol1/2 Reg2/Pal sets covers from episode 17-34. However, the original episodes 1-16 are no longer available in Region 2 Pal format....any that might be found don't have english subtitles.The only current way to buy & watch Seasons 1 & 2 (episodes 1-18) is the US-release sets, and for that you'll need a DVD/Bluray player that is multi-region for DVDs, and a TV that will handle NTSC picture standard. I have bought these 6 sets, and can confirm that they all play ok & have english subtitles....if you buy them from amazon or amazon 3rd party sellers.There's a wee bit of overlap between the US/Nor/BBC sets, but I've listed below the full 34 episodes, split into the various box sets....I downloaded the original list from a Nordic source & edited it as I gradually tracked down all the DVDs. This has probably cost around £220, so no doubt someone will release a 'Complete Beck' box for under £100 very soon ;0)The 'Episode History' of Beck (colour-coding, italics, etc all 'lost' in copying, sorry!)Seasons 1 & 2 not available in UK / Released in Sweden as Reg 2 Pal, without English subtitles, but 'out of print'Seasons 1 & 2 available as US Sets 1-6, Reg 1 NTSC, with English subtitles - via 3rd party sellers on amazon.co.uk £16-£21US Set 1 (01-03)Season 1* 1 - Beck (27 June 1997) (later called Beck - Lockpojken)/ THE DECOY BOY* 2 - Beck - Mannen med ikonerna (17 December 1997)/ THE MAN WITH THE ICONS* 3 - Beck - Vita nätter (27 February 1998)/ WHITE NIGHTSUS Set 2 (04-06)* 4 - Beck - Öga för öga (27 March 1998)/ SERIAL KILLER* 5 - Beck - Pensionat Pärlan (8 April 1998)/ THE PEARL HOTEL* 6 - Beck - Monstret (20 May 1998)/ THE MONSTERUS Set 3 (07-09)* 7 - Beck - The Money Man (3 June 1998)/ THE MONEY MAN* 8 - Beck - Spår i mörker (31 October 1997)/ NIGHT VISIONSeason 2* 9 - Beck - Hämndens pris (27 June 2001)/ THE REVENGEUS Set 4 (10-12)* 10 - Beck - Mannen utan ansikte (7 November 2001)/ THE MAN WITH NO FACE* 11 - Beck - Kartellen (12 December 2001)/ THE CARTEL* 12 - Beck - Enslingen (16 January 2002)/ THE RECLUSEUS Set 5 (13-15)* 13 - Beck - Okänd avsändare (13 February 2002)/ SENDER UNKNOWN* 14 - Beck - Annonsmannen (20 March 2002)/ THE AD-MAN* 15 - Beck - Pojken i glaskulan (10 April 2002)/ THE BOY IN THE GLASS BOWLUS Set 6 (16-18)* 16 - Beck - Sista vittnet (4 January 2002)/ BLIND PROFIT* 17 - Beck - Skarpt läge (28 June 2006)/ THE SCORPION* 18 - Beck - Flickan i jordkällaren (6 December 2006)/ THE UNCLAIMED GIRLSeasons 3 - 6 (episodes 19-34) released as US Sets 7-11, Reg 1 NTSC, with English subtitles[ available via 3rd party sellers on amazon.co.uk between £16-£21 ]Episodes 17-25 released as Norwegian boxes 5-7 ('blue cover'), Reg 2 Pal, with English sub-titles(original boxes 1-4, covering episodes 1-16, are 'out of print' in Norway/Sweden)[ available via amazon and 3rd party sellers on amazon.co.uk between £20-£32 ]Episodes 26-34 released as BBC Volume 1/2 boxes ('blue cover'), Reg 2 Pal, with English sub-titles[ available via amazon and 3rd party sellers on amazon.co.uk between £9-£20 ]Nor Box 5* 17 - Beck - Skarpt läge (28 June 2006)/ THE SCORPION* 18 - Beck - Flickan i jordkällaren (6 December 2006)/ THE UNCLAIMED GIRLSeason 3* 19 - Beck - Gamen (17 January 2007)/ THE VULTURE* 20 - Beck - Advokaten (21 February 2007)/ THE ATTORNEYNor Box 6* 21 - Beck - Den japanska shungamålningen (5 June 2007)/ THE JAPANESE PAINTING* 22 - Beck - Den svaga länken (23 March 2007)/ THE WEAK LINK* 23 - Beck - Det tysta skriket (19 September 2007)/ THE SILENT SCREAM* 24 - Beck - I Guds namn (10 October 2007)/ IN THE NAME OF GODNor Box 7Season 4* 25 - Beck - I stormens öga (26 August 2009)/ IN THE EYE OF THE STORMBBC 'Volume 1' box* 26 - Beck - Levande begravd (22 June 2010)/ BURIED ALIVESeason 5* 27 - Beck - Rum 302 (1 January 2015)/ ROOM 302* 28 - Beck - Familjen (10 January 2015)/ THE FAMILY* 29 - Beck - Invasionen (21 March 2015)/ THE INVASION* 30 - Beck - Sjukhusmorden (28 March 2015)/ THE HOSPITAL MURDERSBBC 'Volume 2' boxSeason 6* 31 - Beck - Gunvald (1 January 2016)/ GUNVALD* 32 - Beck - Steinar (6 February 2016)/ STEINAR* 33 - Beck - Vid vägs ände (5 March 2016)/ END OF THE ROAD* 34 - Beck - Sista dagen (2 April 2016)/ THE LAST DAY

Those familiar with the books and television series are best able to assess how well characters have transferred from print to screen and to comment on the way episodes are here presented. (These apparently are not early ones as the box set may suggest.)Newcomers need not worry. There is still much gently to intrigue and to satisfy. Beck himself appeals. Far from certain counterparts in other series, he is not flamboyant or prone to outbursts. A low-key performance. Aware retirement cannot be far away, he simply gets on with what is required, competently heading a likeable team.The team? Gunvald Larsson tends to cut corners and sometimes needs curbing. Oskar Bergman, often source of light amusement, should not be underestimated - he rising to challenges and literally to prove a life-saver. In one way and another, they and colleagues all make their mark.Cases? A serial killer out to get those believed to have done him wrong, police included. A hotel death not as it seems. A gangster despatched, but by whom out of so many enemies? People trafficking. Suspicious hospital deaths (a surprisingly low key end to the selection, its solution perhaps puzzling to some).Five ninety minute episodes. Swedish. English subtitles. No bonuses.Not particularly "noirish". Time pleasantly enough spent.

Brilliant writing, casting and acting!!!!!!!! So many other Scandi-noir programmes rely on gore, moody lighting and all round revoltingness. There is no comparison between the others and Beck. Beck is never naff, neither does it descend into gratuitous sensationalism; as I say , it doesn't have to rely on gore, on shock tactics. It turns on pure talent. Apart from that, Gunvald is (was) hot! His loss is a great loss to the programme, and I say that even though his replacement is a brilliant character who is also well played. I'm spoiled forever now when it comes to detective programmes.

Beck is one of my favorite Scandinavian crime series; it also ranks among the best crime dramas I have seen. Of the five episodes in this volume, four (numbers 27--30 in the Beck catalog) are new,; the other (#26) was a 2010 episode. The four new episodes are quite good, perhaps a notch below the many outstanding episodes which were produced in prior years. These episodes also mark the final appearance of Gunvald Larsson (wonderfully played by Mikael Persbrandt), who has been Martin Beck's (Peter Haber) main subordinate. One of the strengths of this series has been the interaction between Gunvald and Martin, two very different characters; the contrast between the two has generated a lot of conflict (and occasional humor) over the years. Four new episodes are scheduled to come out in 2016; it will be interesting to see how Gunvald's absence will affect the drama.

Like many people I cannot understand why this is described as "Volume 1" when on the back of the case it states episodes 26-30. I thought I was buying this series from the beginning - I have only watched one episode which I really enjoyed, Would have been 5 stars but for this rather misleading fact - I just hope that the previous episodes are going to be released otherwise this purchase seems a bit pointless. I know other variations of this series are available but much more expensive. A little disappointed - Amazon take note - perhaps the product description should state that this may be Volume 1, but the episodes contained in it are not from the start of the series. Naughty!