Last of the Summer Wine: Series 21 & 22 [DVD]

Here we are again, another release of the best loved & longest running sitcom in the world, however with the series 9 dvd being called 9 & 10 what we should actually getting is series 20 & 21 which are from 1999 and 2000 plus the millenium special, so what can we expect from this set, well if nothing is missed out then we will finally see some of the saddest episodes in the history of Last of the Summer Wine on DVD (which were about Compo's death from series 21 (22 dvd)), but onto them in a bit firstly we get some very good episodes from series 20 (dvd 21) such as How Errol Flynn Discovered the Secret Scar of Nora Batty, Who's Thrown her Tom Cruise Photos Away?, What's Happened to Barry's Nose?, Howard Throws a Wobbler, The Phantom Number 14 Bus and Ironing Day, we should also get the millenium special Last Post and Pigeon (which includes Bill Owen's final filmed scene), in the next series we get Lipstick and Other Problems, Under the Rug and Magic and the Morris Minor before the three episodes about Compo's death which are Elegy for Fallen Wellies, Surprise at Throstlenest and Just a Small Funeral, we then see Compo's long lost son Tom (played by Bill Owen's real life son, Tom Owen) arrive and we finish the series off with From Here to Paternity, Some Vans Can Make you Deaf, Waggoner's Roll and I Didn't Know Barry Could Play, another fantastic set of episodes from playback who i ask to hurry up and get the rest of the episodes out on DVD ASAP

List of expected episodes on the set

Series 20 (DVD 21)

18 April 1999 "The Pony Set"
25 April 1999 "How Errol Flynn Discovered the Secret Scar of Nora Batty"
2 May 1999 "Who's Thrown her Tom Cruise Photos Away?"
16 May 1999 "What's Happened to Barry's Nose?"
23 May 1999 "Optimism in the Housing Market"
30 May 1999 "Will Barry go Septic Despite Listening to Classical Music?"
6 June 1999 "Beware the Vanilla Slice"
13 June 1999 "Howard Throws a Wobbler"
20 June 1999 "The Phantom Number 14 Bus"
27 June 1999 "Ironing Day"

Series 21 (DVD 22)

2 January 2000 "Last Post and Pigeon" (Special)
2 April 2000 "Lipstick and Other Problems"
9 April 2000 "Under the Rug"
16 April 2000 "Magic and the Morris Minor"
23 April 2000 "Elegy for Fallen Wellies"
30 April 2000 "Surprise at Throstlenest"
7 May 2000 "Just a Small Funeral"
14 May 2000 "From Here to Paternity"
21 May 2000 "Some Vans Can Make you Deaf"
28 May 2000 "Waggoner's Roll"
4 June 2000 "I Didn't Know Barry Could Play"

It's LOTSW so it's good in that respect but the PQ is poor. Bad in some cases. There's combing which suggests a deinterlacing problem. Also a lot of grain. I'm seriously considering returning it for a refund.

I wonder if this was the first series recorded in HD and Universal/2 Entertain have made a balls up of downconverting it?

Firstly, the programmes.Series 21 (DVD) is up there with the best, and is definitely worth five stars - especially for the intoduction of 'Billy Hardcastle'(the character who was [effectively] to ensure the longevity of LOTSW - Keith Clifford's departure marked the beginning of the end...).However, we then come to Series 22 (DVD).Bill Owen's illness, and death, were always going to be extremely difficult for Roy Clarke - he subsequently stated that keeping the series going, after the demise of such a significant character, was his greatest challenge during the whole of LOTSW.Inevitably,all does not go smoothly.Bill Owen insisted that his final scenes should be included in the programme, even though he clearly looks as ill as he was - accomodating those scenes affected the writing of those episodes.Unlike many, I do not think that Roy Clarke handled Compo's death particularly well - the episodes look like a writer struggling to come to terms with the loss of a major character, so we get characters and scenarios (such as 'Throstlenest')which did not go onto be developed.The decision to try and bring in Tom Owen as part of the 'threesome' was clearly misguided - he did not become settled until his focus was shifted to be part of the 'Smiler / Auntie Wainwright' strand.Even worse was the introduction of the 'Mrs Avery' and daughter characters - clearly a misguided attempt to make the programme appeal to a younger audience.That Roy Clarke turned things around (by the development of 'Billy' as one of the threesome, and the introduction of 'Alvin' [name chosen to appeal to US viewers?])is testament to his undoubted skill as a writer, and to why LOTSW sustained for so long.

Now for the inevitable technicals.We are still in 14:9 (see my previous reviews) - as with the previous 'widescreen' series,this issue appears to have been dealt with by slight zooming of the picture to fill the 16:9 screen, so there are the usual framing issues.We are also still in the era of very dubious colour balance and over saturation (you'll get used to vivid lime green grass....) - however, this is as the episodes were broadcast,and so is a mastering, rather than a DVD, issue. The 'grain' in the picture is also as broadcast, and is also not a DVD issue - there are no 'upscaling' issues, as LOTSW did not go HD until 2007.My best guess for the poor quality of the master tapes is that analogue tape / mastering was used, even though by 1999 we were well into the digital TV era.

As an absolute devotee of tthe programme, I already have the next set on pre-order, despite all of the technical issues - LOTSW is still the greatest ever TV comedy.HOWEVER - as I write, my copy of this set is being returned - 'Who's Thrown Away...' refuses to play properly.Has anyone else experienced this problem?