Bergerac - Series 1 - Limited Edition Classic Crime Collection DVD

Ingenious plots, rich rogues, clever criminals, incomparable locations... and John Nettles

Handsome, blue-eyed and brooding, maverick cop Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac of Jerseys Bureau des trangers is one of televisions most popular detectives. Loved as much for his human failings as for his strengths, the tough recovered alcoholic seldom sees eye to eye with his superiors. Moving with the power of Bergeracs vintage red Triumph Roadster sports car, each episode guarantees full-throttle excitement, ingenious plots and colourful characters as Bergerac patrols the harbour cafes, cliff-top mansions and secluded coves on the trail of the villains, murderers, spies and smugglers of the holiday island and tax haven. Combining action with atmosphere, and spectacle with suspense, BERGERAC launched John Nettles to international stardom for 9 series, leading him to another long-running role as D.C.I. Barnaby in Midsomer Murders. For the first time, all 10 uncut episodes from the complete first series of BERGERAC arrive on DVD, including audio commentaries with John Nettles and creator Robert Banks Stewart. Episode Synopses 1. PICKING IT UP (Original UK Broadcast 18/10/1981) Jim Bergeracs career and marriage have blown up in a haze of booze and recrimination. When he returns to the Bureau des trangers after a three-month convalescence following a leg injury, his bosses are reluctant to have him back. Determined to prove himself both mentally and physically, he soon gets the opportunity when Tom Draycott, his friend and colleague in the Jersey Police Department, is killed trying to stop a plane taking off illegally at the airport. At the funeral he meets Francine, Draycotts fiance and together they try to unravel the mystery surrounding his death, in the process uncovering an arms deal to South Africa. Guest stars Floella Benjamin and David Savile Written by Robert Banks Stewart Director Martyn Friend 2. NICE PEOPLE DIE IN BED (Original UK Broadcast 25/10/1981) The body of Sir Edward Lister, Director of the Overseas Famine Foundation, is found, fully clothed, on his hotel bed. The autopsy confirms that he died of a heart attack, but the evidence suggests that he may have been having an affair and died elsewhere, perhaps in his mistresss arms. It is assumed that the body was returned to the hotel to prevent additional distress to his wife. Then Listers suite is ransacked, and his personal assistant, Peter Cassell, suggests the culprit may have been looking for a politically sensitive document that Lister had been planning to introduce at the charity conference. Is there a connection? Meanwhile, Listers missing watch turns up on Nino, an Italian hotel worker who claims to have found it in a room hired by a woman. But woman is not the correct description Guest stars Richard Morant, Rosemary Martin and Richard Harradine Written by John Kershaw Director Martin Campbell 3. UNLUCKY DIP (Original UK Broadcast 01/11/1981) Bergerac is tailing a drugs smuggler from Paris to Jersey. Dumoiter is known to be carrying cocaine, but when he is picked up he is clean. Released, Dumoiter visits his contact, Carnegie, to explain that the drugs disappeared along with his wallet, and gets beaten up for his carelessness. To get Bergerac suspended from duty, Dumoiter accuses the detective of inflicting his bruises. Meanwhile, at their run-down mansion, Simon the pickpocket is telling his mother Gloria that her money problems are over. He plans to sell the cocaine, with the help of his friend, Stella. But Stella is a junkie and makes the mistake of informing Tirrell, Carnegies associate, that she no longer needs to buy cocaine from him. Carnegie soon puts two and two together and Simons life is in danger. Will Bergerac be too late to save him? Guest stars Prunella Scales, Ian Bartholomew, John Rowe and Jack Galloway Written by Bob Baker Director Ian Toynton 4. CAMPAIGN FOR SILENCE (Original UK Broadcast 08/11/1981) Major Furneaux is writing a book on his war experiences in Korea. When serious accidents begin to occur, including the