A Touch of Frost - Complete Series 1-15 [DVD]

The complete collection comprises 29 discs and 18 years worth of David Jason being dramatic. Personally, I feel that this is his the magnum opus of his acting career; quite possibly what garnered him the knighthood. A very good series in both plot and production values, there are by-and-large only a few scripting instances that make you realise the early episodes are from the mid-1990s. The programme is quite often gritty with a bleak outlook on life which is leavened with occasional flashes of comedy, sometimes within the darkest of scenes. A plethora of fantastic scripts often deal with contemporaneous social issues with a barbed anger against economic and social inequalities, many of which sadly still trouble us all today, that manifests itself in DI Frost's attitude and interactions. Furthermore, a interestingly wide cast of supporting law enforcement personnel, such as Caroline Harker, John Lyons and the guy from Hollyoaks, populate the show, particularly within its earlier seasons, giving a stronger verisimilitude to the police station setting than most police procedural dramas have. The guest casting is also often impressive with well written roles for such luminaries as Sue Cleaver, Noel Clarke, Danny Dyer and Linda Bassett springing up throughout the 29 DVDs, although the star really is Sir David Jason who stuns in his role as the world-weary detective who breaks all the rules, giving an albeit different combination of cliched TV tropes humanity breathing life into them to become a believable human being. Equally good is Bruce Alexander in making the comedy/bureaucratic boss role human too, his character of Superintendent Mullett is obsessed with figures and good press, but Alexander's performance (and the scripts) ensure that we know Mullett and Frost have roughly similar goals for the police force but with very different outlooks. Packaged quite compactly, the only negative I have find with this box set is the double stacking of discs within the cases, which makes it a faff to access some discs as the ones at the bottom of each stack require me to remove three discs before I can reach them. Overall, a excellent drama series to sit down with on a Sunday evening with a glass of rosé or Tizer and a packet of Freddos or Cadbury's Spira bars. Marvellous.

It took me a year to watch this collection. I had occasionally seen episodes on TV. I have read the novels, and Jason's Frost is a far more sympathetic character than Wingfield's original creation. It is a reflection on Jason's ability that after the first episode - where one kept waiting for the punch line or the humour - the serious, if never quite without humour, portrayal of a provincial detective becomes extremely convincing. John Lyons as Detective Sergeant Toolan is very convincing. I can hardly read a British crime novel featuring a competent Detective Sergeant, without visualising D. S. Toolan! As the series progresses Superintendant Mullet becomes a far more, if never an entirely, sympathetic character, far more convincing too. There is a constant low level humour throughout the series, perhaps reflecting the working humour that must exist in most police stations, however as the series progresses, it sometimes seems in danger of getting out of hand, and reducing parts of a generally convincing series to slapstick. As 'Jack' gets older the calls on him to play the action hero, fighting knife armed criminals, etc. seem to increase, although never too far OTT. Over the years the story lines do remain convincing, and 'Jack's' personal flaws add to this. By the time Series14 comes along, the aged appearance of the actors does begin to catch one's eye, Lyons probably even more so than Jason, although the stories still hold together well, saying perhaps even more for the quality of the acting, despite the 'visual' blip. In the end of series documentary, Jason states that real detectives had said that the Frost series portrayed CID, in all its imperfections, much as they would like to be seen. I can see why. Good, convincing stories, great acting, and a vey enjoyable, long running series. Definitely worth obtaining. I am sure, over time I will watch them all again, and enjoy them just as much.

Classic!!!

David Jason is incredible

I had never fully watched A Touch of Frost when it was on TV from 1992 - 2010. I can just about remember little clips from when my parents watched it. But I was just too young to watch it myself. It did take me a few episodes to fully get used to David Jason being a straight actor as I am so used to watching him in shows like Open All Hours. Plus talking of episodes..... A Touch Of Frost is not a normal TV show, it does not have full series that are 8, 30mins episodes. But has a few 1 hour 40mins episodes per year, so really it's like watching a film. I really did enjoy it that way, 30mins or even 1 hour episodes would of been too short for this show. All in all I really enjoyed it all, plus I have listened below a full list of what you get, hope this helps someone! Disk 1: Series 1 – Episode 1 – Care and Protection, 6 December 1992 Series 1 – Episode 2 – Not With Kindness, 13 December 1992 Disk 2: Series 1 – Episode 3 – Conclusions, 20 December 1992 Series 2 – Episode 1 – A Minority of One, 9 January 1994 Disk 3: Series 2 – Episode 2 – Widows and Orphans, 16 January 1994 Series 2 – Episode 3 – Nothing To Hide, 23 January 1994 Disk 4: Series 2 – Episode 4 – Stranger in the House, 30 January 1994 Series 3 – Episode 1 – Appropriate Adults, 8 January 1995 Disk 5: Series 3 – Episode 2 – Quarry, 15 January 1995 Series 3 – Episode 3 – Dead Male One, 22 January 1995 Disk 6: Series 3 – Episode 4 – No Refuge, 29 January 1995 Series 4 – Episode 1 – Paying The Price, 7 January 1996 Disk 7: Series 4 – Episode 2 – Unknown Soldiers, 14 January 1996 Series 4 – Episode 3 – The Things We Do For Love, 21 January 1996 Disk 8: Series 4 – Episode 4 – Fun Times For Swingers, 28 January 1996 Series 4 – Episode 5 – Deep Waters, 4 February 1996 Disk 9: Series 5 – Episode 1 – Penny For The Guy, 9 February 1997 Series 5 – Episode 2 – House Calls, 16 February 1997 Disk 10: Series 5 – Episode 3 – True Confessions, 23 February 1997 Series 5 – Episode 4 – No Other Love, 2 March 1997 Disk 11: Series 6 – Episode 1 – Appendix Man, 7 March 1999 Disk 12: Series 6 – Episode 2 – One Man's Meat, 14 March 1999 Disk 13: Series 6 – Episode 3 – Private Lives, 21 March 1999 Disk 14: Series 6 – Episode 4 – Keys To The Car, 28 March 1999 Disk 15: Series 7 – Christmas Special, Line of Fire25 December 1999 & 1 January 2000 Disk 16: Series 8 – New Year Special, Benefit of the Doubt, 14th & 15th January 2001 Disk 17: Series 9 – New Year Special, Mistaken Identity, 27th & 28th January 2002 Disk 18: Series 10 – Episode 1 – Hidden Truth, 19 January 2003 Disk 19: Series 10 – Episode 2 – Close Encounters, 3 March 2003 Disk 20: Series 10 – Episode 3 – Held in Trust, 14 September 2003 Disk 21: Series 11 – Episode 1 – Another Life, 26 October 2003 Disk 22: Series 11 – Episode 2 – Dancing in the Dark, 22 February 2004 Disk 23: Series 12 – Summer Special, Near Death Experience, 25 September 2005 Disk 24: Series 13 – Autumn Special, Endangered Species, 5th November 2006 Disk 25: Series 14 – Episode 1 – Mind Games, 12 October 2008 Disk 26: Series 14 – Episode 2 – Dead End, 19 October 2008 Disk 27: Series 14 – Episode 3 – In The Public Interest, 26 October 2008 Disk 28: Series 15 – Final Episode, If Dogs Run Free, 4 April 2010 & 5 April 2010 Plus 2 more alternate endings Disk 29: Touched By Frost, 1 hour Goodbye Jack documentary

What can I say? It's a comprehensive box set of the series with some extras, nothing more, nothing less. If you're not familiar with Frost, it's a really well produced detective series about a 'middle-aged' detective inspector working in CID. It's different to many detective series in that it mostly follows Frost throughout the episode, but also has many scenes following up the criminals / 'sidekicks' and seeing how they get on. Character development across the series is superb, although you could argue it stagnates in the later series, but I enjoyed it. David Jason does provide comic relief, but he seems the most 3d of all characters, and Jason really shows off his true acting talent by breaking typecasting and being able to provide us with a plethora of emotional and moving scenes. Often enough minor or episode-specific characters are seriously underdeveloped, but they don't matter), recurring characters are usually fun or well used in stories. Highly recommended for anybody who likes Jason's work, or who likes the modern detective / emergency services and drama genres.

Brilliant to see them all again

I have watched some repeats of this wonderful telly gripping drama that leaves you stunned of not a little shaken by some of the scenes in some of the episodes, all of which come about by some of the UK's best ever acting by Sir David Jason, and all the other actors/actresses that starred in the series alongside Bruce Alexander, who is brilliant at playing the part of DI Frost's Boss Detective Superintendent Mullet. also the actor who plays DS John Toolan. Although a little dated in parts now, it is still highly watchable, and I can now watch some of the later series of Touch of Frost in the complete series collection, which i now own on ITV DVD format. I wouldn't recommend this to very young children as some of the scenes can be of a disturbing and upsetting nature. If you're an adult over 18 though, looking for a gripping detective drama then go ahead and purchase from amazon, as although a little pricey at nearly £60.00, I can assure you it is well worth every penny!

J'ai vraiment adoré cette série. Les premiers épisodes étaient un peu datés, mais elle s'est améliorée au fil des années. Des intrigues solides, de l'humour et un casting excellent.

Yes, we watched the entire series now, truly wonderful and in some cases such intricate cases, two or more all in the same episode. Only....were was series 13? we didnt receive that in the two DVD boxes and I promise, we looked and searched quite diligently for this. Was Series 13 left out on purpose?

La recomiendo

It was a good experiens. The dvd arrived, and i am glad to Watch Frost again.

14 Nov 2019 - Firstly make sure you can use these Region 2 DVDs if you are buying in the US. Most DVD / Blu-ray players purchased in the US are not region free and won't play any disc not specifically for Region 1. If you are using a computer optical drive DVD / Blu-ray to view, then your good to go as they are region free. This set is quality thru and thru. Unlike the 19 Disc set put out for Region 1. Video quality on all this is superb. There is only one quirk to the set. Disc Season 2 Episode 2 is a mislabel, It should read Season 13. Season 12 was just one episode and so was Season 13. All 42 episodes are here.