As confusing as that sounds, it’s not. I found it extremely easy to follow straight from the get go. There is enough exposition in the dialogue to keep everyone on the same page, without insulting their intelligence. The set contains nine episodes spread out over three discs.
Since a major portion of Callan was filmed live with the video cameras the BBC had at the time, the picture can come off as imperfect. Worse still, the original masters were nowhere to be found, so this is as good as we’re going to get it, .(Acorn Media has wisely thrown in a disclaimer about that.)
That said, Callan: Set 1 doesn’t look as bad as you’d think it might. The sound is sufficient and is a little crisper than the video presentation — although there are some noticeable lapses where the sound was out of synch. No subtitles are included with this release. Special features for Callan: Set 1 are limited to some trivia about the character and a bio for star Edward Woodward.
While the lack of decent extras is a bit of a frown, the incongruously-named Callan: Set 1 (it should be called Callan: Series 3, just for the record) is a keeper for any fan of British drama or Cold War espionage.
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