7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Corpses – cops – trap – cult – assassins – Pararibulitis – vampires – lottery ticket – kitten – corgi – EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED! Welcome to the world of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency; a trippy mystery that thrusts a reluctant sidekick into the bizarre world of an unconventional detective who believes in the interconnectedness of all things.
Starring: Samuel Barnett, Elijah Wood, Hannah Marks, Fiona Dourif, Jade EsheteSci-Fi | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Fans of the late, great Douglas Adams may still be waiting for a decent adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, since the film version, while occasionally raucously hilarious, was forced to jettison so many of Adams’ delicious sidebars in order to fit itself into a reasonable running time that it often played like a Readers Digest redaction of Adams’ original novels. Some smart creative type, maybe someone like a certain Max Landis, might want to consider revisiting The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as a “special event” television series where more of Adams’ audacious combo platter of humor and cosmic philosophy might be better developed, and for anyone considering such a prospect, there’s arguably no better model than Landis’ own television adaptation of a somewhat lesser known Adams inspired vehicle, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Adams had completed two books in his Dirk Gently series and was actually at work on a third when he so unexpectedly died of a heart attack at the relatively youthful age of 49. Interestingly, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency had an earlier television life courtesy of BBC Four, though that particular Dirk Gently perhaps ironically only lasted four episodes itself, falling victim to some belt tightening at the channel (with a cancellation that actually raised the ire of large segments of the British populace, in a kind of analog to what has happened on this side of the pond at various times with regard to venerated but low rated shows like Star Trek: The Original Series). This “new, improved” Dirk Gently is actually somewhat more variant from Adams’ original formulation than the first series was, at least in terms of some of the supporting characters. But this engaging (if often confounding) series quite frequently captures Adams’ almost patented brand of lunatic humor, which it intersperses with some other, more disturbing, content that may throw some viewers for a (time traveling Boolean) loop.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of BBC with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a rather engaging series from a visual angle, and this BBC Blu-ray presentation is generally winning, though I have to admit I was perhaps expecting it to pop a bit more than it does. Things look just slightly bright to my eyes at times, something that perhaps helps to diminish some fine detail levels and which can tend to wash out the palette, which seems a bit on the anemic side throughout the presentation. Contrast is also a bit on the variable side, though some of the dark and/or graded material (including a long introductory gambit introducing Farah, which is bathed in red) looks solid, with nice detail and fine detail levels. There are other examples of some great fine detail on display here, including a number of interesting fabrics on costumes and props, and some of the CGI work looks appealingly well detailed as well. There are a number of visual "bells and whistles" that are added to the mix that intentionally skew detail levels and add even more of a hallucinatory ambience to an already "trippy" feeling show, but which can tend to tamp down fine detail levels at times.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, especially during some of the effects laden sequences, notably some of the vignettes that start up once Dirk and Todd enter a secret labyrinth in the murdered tycoon's mansion. The series also exploits a number of outdoor scenes (especially with regard to Bart), and those also offer nicely placed ambient environmental noises. Speaking of Bart, her penchant toward shooting anyone at any time also provides sudden bursts of sonic energy which the track delivers flawlessly. There are fairly long stretches in this season where there frankly is not a lot of surround activity, especially in some of the "talky" bits featuring two detectives trying to figure out what's going on, but fidelity remains excellent, delivering dialogue, effects and score with clarity and precision.
Sadly there are no supplemental features offered on this two disc set.
It's interesting to note that (so far, at least) the second season of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency has forsaken the bloody violence that occasionally interrupts this first season in such a shocking fashion. That may be due to a realization that Adams' whimsical proclivities don't especially lend themselves to elements that might be more at home in a horror outing, or at least an Alien style science fiction enterprise. Lovers of time travel conundra and rather smartly concocted groups of completely odd characters should nonetheless get a kick out of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Video looks a little anemic to my eyes, but audio is fine, and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency comes Recommended.
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