Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17491 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-10-14
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 364 minutes

Video Details
Hot on the heels of PRIME SUSPECT came Robbie Coltrane's (Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies) outstanding creation of "Fitz," in the PBS series CRACKER. Fitz is an addicted gambler, a heavy drinker, and a brilliant if deeply flawed criminal psychologist. He is, to the working mind of a killer what CSI is to a trace of blood or a single hair. For Fitz, murder is just the beginning. Three stories follow Fitz as he investigates an accused commuter train killer with amnesia, a couple who share love and murder, and the killing of a young boy that shakes a community to its core.

On the DVD
ccRobbie Coltrane Biography

DVD Menu

• Side #1 -- Disc 1
  • Episode Index
    • The Mad Woman in the Attic, Part I
      • Play Episode
      • Chapters
    • The Mad Woman in the Attic, Part II
      • Play Episode
      • Chapters
  • Play All
  • Robbie Coltrane Biography
• Side #2 -- Disc 2
  • Episode Index
    • To Say I Love You, Part I
      • Play Episode
      • Chapters
    • To Say I Love You, Part II
      • Play Episode
      • Chapters
    • To Say I Love You, Part III
      • Play Episode
      • Chapters
  • Play All
• Side #3 -- Disc 3
  • Episode Index
    • One Day a Lemming Will Fly, Part I
      • Play Episode
      • Chapters
    • One Day a Lemming Will Fly, Part II
      • Play Episode
      • Chapters
  • Play All

Customer Reviews

American Viewer: It's All There!!
I am writing to address concerns that the DVD set is not complete.

This is the *entire* first series as it aired in the U.S. I watched when it was shown on A&E in the early 90s. I taped it on my VCR (I still have the tapes) - finally I have the DVDs and they aren't missing a thing!

The Cracker series is amazing. Please don't miss out because of other reviews saying this DVD series in not complete.

The menus on the DVDs are a little confusing, but the episode "One Day a Lemming Will Fly" does *not* end with the suspect being brought into the station - that is only the Part I of the episode/disc and if you continue watching after the credits for Part I, Part II will start!

And yes, the transfer could have used a little more effort but the show is so engaging and the acting is so good that I didn't think about it once after the initial credits rolled.

I patiently (or somewhat patiently...) await for April when Series III will arrive.

Fascinating Detective Drama
I have these episodes on video, and I have to tell you, Cracker is one of the best mystery/detective dramas EVER. Robbie Coltrane, as Fitz (the "Cracker" of the title) is compelling to watch, as he deals with his attraction to the young DI Penhaligon (Geraldine Sommerville), his gambling problem, his drinking problem, his ever-more-irritated wife Judith, his ever-more-distant children, and whatever mystery he is solving in each episode. Fitz, a forensic psychiatrist, is called (oftne over objections from some of the detectives) to assist the police force in their investigations.
The entire cast is flawless, particulary Coltrane, Summerville, and Christopher Eccleston as DCI Bilbrough. The mysteries are involving, it is impossible to stop watching! Don't start watching this at night. You won't want to go to bed until you've seen them all.
Excellent British detective series, excellent drama about a man fighting his own demons along with those of society.

Great show deserves a better DVD transfer and extras.
"Cracker" may be just another in a long line of British crime dramas that were very popular in the early 90's, but "Cracker" stands out as one of the sharpest, wittiest, and most intelligently written of them all. I would say it is even better than "Prime Suspect", which is another personal favorite.

Robbie Coltrane plays his most memorable part as Fitz, a criminal psychologist who has an uncanny ability of getting into the minds of his subjects, and getting under the skin of anyone who knows him. His is an overweight, alcoholic compulsive who gambles, chain smokes, and cheats on his wife. This is balanced out by his brilliance and articulate nature. The series follows him as he helps a group of police inspectors solve various murders, while he copes with the problems in his own life. To call the series riveting is an understatement, it is bloody brilliant.

The episodes in the first season are "The Mad Woman in the Attic", where a young woman is found murdered on a train, and the only suspect has amnesia. This is one of the best episodes. The next one is "To Say I Love You", a Bonnie & Clyde story where two young lovers go on a murder spree. And the last episode is "One Day A Lemming Will Fly", where a young boy is murdered and the only suspect is the boy's English teacher, who is also believed to be homosexual. All episodes are 2 hours long, so you can expect to spend a good 6 hours with this DVD set.

The quality of the episodes is where the perks of this set ends. If the quality of the DVD package was the sole consideration, I would recommend this to nobody. For starters, the episodes are presented in 4:3 full frame, not widescreen like most other TV shows transferred to DVD tend to have. The credits are cut off from the screen, and the transfer quality suffers from apparently have no mastering at all done. I am hard pressed to find any differences between this DVD transfer and the old VHS tapes I have. Secondly, there are no extras, save for a Robbie Coltrane biography. With a show as good as "Cracker", commentaries, featurettes, and interviews would be in order. Am I the only one who thinks so?

The only reason why I am recommending this DVD set is because it is the only time "Cracker" has seen the light of day on DVD, and the VHS tapes are long out of print. Personally, I am able to look beyond the lousy DVD package and appreciate the episodes themselves, but for people wanting more, you will be disappointed.