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The Chief: The Complete Series

Tim Pigott-Smith (Actor), Karen Archer (Actor), Brian Farnham (Director), Rated: Suitable for 12 years and over Format: DVD
Additional DVD, PAL options Edition Discs
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11 Jun. 2018 		—
11
—
— £79.99

Product description

A critically acclaimed drama series from the early '90s, The Chief shows a police force under change and the friction generated as attempts are made to reform outmoded policies and challenge the often unacceptable conduct of front-line officers.

Tim Pigott-Smith stars as John Stafford, an outspoken and deeply committed officer who has been newly promoted to Chief Constable at Eastland, East Anglia. Not one to shy from difficult decisions, his appointment of the highly capable Anne Stewart as his deputy proves deeply unpopular and exposes some of the more unpleasant institutional attitudes among the ranks. In later series, Stafford moves on and is replaced by Alan Cade (Martin Shaw). While no less capable than his predecessor, Cade finds that the challenge of frontline policing continues to be eclipsed by pressure from both his Home Office superiors and the local government agencies that are increasingly taking over many police roles.

Forthright and, at times, controversial, The Chief does not shy from tackling the ever-mounting challenges of modern policing be they the consequences of militant student action, vigilante gangs, bombings, extreme activism, witness intimidation, the exploitation of migrant workers, and dealing with death in the line of duty.

Product details

  • Is discontinued by manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Rated ‏ : ‎ Suitable for 12 years and over
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 18.9 x 14.8 x 3.2 cm; 310 g
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Brian Farnham, Desmond Davis, A.J. Quinn, Roger Gartland, Tom Cotter
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ PAL
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 29 hours and 10 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ 11 Jun. 2018
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Tim Pigott-Smith, Karen Archer, Martin Shaw, Tony Caunter, Judy Loe
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Network
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07CCFZFKZ
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 11
  • Customer reviews:

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
75 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

alanx
5.0 out of 5 stars Original recording
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 June 2021
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A good series, but it appears that the original "film" was just recorded straight to DVD, as includes the end of part 1 part 2 etc .
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OshoFox
5.0 out of 5 stars Martin Shaw Great
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 July 2021
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Good Series While nostalgic Shaw brilliant Recommended
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Hamish Adam
4.0 out of 5 stars Regular police show with a bit of Chief Constable stuff thrown in to give the premise credibility
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 April 2018
This show deals with a Chief Constable’s battles with villainy as well as his conflicts with the Home Office and local government bureaucrats. It was unusual for its time in that it not only opened up crime drama to its wider context within government, but also for its willingness to tackle sensitive subjects. It was well advised, James Anderton, a former real life Chief Constable, consulted on the content of the show. Tim Pigott-Smith (The Jewel in the Crown) stars in the first 2 series (of 5) as Chief Constable John Stafford. He is replaced by Martin Shaw (The Professionals, Inspector George Gently) as Chief Constable Alan Cade in the next 3 series.

During Stafford’s time in the job, in those first two series, he has to deal with the arrival of crack cocaine in the force area; his battles with the Home Office reaching crisis point; animal rights activists bomb hoaxes; a sexually harassed female officer’s resignation; dealing with a controversial documentary about mad cow disease; two youths chuck stones from a motorway bridge, hit a police car and kill an officer; the eviction of environmental protesters from a ship carrying toxic waste. Eventually, Stafford exits to become Head of Europol, to be replaced by the tough no-nonsense liberal Chief Constable Alan Cade for Series three to five.

Neither of them were probably realistic portrayals of an actual Chief Constable who would be full-time devoted to management and politics with no time left over for regular policing. I suppose the producers probably thought that would be dead boring. I’m sure they were right. So what you really have here is a regular police show with a bit of Chief Constable stuff thrown in to give the premise credibility. Good though. 35 one hour episodes. 4 stars.
10 people found this helpful
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David Wren
5.0 out of 5 stars 10/10
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 December 2020
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Good quality and delivered on time. It is great to watch again and again
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Mrs AC
1.0 out of 5 stars Drama, what drama?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 February 2021
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This series is woeful. It's like watching a characterization of a lecture on law enforcement at a polytec. Poor old Tim bursts blood vessels trying to make something of his part - but there's no plot, no action, no 'drama', and the 'characters' are all deadly stereotypes... wife, son, daughter, etc. His second in command is abysmal - less force of personality than a cauliflower, and her domestic situation is actually less interesting than watching paint dry. Good job it's Lent - no need to wonder what to do as a penitential act this year... watch The Chief !
2 people found this helpful
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KF
3.0 out of 5 stars Reasonable
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 June 2022
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Remembered this series from the 90’s and wanted to watch it again so bought the DVD set. Very dated and sometimes quite poor quality especially the sound. That said it does say (in very small print) on the box that viewers may notice varying quality.
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richard delahay
5.0 out of 5 stars Good viewing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 February 2021
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Very much enjoyed
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David Ryder
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic,
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 July 2019
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Fantastic no sign of Rob Lowe, 😤
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Martina D.
3.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunately awful sound
Reviewed in Germany on 25 October 2019
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The series is quite interesting. However, the sound is awful, partially too low. This makes listening very hard, especially for non-native speakers like me. Subtitles are also missing.
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