Search - Oh Brother! on DVD

This "Brother" has been saved

Robert Huggins | Suburban Philadelphia, PA United States | 02/25/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It has been well documented that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) erased much of its videotape-era broadcast history as a cost saving measure for the purpose of reusing the tape. Unfortunately, "Oh Brother!" the 1968-70 BBC comedy series fell victim to this practice and, today, only eight of the 19 episodes originally produced survive. The surviving episodes include the series' very first episode (broadcast on September 13, 1968), as well as all seven episodes from the series' third and final season (or, for those in the UK, series three), which were originally broadcast in January and February of 1970. While the first episode is in black & white and exhibits a considerable amount of grain, the third season color episodes look markedly better, considering that they represent the videotape technology that was available in 1970.

As for the show itself, it's mildly funny and the comedic situations are helped greatly by an engaging ensemble cast led by Derek Nimmo as the bumbling Brother Dominic. Those looking for comedy aimed squarely at the institutions of the church and religion can look elsewhere; the humor here is gentle and is derived from the humorous, day-to-day situations of the fathers and brothers who live and work in the monastery.

This two DVD set from Koch Vision is bare bones; each DVD contains four half-hour episodes, presented in the order as they were originally broadcast. The only extra feature on this set is a photo gallery with both black & white and color photos at the end of disc 2, and the insert included contains a synopsis for each episode, as well as the original BBC broadcast date. I'm unclear as to whether or not "Oh Brother!" ever had a U.S. broadcast (possibly PBS), but the limited number of episodes that were saved suggest that it wasn't, at least on any wide scale. While "Oh Brother!" is far from the best and funniest of the numerous British imports that have graced U.S. shores over the years, the show has a certain charm and appeal and those who appreciate British humor will most likely enjoy this set.
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A lost tresure.

Catherine S. Bates | Thompson, CT. United States | 08/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This show is a lost tresure only eight epsodes still exciest it ran from1968to1971. It's a lot of fun. one of the brothers(the actors is also on Bless Me Father as the Irish Doctor and one of Father Duddleswell best frends. deffanitly these are both a must see. Thank you. 8/16/2008."