Heartbeat - UK drama series set in the 1960's (1 Viewer)

I didn't think Heartbeat, a UK drama series set in a fictional Yorkshire village in the 1960's, would ever see the light of day on DVD. The reason? The huge amount of music played in the series.

However...I spotted on Play.com in the week a pre-order page for the first series of Heartbeat (release date of Monday 27th September, 2010), which aired on ITV in 1992. Network DVD are releasing it. However, it's not up on their Forthcoming Releases page on their website yet. The URL link to the Play.com listing page is below:


Heartbeat: The Complete First Series (Region 2 DVD) - Play.com listing page

There's a pre-order link on Play.com for the second series of Heartbeat, with a UK release date of Monday 8th November, 2010. It would be great if Network DVD release a series of Heartbeat every two months. However, the big question which remains is, is the music intact or are there going to be music substitutions? The URL link to the Play.com pre-order listing page for the second series is below:
 
 
Heartbeat: The Complete Second Series (Region 2 DVD) - Play.com pre-order listing page

Since the previous post, the third series of Heartbeat (which originally aired on ITV in 1993) was released on Monday 28th February, 2011. It was looking like it would be two months between each series being released by Network DVD, until I read on Amazon UK that Series 4 wasn't being released until four months after Series 3, on Monday 27th June.

However.....

I checked for Series 5 on Amazon UK last week, and found that Series 4-7 are being released in the space of four months (subject to change):

Series 4 - Monday 27th June, 2011
Series 5 - Monday 18th July, 2011
Series 6 - Monday 15th August, 2011
Series 7 - Monday 26th September, 2011.

The description for the seventh series on it's Amazon UK listing page, mentions that the 90 minute special Changing Places will be included. The seventh series saw an increase in the total number of episodes per series, going up to 24 episodes. So with the 90 minute special it should be a 7-disc set.

EDIT: The Series 7 set will consist of seven discs.

Front cover artwork for the first four series of Heartbeat (source: Play.com):


The Complete First Series (1992) :




The Complete Second Series (1993) :





The Complete Third Series (1993) :





The Complete Fourth Series (1994) :





Series 1 (1992) - Episodes 1-10
Series 2 (1993) - Episodes 11-20
Series 3 (1993) - Episodes 21-30
Series 4 (1994) - Episodes 31-46.

Series 4 was released today on DVD in the UK. The BBFC have passed the Series 5 episodes not previously released on DVD. All 15 episodes from Series 6 have been passed as well recently.

Front cover artwork for the fifth series of Heartbeat (source: Play.com):


The Complete Fifth Series (1995) :






The reason why the fifth series set has been given a '15' certificate, is because of the episode "Sitting Off the Dock of the Bay" (a storyline involving drugs). Series 5 consists of 15 episodes (of the series as a whole, episodes 47-61).

Series 5 (1995): Episodes 47-61
Series 6 (1996): Episodes 62-78
Series 7 (1997-98): Episodes 79-102 + TV special "Changing Places" (*)
Series 8 (1998-99): Episodes 103-126.

Series 7 of Heartbeat saw the total number of episodes increase from 17 to 24 episodes, and also it was the first series to bridge two years. In terms of the storylines it was a season of change

(Nick, and Jo got married, Blaketon was forced to quit the police force due to ill health, a new PC (Mike Bradley, played by Jason Durr) arrived in Aidensfield, Nick became Acting Sergeant, Nick, Jo and Katie left Aidensfield for a new life in Canada (*), Mike Bradley became the new lead bobby, Blaketon started working at the village post office, and at the very end of the season a new Sergeant (Raymond Craddock, played by Philip Franks) joined the cast).


Series 8 of Heartbeat is now available for DVD pre-order on Amazon UK, with a release date of Monday 24th October.

Front cover artwork for Heartbeat: The Complete Sixth Series (source: Play.com):


Heartbeat: The Complete Sixth Series (1996):

WaveCrest said:

I didn't think Heartbeat, a UK drama series set in a fictional Yorkshire village in the 1960's, would ever see the light of day on DVD. The reason? The huge amount of music played in the series.

However...I spotted on Play.com in the week a pre-order page for the first series of Heartbeat (release date of Monday 27th September, 2010), which aired on ITV in 1992. Network DVD are releasing it. However, it's not up on their Forthcoming Releases page on their website yet. The URL link to the Play.com listing page is below:


Heartbeat: The Complete First Series (Region 2 DVD) - Play.com listing page

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As far as recreating a time period, in this case the 60s, this drama series is one of the best at it ever made. Truth be told I don't watch it myself, but the bits I've caught of it from time to time is enough to say they really nailed the era to a T. Most other productions attempting it, even big budget movies, really don't catch it quite like this show. In fact, the bigger a production and the more detail, the less convincing it sometimes is. This series gets it right though, it looks and feels good, making it quite a joy to behold. The only aspect I think is somewhat 'misplaced' is actually forcing the many famous pop and rock hits down our throats at every opportunity, like saying 'guess which decade this is set in, folks'. It's the trademark of the series perhaps to blast those songs on the soundtrack, but I think it's overkill, where a song here and there playing on a radio in the background would simply make it even more realistic. I know that happens too. It's not as if the songs even suit the situations they're played in anyway, they're just randomly cranked out here it would seem, where it did serve a purpose storywise in say The Wonder Years or even a sitcom like WKRP In Cincinnati.

Special features information for the first two Heartbeat boxsets released:


The Complete First Series:

- Archive introductions on selected episodes by Nick Berry (episodes 1, 5 and 6)

The Complete Second Series:

- On Location with Heartbeat documentary
- 'Heartbeat' Music Video

The Complete Third Series - no extras

The Complete Fourth Series - no extras

The Complete Fifth Series - no extras

The Complete Sixth Series - no extras.

Originally Posted by HenryDuBrow
As far as recreating a time period, in this case the 60s, this drama series is one of the best at it ever made. Truth be told I don't watch it myself, but the bits I've caught of it from time to time is enough to say they really nailed the era to a T. Most other productions attempting it, even big budget movies, really don't catch it quite like this show. In fact, the bigger a production and the more detail, the less convincing it sometimes is. This series gets it right though, it looks and feels good, making it quite a joy to behold. The only aspect I think is somewhat 'misplaced' is actually forcing the many famous pop and rock hits down our throats at every opportunity, like saying 'guess which decade this is set in, folks'. It's the trademark of the series perhaps to blast those songs on the soundtrack, but I think it's overkill, where a song here and there playing on a radio in the background would simply make it even more realistic. I know that happens too. It's not as if the songs even suit the situations they're played in anyway, they're just randomly cranked out here it would seem, where it did serve a purpose storywise in say The Wonder Years or even a sitcom like WKRP In Cincinnati.

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I respect what you're saying, but I disagree with the part of your post about the music played in Heartbeat.

The series recreated the 1960's very well (the setting, costumes, locations, stories and 60's soundtrack (on occasions some songs from the early 70's were played). Occasionly they would venture out of Aidensfield and Ashfordly, and have part of an episode in Whitby.

Bill Maynard's Greengrass was the best of the countryside/village rogues in the series. After he left the series, there was a short wait before Geoffrey Hughes joined as Vernon Scripps, brother of Bernie (who owned the village mechanic garage). Didn't like Gwen Taylor as Aunt Peggy though. She stayed with the series up to it's cancellation by ITV.

Altogether there were five lead bobbies in Aidensfield during the series' run (Nick Berry, Jason Durr, James Clayton, Jonathan Kerrigan and Joe McFadden), my favourite era being when Jason Durr was in the show (he joined halfway through the seventh series).

Part of the enjoyment of Heartbeat (it was one of the few series which the whole family could watch) was the soundtrack. There weren't many songs which didn't suit a scene. I didn't feel they were intrusive, some were emotional, funny and exciting (for example, Hold Tight by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch was an exciting track) and suited the scenes (both spoken or unspoken scenes). Some episodes had hardly any music in them.

It's a series worth investing in definitely.

*****

I'm hoping once Network get to Series 12 of Heartbeat, that they'll start releasing spin-off series The Royal (which lasted for eight series, and whose last episode premieres on ITV1 a week on Sunday). It was set at a hospital in Elsinby.

Heartbeat: The Complete Sixth Series was released on Region 2 today, and hasn't been delayed.

Front cover 3D artwork for Heartbeat: The Complete Seventh Series (source: Play.com):


Heartbeat: The Complete Seventh Series (1997-98):

The BBFC passed Series 8 of Heartbeat today, giving the set a '12' certificate. The UK release date given on the BBFC listing page is Monday 24th October. Below is 3D front cover artwork for Series 8, the first full series with Jason Durr as the lead bobby in Aidensfield (source: Play.com). The eighth series was the last one filmed in fullscreen, with Series 9 (1999-2000) being the first to be filmed in widescreen.


The Complete Eighth Series (1998-99):

*****
Quite surprised to see a DVD pre-order listing appear on Amazon UK recently for the first series of sister show The Royal. However, Network are not releasing it. Instead it will be ITV Studios Home Entertainment. The BBFC haven't yet passed the first series. The UK release date given on Amazon UK and Play.com is Monday 3rd October.

The Royal was set at a cottage hospital in the coastal town of Elsinby. It began with a test episode in Series 12 of Heartbeat (the episode "Out of the Blue"), in January 2003. Heartbeat's 12th series took a few weeks off, with the first series airing on ITV during those weeks.


The Royal - The Complete Series One (2003) - 7 episodes:

The seventh series has been released today (no delay). The DVD extras list for the seven series so far:



The Complete First Series:



- Archive introductions on selected episodes by Nick Berry (episodes 1, 5 and 6)



The Complete Second Series:



- On Location with Heartbeat documentary

- 'Heartbeat' Music Video



The Complete Third Series - no extras



The Complete Fourth Series - no extras



The Complete Fifth Series - no extras


The Complete Sixth Series - no extras

The Complete Seventh Series:

- "Changing Places" (76 minute TV special)
- The Rowan Years (running time of nearly 10 minutes)
- Heartbeat: Chronicles (running time of 82 minutes and 45 seconds) - medley of classic Heartbeat moments
- Bill Maynard and Alfred singing two songs.

The ninth and tenth series of Heartbeat are available for DVD pre-order on Amazon UK. The ninth and tenth series have release dates of Monday 6th February, 2012 and Monday 26th March, 2012 respectively.

Series 9 (1999-2000): Episodes 127-150
Series 10 (2000-01): Episodes 151-174.

Final 3D front cover artwork for Heartbeat: The Complete Ninth Series (source: Play.com):


Heartbeat: The Complete Ninth Series (1999-2000):








Final front cover artwork for Heartbeat: The Complete Tenth Series (source: Play.com):



Heartbeat: The Complete Tenth Series (2000-01):

The BBFC recently passed the ninth series of Heartbeat (two separate listings, of episodes 1-16 and episodes 17-24), giving the set a '12' certificate.

The second series of The Royal is now available for DVD pre-order on Amazon UK, with a release date of Monday 27th February, 2012.

Also, on Amazon UK's DVD pre-order listing page for the ninth series of Heartbeat, there is a just over one minute long Network promo for the upcoming DVD set.

Front cover artwork for the second series of The Royal (source: Play.com):


The Royal: Complete Series Two (2003) - 6 episodes:






The DVD extras list for Heartbeat: Series 8-9:


The Complete Eighth Series - no extras

The Complete Ninth Series - no extras

The Complete Tenth Series - no extras.

The eleventh series of Heartbeat (which contains episodes 175-198) is available for DVD pre-order on Amazon UK, and has a release date of Monday 27th August.

Front cover artwork for Heartbeat: The Complete Eleventh Series (source: Play.com):