MONARCH OF THE GLEN-THE COMPLETE COLLECTION DVD REVIEW

If you love Scotland or the Scottish Highlands, which have been called “As close to Heaven on Earth” and enjoy great acting, then you will love “Monarch of the Glen”! The series premiered in 2000 and lasted 7 seasons with 64 episodes. The show was loosely based on a set of novels written in the 1930’s and 1940’s called simply “The Highland Novels”. The first book in the series was entitled “Monarch of the Glen”. The first 5 seasons starred Alistair Mackenzie as Archie, one of the sons of Hector MacDonald, owner of the castle and land of Glenbogle. Archie gave up a restaurant business in London and left for Scotland to take care of the land that once was home.

The well-known British actor, Richard Briers, plays the father and Susan Hampshire plays the Mother. The show was very close to a “Soap Opera” with the storylines it had. The home and land went through ups and downs with almost losing it all to the bank. At the end of the 3rd season, Richard Briers left the show and at the end of the series, he came back briefly, from the dead! In the beginning of the 6th season until the end of the series, Hectors brother comes to stay at Glenbogle, played by my 2nd favorite Doctor Who, Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee being my first choice! A new Laird comes in and takes over the problems of the family who is the illegitimate brother of Archie’s, Paul, played by Lloyd Owen.

This complete set has a nice bit of extras such as an interview with Susan Hampshire, a tour of the estate, a documentary of the Scottish Highlands from Bill Oddie from “The Goodies”, a Christmas special and the behind the scenes look at the show with Cast Filmographies and Biographies


VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All episodes are shot on film. There is a Play All feature.


Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- Series 1-Episode 1
Series 1-Episode 2
Series 1-Episode 3
Series 1-Episode 4

Disc 2-Series 1-Episode 5
Series 1-Episode 6
Series 1-Episode 7
Series 1-Episode 8

Disc 3-Series 2-Episode 1
Series 2-Episode 2
Series 2-Episode 3
Series 2-Episode 4

Disc 4-Series 2-Episode 5
Series 2-Episode 6
Series 2-Episode 7
Series 2-Episode 8

Disc 5-Series 3-Episode 1
Series 3-Episode 2
Series 3-Episode 3
Series 3-Episode 4

Disc 6-Series 3-Episode 5
Series 3-Episode 6
Series 3-Episode 7
Series 3-Episode 8

Disc 7-Series 3-Episode 9
Series 3-Episode 10
Series 3-Episode 11

Disc 8-Series 4-Episode 1
Series 4-Episode 2-with Phyllida Law
Series 4-Episode 3-with Leslie Phillips
Series 4-Episode 4

Disc 9-Series 4-Episode 5
Series 4-Episode 6
Series 4-Episode 7

Disc 10-Series 4-Episode 8
Series 4-Episode 9
Series 4-Episode 10

Disc 11-Series 5-Episode 1
Series 5-Episode 2
Series 5-Episode 3
Series 5-Episode 4

Disc 12-Series 5-Episode 5
Series 5-Episode 6
Series 5-Episode 7
Series 5-Episode 8

Disc 13-Series 5-Episode 9
Series 5-Episode 10

Disc 14-Series 6-Episode 1
Series 6-Episode 2-with Tom Baker
Series 6-Episode 3
Series 6-Episode 4

Disc 15-Series 6-Episode 5
Series 6-Episode 6
Series 6-Episode 7-with Anthony Head
Series 6-Epiosde 8

Disc 16-Series 6-Episode 9
Series 6-Episode 10

Disc 17-Series 7-Episode 1
Series 7-Episode 2
Series 7-Episode 3

Disc 18-Series 7-Episode 4
Series 7-Episode 5
Series 7-Episode 6-with Richard Briers

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- Holiday-A tour of Glenbogle Estate- (06:14)
Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Trailer

Disc 3- None

Disc 4- Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Trailers

Disc 5- None

Disc 6- None

Disc 7- Interview with Susan Hampshire- (09:04)
Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Trailers

Disc 8- None

Disc 9- None

Disc 10- Wildlife in the Scottish Highlands- (29:15) with Bill Oddie
Cast Biographies
Trailers

Disc 11- None

Disc 12- None

Disc 13- Hogmany Special- (59:18)
Cast Biographies
Trailers

Disc 14- None

Disc 15- None

Disc 16- Cast Biographies
Trailers

Disc 17- None

Disc 18-The Last Monarch- (29:11)
Cast Biographies
Trailer

Verdict

What a breathtaking series this is! Without a doubt, worth the buy!


Rating; *****!