Heartbeat:
The Complete First Series
“A
Sixties treat filmed in the Nineties,
Heartbeat: The Complete First Series
takes you back to the days when
everything was fab and swinging and
for the young it was the best time
to be alive...”
A WONDERFUL CORNUCOPIA OF NOSTALGIA with steam trains, classic cars, unforgettable
music and everyone out to have fun, Heartbeat takes you back to the Swinging
Sixties where everything was fresh and new and the world was full of colourful
characters.
Winning several prestigious television awards, including Best Performing Peak-Time
Drama in 1999 (beating Coronation Street) and a number of ITV Programme
of the Year awards, Heartbeat attracted a peak audience of 14 million
and spawned a highly-successful spin-off, The Royal.
With authentic music from the Sixties, bringing back such notable songs as Do
You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance); All Day And All Of The Night;
Twist And Shout; The House Of The Rising Sun; She's Not There;
Living In The Past; Keep On Running; I'm Into Something Good;
Whiter Shade Of Pale and Catch The Wind, this wonderful series
includes the music of The Searchers, The Shadows, The Dave Clark Five, Herman's
Hermits; The Kinks, The Beatles and Donovan and also features the signature
tune Heartbeat, which was a Top Ten hit single for actor Nick Berry.
An enduringly-popular drama that interweaves crime and medical storylines, Heartbeat
has earned itself a devoted following, remaining prime-time viewing world-wide.
The series is set in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield and
was filmed on Goathland. The first series stars Nick Berry as PC Nick Rowan
and Niamh Cusack as his wife, Dr Kate Roan.
Devised by Johnny Byrne and Derived from the Constable books by Nicholas Rhea,
Heartbeat captures the period with great authenticity and poignancy.
The nostalgic television drama ran for eighteen series from 1992 to 2009 and
became the staple Sunday-night viewing for many British households.
Coming to DVD for the first time, Heartbeat: The Complete First Series
follows the lives of Nick and Kate and the villagers of Aidensfield — including
main characters Sergeant Blaketon (Derek Fowlds); Dr Alex Ferrenby (Frank Middlemass)
and Claude-Jeremiah Greengrass (Bill Maynard) along with regulars PC Al Ventress
(William Simons), PC Phil Bellamy (Mark Jordan) and George Ward (Stuart Golland),
the landlord of the Aidensfield Arms.
The first series of ten episodes kicks off with Johnny Byrne's Changing Places
in which Kate and Nick leave London to find a very different Aidensfield. Nick
is thrown in at the deep end, dealing with trouble between local lads and those
from Ashfordly, animal worrying by Greengrass's dog and spinster Georgina Fraser
(Rosemary McHale) reporting a prowler; all while having to contend with the
inflexible Sergeant Blaketon. Kate is called to the early arrival of a baby
to the Maskells (Eileen O'Brien and Barrie Rutter) and this gives rise to discussions
about the birth control breakthrough of the day: The Pill.
Things hot up for the unflappable Nick as he solves the mysteries of a missing
husband, a flasher, sheep rustling, a shopkeeper who may have an unhealthy interest
in young boys, the theft of a cashbox from the church and a murder. But there
is some friction between Nick and Kate, who will need to decide exactly what
they want from their lives.
One episode about a Ban The Bomb demonstration features John Duttine as Paul
Melthorn, the "darling of the ban the bomb movement", and Philip Glenister as
Julian Cantley, who accuses Nick of police brutality. In another, the magnificent
Eleanor Bron plays Maria Lazlos, who arrives with her two sons and her dying
husband Joseph (Roy Boyd) in a caravan, causing friction in the village. Also
appearing is the wonderful Jean Anderson playing the mother of a woman who is
accused of murdering her husband and Nick Moran as hippy musician Rick Parker.
Watch out for the antics of the officious cleaner at the police station, the
unstoppable Mrs Parkin (a terrific and very funny Shirley Stelfox).
In the final episode of the first series, Nick is offered a job back with the
Metropolitan Police. But will he decide to return to London or has he put down
roots in Aidensfield? Heartbeat is a fascinating and clever idea that
is brilliantly executed. Anyone fancy Living In The Past? [Jethro Tull,
1969 — Ed].
Costume Designer is Brian Castle; Heartbeat Song Performed by Nick Berry;
Producer is Stuart Doughty; Directors include: Roger Cheveley, Tim Dowd, Ken
Horn and Gavin Theoditis. Writers include: David Lane, Brian Finch and Peter
Barwood.
• The Complete First Series of the multiple-award-winning
ITV Yorkshire Police drama Heartbeat will be available for the first
time on DVD courtesy of Network DVD in a three-disc set on 27 September 2010.
RRP: £24.99 | Running Time: 500 Minutes approx | Catalogue Number: 7953357.
Disc One: Changing Places | Fruits of the Earth | Rumours. Disc Two:
Playing with Fire | Nowt But a Prank | Old, New, Borrowed, Blue. Disc Three:
Face Value | Outsiders | Primal Instinct | Keep On Running.
"Heartbeat is a fascinating and clever idea that is brilliantly executed.
Anyone fancy Living In The Past?" — Maggie
Woods, MotorBar
