The Doctor Blake Mysteries Season 1

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

In 1959, after decades away from his native Australia-studying medicine in Scotland, serving in World War II and living in China-Blake returns to his rural hometown to run his late father’s medical practice. But life does not remain peaceful for long, as the inquisitive and erudite Blake finds himself drawn into the quest to solve murders that confound local law enforcement.

What a surprise to discover this series, a murder mystery drama set in the fifties in Australia. The protagonist is Dr. Blake, who has returned to his hometown to take over his father’s practice, and to (sometimes and always unsuccessfully) drown in whiskey the memories of his 3 years as a POW when the Malay Peninsula fell to the Japanese in WWII, and the loss of his wife and young daughter whom he lost track of when Singapore fell. Every so often, he receives word of a “sighting” of his wife and child, but each leads only to hurt and whiskey. But NOTHING keeps the brilliant, ebullient doctor down for long. A former intelligence officer (revealed in one of the episodes) he now serves as police surgeon to the local force, and must use all his wits to puzzle out the culprit(s) in some odd crimes indeed. His relationship with the Police Superintendent is fun to watch–a dance of friendship, respect, and humor, with the occasional trust issue thrown in; the actors manage to play all this with admirable subtlety. The doctor shares his house with three other residents, and many scenes occur here. There’s the young, idealistic public nurse, a young constable who is forever getting into trouble, and a quirky houskeeper/receptionist who tries to keep order in the household, which always seems to be veering toward the chaotic. The acting is strong, and the mystery plots often bring up real issues faced by post- war Australia. If you like historical murder mysteries, especially from parts of the world outside the USA, you’ll enjoy solving murders with Dr. Blake in this gently quirky show that moves easily between pathos and humor — with a dash of zany thrown in for good measure!

– Mz Paws

I stumbled on to this program through PBS and was delighted to find it here on Amazon. The acting is good and I’m enjoying getting to know each of the characters. The mysteries are interesting and I love the fact that it’s based in 1950’s Australia. It’s so refreshing to watch a murder/ mystery program that doesn’t have any gorey blood scenes and there isn’t a gun pointed at some poor unsuspecting woman’s head while she hysterically screaming. Excellent program!

– Maureen

DVD Wholesale Main Features :   

Actors: Craig Mclachlan, Nadine Garner, Joel Tobeck, Rick Donald, Cate Wolfe
Directors: Ian Barry, Andrew Prowse, Declan Eames
Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Number of discs: 3
Rated: NR – Not Rated
Studio: BBC Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: April 26, 2016
Run Time: 570 minutes