Review of Out: The Complete Series

Introduction

With a line up of talent that they couldn`t afford these days comes "Out", a collaboration between writer Trevor Preston and director Jim Goddard who later brought us "Fox". Produced for Euston films who also gave us `The Sweeney` and later `Minder`, this hard-edged drama looks at the seedy world of crime and the ex-con.

Frank Ross is out and he wants revenge on the person who `grassed him up`. First he has to work out who it was. His wife is in a mental institution and his 16-year-old son is living with strangers.

Episodes

It must be the Suit


Frank reintroduces himself into society and makes an enemy straight away
Clearly somebody has something to hide.

Not Just Pennies

Frank`s wife is in a mental institution and the cost is crippling. Maybe a trip to a private gambling club will help.

Maybe He`ll Bring Back a Geisha

Frank`s son is going off the rails. He tells his girlfriend his father is in Japan and his mother is dead. Frank goes looking for Pretty Billy who is on the run.

A Little Heart to Heart With Miss Bangor

Frank is getting closer to the truth and Tony McGrath decides its time to get rid of him.

The Moment He opened his Envelope

A hit man is set to `pin a notice` on Frank before he finds out any more.

I Wouldn`t Take Your Hand if I Was Drowning

Frank helps the police find out the whole truth but what happens next?

Video

The reproduction on this disc is poor. Clearvision once again show a keen disregard to anything other than maximising profit from putting it onto disc as cheaply as possible.

It is difficult to tell whether the original had been filmed like this deliberately. The colours are rather brown and the skies once again grey -does the sun ever shine when Euston Films are on location?

Given the pedigree of this production it seems slap-happy to not give it some five star treatment. It is competing in a market when for the same price the punters can buy a brand new pristine copy of something like "Spooks".

Audio

The dialogue is well reproduced luckily given that the cheapness of the disc means there are no subtitles added. The music is stuck in the `70`s.

Features

The items laughingly referred to, as extras are rather pitiful. There is the Suspects line-up made up of some static screens of information about each person Frank encounters. On the second discs there are static screens of information about the greatest robberies and the most bungled.

There are nice animated menus with music and dialogue so somebody cares.

Conclusion

Most of the talent featured in this drama has escaped to better paid jobs in the States. There is a raft of talent including a rather good performance by our very own Brian Cox now with a starring role in X2.

This drama like many of its time takes a while to get going and may not be to the modern taste.Give it a chance and it is very satisfying particularly viewed in longer chunks than previously allowed on TV. What a pleasure to watch it in one gulp, without adverts!

None of the characters are particularly likeable. After all Frank is an ex-con but seems to resent the fact he was sent to jail. What an idea! Despite this I was intrigued by his obsessive search for someone to blame. It leaves him little time to address the disintegrating personal life including his increasingly insane wife and wayward son. The analysis of relationships is what lifts this above some of the average.In our obsession with crime drama the 70`s and early `80`s saw the production of some notable ground-breaking drama including this, The Sweeney and Widows which focussed on the female side of the crime equation.

A second series would perhaps have developed this further instead we are left with tantalising loose ends.