Gideon's Way - The Complete Series [Repackaged] [1965]

This is really a magnificent series.This series on DVD comprising of 7 discs are of excellent quality transfer. If you enjoyed watching Gideons Way on television when it was screened you won't be disappointed with these dvd's. Fully recommended

I didn’t really remember this series when I started watching it, although I knew of it. I was surprised at how many of the stories that I remembered. There is a certain amount of suddenly resolving problems and finding key suspects/witnesses/evidence all of a sudden to resolve the story but that is the nature of adaptation of stories to fit a television time slot.The real marvel of this series is the high quality in the face of a punishing filming schedule. Filmed June 1964 - May 1965 on location and at Elstree Studios. Fifteen episodes 1 - 15 were filmed by December 1964, after which the cast and crew were allowed a week's break before filming on the second batch of eleven episodes 16 - 26 began on 11 January 1965. There was lots of location scenes and it would not have taken much to expand each episode into a full length feature film. I really like this series and I cannot really understand why ITC didn’t make a further seriesMy only gripe about this dvd set is that the episodes are not in broadcast order which was:1. State Vist2. The V Men3. The Firebug4. The Big Fix5. The Housekeeper6. The Ladykiller7. To Catch a Tiger8. Big Fih, Little Fish9. The White Rat10. How to Retire Without Really Working11. Subway to Revenge12. The Great Plane Robbery13. Gang War14. The Tin God15. The Alibi Man16. The Wall17. The Thin Red Line18. A Perfect Crime19. The Millionaire's Daughter20. Moran21. Boy With Gun22. Fall High, Fall Hard23. The Prowler24. The Reluctant Witness25. The Rhyme and the Reason26. The NightlifersThe other thing that is notable about this series is the number of actors in it who became big stars, you find yourself every now and again saying “Is that really...?” when you see John Hurt and Darren Nesbit or Donald Sutherland...

Gideon's Way has a charm to it and at the time must have been brilliant, because today it is still makes for good viewing. Naturally there are a few scenes that come across as dated, but what is impressive is how modern or realistic a conclusion we get from this. The most dated aspect is the light hearted title sequence and theme tune, which for a few episodes only (starting with the fifth or so on the discs) drastically improved to a more action packed nitty-gritty one (showing scenes from later episodes).Gideon is a very likeable Commander of the CID and bears a slight resemblance to Foyle from Foyles War. Gideon is successful and is set up as a role model with his large detached surburban house and 3 children one of which is old enough to drive.Unfortunately series like this, Special Branch and plenty of other series are remembered for the wrong reasons, the guest actors. The likes of Derren Nesbitt and Jennifer Wilson (from the first episode) both appear in Special Branch. George Cole plays an excellent disturbed arsonist. Gerald Harper a cop who dislikes criticism whose marriage is on the way out, the list goes on, such that some episodes have 4-5 well-known actors to viewers today. It is great to see these actors, and their abilities make the episodes more convincing. But at the time they played these roles their performances here no doubt helped them to land roles for which they are remembered, so in my view, some considerable acknowledgement needs to in the direction of Gideons Way.Some episodes are strong, some very entertaining, and unfortunately some which don't make for particular happy viewing; so when I re-watch this in 5-10 years' time I may skip some episodes.By today's standards of television entertainment this series does not deserve 5 stars, but given that it is nearly half a century old now and that the film print quality very high for its time, it does deserves 5 stars along with the fact that the cast and guest actors are mostly to a high standard. It is also a great piece of nostalgia seeing London all that time ago. Sometimes it is drastically different, other times surprisingly little had changed. Very few series of this age used such extensive location filming of contemporary London.If you like television from 1960 onwards, you will appreciate this.

I thought that the cost of the recent Blu ray release was way over the top so I opted for the DVD set & am not disappointed, the picture quality is excellent considering the age of the series, some outdoor scenes do lack contrast in places but overall picture & sound are very good. My set arrived in pristine condition & the case holds the discs securely, buy with confidence.

This set is great as long as you don't mind black and white, my wife and I are enjoying the set very much, and it's good value.

I'm delighted to add to everyone else's positive reviews of this black and white detective series from 1964-5. The format is not quite that of a conventional whodunnit/police investigation drama as we often see things from the point of view of the criminal early in the episode (cf. Columbo); this seems to me to inject a greater sense of realism and originality to the characters, especially as the villains become more desperate. There are some superb performances from well known tv actors of the era: among many others I would particularly single out Jack Hedley in the episode 'The Alibi Man', but there is also a glimpse of a young Donald Sutherland as a psychopathic kidnapper. Commander Gideon himself is a stolid but not one-sided character; his sidekick Chief Inspector Keen gets more of the action as the series develops. There are some weaker elements of course. Some of the early plots are a bit simple but they grow in complexity and excitement as the series grows in confidence. Too many people die in hospital at convenient moments, and Gideon and Keen drive to all parts of London much too quickly - usually to rescue a pretty young woman from certain death - even for the traffic-jam freer 1960s. I shall look forward to watching this all over again.