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The Mr Bean 10th Anniversary Collection

Universal/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 145 mins . G . PAL

  Feature
Contract

This is the definitive Mr. Bean collection. Spanned over three discs, every episode of Mr. Bean is contained in this release except for a clip show. Of course the man behind the character is Rowan Atkinson, a true comedic genius. Along with Mr. Bean, he is most famous for the brilliant Black Adder. In total, there are 14 episodes available with two separate sketches that are not part of any episode.

Just on the off chance that you don’t know anything about the character of Mr. Bean, I’ll give a brief synopsis. Seeming to have misfortune after misfortune in his life, Mr. Bean is a very silent bumbling man who thinks of almost insane ways to work his way out of any troubles he gets himself into. Every day he gets himself into embarrassing and seemingly irreparable situations, but always uses his very out of the ordinary intellect to sort it all out.

DISC 1

  • Pilot Episode: Mr. Bean
    The Exam – Mr. Bean is taking a mathematics exam, but unfortunately he's studied the totally wrong material. He tries to cheat off the man sitting next to him.
    On the Beach - Mr. Bean plans to have a nice swim at the beach, but to his surprise there is already a man sunbathing there. He must work out a way to change into his bathers without taking his trousers off.
    The Church – Mr. Bean must battle boredom and stay awake during a church service.

  • Good Night Mr. Bean
    The Hospital - After an unfortunate accident with a teapot, Mr. Bean must go to the hospital. There is a huge line of people waiting for the doctor, and Mr. Bean tries to get ahead of them all.
    The Camera - Mr. Bean takes many photographs of a London Guard, and dresses him up in many different ways. Bedtime - Mr. Bean can’t get to sleep, so he tries many different methods to try to slip off.

  • Mind the Baby Mr. Bean
    The Fair - When Mr. Bean goes to a local fair, he stumbles upon a baby and must take care of it until he finds its parents.

  • The Curse of Mr. Bean
    The Swimming Pool - Mr. Bean visits the local swimming pool, where he attempts to launch off the high diving board. When he finally does jump off, he loses his bathers when he hits the water.
    The Park Bench - Mr. Bean makes an amazing sandwich, stunning the man sitting next to him on the park bench.
    Horror Movie - Mr. Bean gets very scared with his girlfriend when they go to see a horror film.

DISC 2

  • Mr. Bean Goes to Town
    Television - Mr. Bean buys a new TV set, but must think of a way to get better reception from his aerial.
    The Park - When Mr. Bean has his camera stolen by a man in the park, he has to go to a line up at the police station to pick out the culprit. He devises a very odd way to test who was responsible.
    Club Phut - Mr. Bean is called up to assist a magician at a club, but accidentally ruins the performer’s routine. He escapes into a night club where we get to see his amazing dance skills.

  • Mr. Bean Rides Again
    Bus Stop - Whilst waiting for a bus, a man collapses next to Mr. Bean. Not knowing what to do, Mr. Bean tries to revive the man.
    Letter - Mr. Bean has trouble sending a letter when he loses his last stamp.
    Holidays - Mr. Bean has problems deciding what to pack for his holiday. Then, when he is on the train, he is constantly disturbed by a man reading a funny book. Finally when he is on the plane, he tries to make a boy who is feeling unwell happy.

  • Mr. Bean in Room 426
    The Bath - When in his hotel room on vacation, he decides to take a bath. His room is ill equipped for that, but that sort of thing never stops him.
    The Buffet Mr. Bean goes down to the hotel dining room where he eats much more than he should.
    Locked Out - Mr. Bean gets locked out of his hotel room, and he desperately needs to find a way back in for reasons that are evident when you watch the episode.

  • Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean
    The New Year’s Eve Party - Mr. Bean throws a New Year’s Eve party and invites two of his friends to the event. Unfortunately he runs low on food and drink and must think of ways to improvise.
    The Department Store - Mr. Bean hurries down to the local department store to take advantage of the New Year’s Day sales.
    Home Improvements - With his apartment looking decidedly drab, Mr. Bean decides to do some home renovating with unpredicted results.

  • Hair By Mr. Bean of London
    Hair Salon - Mr. Bean finds himself filling in for a barber.
    County Fair - Mr. Bean’s teddy wins a prize at the local fair.
    Railway Station - Many strange things happen to Mr. Bean on the train.

DISC 3

  • The Return of Mr. Bean
    The Department Store - When Mr. Bean receives a credit card in the mail, he decides to go down to the department store and make a purchase with it. Unfortunately there are some ‘misunderstandings’ with disastrous results.
    Restaurant - Mr. Bean decides to go to an expensive restaurant for his birthday, by himself. Unfortunately the only meal he can afford is one he finds absolutely revolting and so he must think of many inventive ways to dispose of it.
    Meeting the Queen - When Mr. Bean is in a line-up to meet the Queen, he rehearses what he is going to do when he shakes her hand. Unfortunately things don’t go quite to plan when the moment finally arrives.

  • Back to School Mr. Bean
    Chemistry Class - One of the classes that Mr. Bean is taking at an adult learning centre is chemistry. Of course he very quickly causes trouble in the lab.
    Art Class - His class is told to paint a nude model, and Mr. Bean becomes very uncomfortable in the naked woman’s presence.
    Karate Class - A string of disasters hail down on Mr. Bean as he is trying to improve his martial arts skills.

  • Tee Off Mr. Bean
    On the Course - Mr. Bean has a very hard time trying to complete his round of mini golf.
    The Laundry - Mr. Bean loses his trousers in someone else’s washing load, and must wear a skirt that he finds to cover himself up.

  • Merry Christmas Mr. Bean
    Christmas Shopping - Mr. Bean goes to the department store to buy some Christmas lights. Whilst there he has a lot of fun in the toys section.
    Christmas Dinner - Mr. Bean invites his girlfriend to have Christmas dinner with him at his apartment.

  • The Trouble With Mr. Bean
    The Dentist - Mr. Bean goes to the dentist to get a filling, but after the doctor has a small incident with some anaesthetic, Mr. Bean must do the dental work himself.
    The Park - After his trouble at the dentist, Mr. Bean decides to go for a walk in the park. Little does he know that there is a fly waiting for him there that will make his afternoon a living hell.

  • The Library – Separate Sketch
    Mr. Bean is told to take care of a priceless manuscript, but of course problems ensue.

  • The Bus Stop – Separate Sketch
    When Mr. Bean misses the bus, he uses many schemes to make sure he is at the front of the queue by the time the next bus comes.

  Video
Contract

Since the video transfer is from television, it is not going to be of the same standard that a film transfer would get. Having said that though, there are no real problems with the picture. The transfer is presented in the original full frame aspect ratio and is not 16x9 enhanced.

The source material is up to 13 years old, and the picture quality increases as the episodes become more recent. The image is sharp for the most part; detail is good. Colours are fine. There are plenty of subtitles available. I viewed the English ones, and even though there is very little speech in the show, they are quite accurate.

  Audio
Contract

There is one soundtrack available and it is an English Dolby Digital 2.0 offering. Like the video, the audio improves slightly as the episodes become more recent. Overall the audio transfer is fine. The subwoofer and surround both remain unused. There are no problems with the dialogue mixing, everything that is said is clear and easy to understand. Audio synch is not a problem either.

  Extras
Contract

There are two extras available in this three disc set, one at the end of the first and the other at the end of the second.

The Best Bits - Running for almost 72 minutes, this is quite a long montage of the funniest moments from the program. Only watch this after you have seen all the episodes.

Story of Bean - This is a documentary on Rowan Atkinson and the story behind the creation of the character - and a very worthwhile addition it is. Running for just under 49 minutes, it is presented in full frame and Dolby Digital 2.0.

  Overall  
Contract

This really is the definitive DVD collection of the Mr. Bean program. The transfer is fine for its purposes with no real glaring problems. If you enjoy the show, then it would definitely be worth considering purchasing this collection.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1982
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      And I quote...
    "This is the definitive Mr. Bean release. If you enjoy the series, then this set comes highly recommended."
    - Robert Mack
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS300
    • TV:
          Sony 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DE475
    • Speakers:
          Sony
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sony
    • Surrounds:
          Sony
    • Subwoofer:
          Sony Active Superwoofer
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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