Rating: 
Summary: "Stop Fannying About".... and Buy this DVD!!
Review: Ben Elton's hilarious television series, "The Thin Blue Line" features some of the zaniest policeman to ever hit the British small screen. In this 1995-96 Brit-Com, we watch the comedic adventures of the oddball characters, who wear the uniform of the City of Gathforth's Police Department. The series stars the wonderful British TV comedian, Rowan Atkinson as the uptight and prudish Insector, Raymond C. Fowler. He is a man, who is comically obsessive about following the rules and maintaining stiff upper lip, British decorum. While many might laugh at him and his old fashion values, it is his morality and sense of fairplay that often gets his officers out of the many jams they get into. The other officers include Sgt. Patricia Dawkins (Serena Evans), a middle age and often morose women, who happens to be Fowler's live-in girlfriend. She feels like life is passing her by, which isn't helped by the lack of 'action' in the couple's bedroom. Others include Const. Maggie Habib (Mina Anwar) a smart & pretty young female officer, who's precocious comments often land her in trouble, Const. Frank Gladstone (Rudolph Walker) an older distiguish looking officer, who's long & winding stories of his youth, often come to an almost comically pointless end. Finally, there is the hilarious, Cont. Kevin Goody (James Dreyfus), who's overly effeminate & flamboyant personality, would bring the viewer to the conclusion, that he was gay, if it wasn't for the fact that he is often romantically 'mooning' over Const.Habib. You would think, that city crime would be this zany group's biggest problem. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Instead their attention and problems are often from the same source C.I.D. (Criminal Investigations Division), who often do their detective jobs by cutting corners and bending or even breaking the law. They are lead by the obnoxiously macho, Det. Insp. Derek Grim (David Haig). He's a loud, ranting man, who's seen one too many "Rambo" movies and might actually be dangerous, if he had more than half a brain in his head. Unfortunately his "bull in a china shop" ways often causes trouble for poor Insp. Fowler and his officers. The comic writing on this show is brillaint. The scripts (from writer/creator Ben Elton) feature a mixture of great characters and sharp dialogue, that will leave you laughing out loud. The ensemble cast is superb. The comic genius of Rowan Atkinson (of "Mr. Bean" & "Black Adder" fame) once again creates a new wonderful charcter. His bug eyed, Insp. Fowler lovingly pokes fun at every stuffy, prude you have ever come across. Likwise, Serena Evan's Sgt. Dawkins is the comic picture of middle age crisis and sexual desperation. But it is James Dreyfus's rubber faced, Insp. Goody, who really steals every scene he's in. This guy could give legendary comic, Jerry Lewis a real run for his money, when it comes to protraying great slapstick humor! The series has now been released to the DVD format in a three disc box set titled, "The Thin Blue Line - The Complete Line-Up". This includes both Series 1 & 2 on the first two discs. The third disc includes a documentary on series co-creator/writer, Ben Elton as well as interviews & trailers. "The Thin Blue Line" is a wonderful comedy, which will leave you holding your sides from too much laughter. A great British comedy! Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Rowan Atkinson has me in stitches again.
Review: An excellent ensemble round out this programme. Habib, Goody, Sgt. Darling, uh uh Dawkins and the sarcastic centerpiece Inspector Fowler. Atkinson's own special brand of sarcasm is here in good measure, although with not quite as hard an edge as in the Blackadder series. I had never heard of this and bought when I saw the positive responses. It is now among my favorites. I don't really see how anyone who liked Mr Bean and Blackadder would not like this dvd set. Buy it and enjoy and remember if my rear end is on the line, I don't want to be up to my neck in it.
Rating:
Summary: Rowan at his best
Review: British humor is usually either madly brilliant or badly gone wrong, there is never in-betweens. The thin blue line is in fact, beyond brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: "And perhaps a small selection of cupcakes?"
Review: Contained herein is the complete "line-up", the full series of Ben Elton's The Thin Blue Line in another essential DVD set from BBC video! The first 2 discs include the 14 episodes that make up series 1 & 2 (Nov 1995-Dec 1996) and the 3rd disc includes over an hour of documentary and interview footage of creator/writer Ben Elton. Elton is best known for his work on Black Adder and the Young Ones. Both of these are essential DVD sets in your Britcom library and TBL is another must own.
The brilliant Rowan Atkinson heads the cast as the "excessively" riggid and by the book (which includes his personal life!), Inspector Fowler, who prefers his constables are as he is "Keen of eye, swift of thought, and regular of bowel". Rowan's performance here is most similar to his character in the Black Adder as far as dialogue goes so if you like that series you'll more than likely love this. The Thin Blue Line, like Black Adder, is a dialogue driven show and Ben Elton uses every chance he can to let the characters (especially Fowler and Det. Inspetor Grim) go off into hilariously wordy tangents. The show is filled with unique characters, each funny in their own right: Sgt. Patricia Dawkins (Fowler's girlfriend of 10 years!), Constables: Habib, Gladstone, and Goody, Det. Constable Kray (Series 1), Det. Constable Boyle (Series 2), and of course the endlessly bafoonish Det. Inspector Derek Grim of CID. The show is mostly based in the police station and occasionally in the field or at Fowler & Dawkins' flat. I fell in love with the show from renting the one lone VHS tape a local video store carried which only contained two episodes. Those episodes were well played believe me, so seeing this released was quite exciting. It also completed my Rowan Atkinson DVD trilogy (Black Adder, Mr. Bean, & TBL)! Here's the contents:
Disc One: Series 1
01. Rag Week
02. The Queen's Birthday Present
03. Night Shift
04. Honey Trap
05. Fire & Terror
06. Kids Today
07. Yuletide Spirit
Disc Two: Series 2
08. Court in the act
09. Ism Ism Ism
10. Fly on the wall
11. Alternative Culture
12. Come on you blues
13. Road Rage
14. The Green Eyed Monster
Disc Three: Extras - "Best of British: Ben Elton" (45 minute documentary), "Smillie's People: Ben Elton"(15 minute interview), TBL Cast Bios, & trailers
Trivia:
*In the first series, Grim's right hand man Kray is played by Kevin Allen. In series 2 the character is replaced by Boyle (Mark Addy). You may recognize Addy from "The Full Monty" or from the U.S. sitcom "Still Standing" where he's married to Jamie Gertz and has a son and daughter. Addy uses an american accent on the show, but once in a while you can hear his british one come through.
*Police Constable Gladstone is played with perfection by Rudolph Walker. Mr. Bean fans may remember Walker from his small role in the first episode where he is the exam giver.
*David Haig (Det. Inspector Grim) also worked with Rowan in the popular British film "Four Weddings in a Funeral" where Rowan plays the nervous and fumbling Father Gerald who presides over his wedding. Haig plays "Bernard St. John Delaney". Priceless scene.
I can't complete this review without a few quotes. Here are three favorites from the man, Inspector Grim:
"Goody-goody, lotti-dotti, namby-hoity, wishy-pamby, toity-washy, dotti-lotti, know it all, public school, stiff upper lip, stiff upper house master, prim & proper, rule brittania...uhh!"
"When you run us up the flag pole, you'll find you're saluting a very different kettle of fish."
"It's my arse on the line and I'm right up to my neck in it."
Rating: 
Summary: Say What?
Review: Don't get me wrong, I love the comic genius of Rowan Atkinson. I adore Mr. Bean and especially Blackadder, but I just didn't get this one. As an American viewer I had great difficulty deciphering the meaning of lines hidden in thick British accents and behind British slang. I know that Americans and Brits supposedly speak the same language, but for this one I think I need a British to American dictionary. (Do they make those? If not, they should.)
I suppose this could very well be an excellent comedy the same caliber as Blackadder, but my attention span is too short and I'm too darn lazy to try to translate it into something comprehensible.
Rating:
Summary: At Last!
Review: I am sooo thrilled this is coming out in DVD. This series is side splitting funny. If you hated Mr. Bean (I love him, but many don't), Rowan Atkinson's character in Thin Blue Line is nothing like his character in Mr. Bean. Any fan of British comedy must add this to their list of must-see DVD. I have the VHS, but no longer have a VHS player. Can't wait to get the DVD so I can watch the whole gang again.
Rating: 
Summary: Region 2 DVD has those 2 missing scenes
Review: I own the Region 2 DVD of The Thin Blue Line and I can confirm that it has the 2 scenes that a previous reviewer (B. Neff) said weren't on this version. I have no idea why those scenes (and possibly others??) aren't on here. Therefore , I have to agree with the previous reviewers who said that this shouldn't be called The "Complete" Lineup.
Rating:
Summary: Another Delightful Addition to the Collection
Review: I was discouraged from getting this set by a Scottish friend of mine who is a rabid fan of Black Adder. He said, "You watch 'The Thin Blue Line' and cry," implying that it's nowhere near as good as BA. I'm glad to say he was mistaken!
"The Thin Blue Line" is a fine BritCom. Although nowhere near as sinister as "Black Adder," the writing is still sharp and funny. There is much more slapstick involved as well, making me feel it has more in common with "Fawlty Towers," perhaps, than BA.
There are two big reasons that I enjoy this show so much. First off, is the obvious choice of Rowan Atkinson. It's hard to find fault with him in most things, and the the same is true here. He does such a great job of playing the middle-aged, condescending Inspector Fowler. The character is best described as the emobodiment of those people who anally correct others' spelling mistakes on internet message boards, and Atkinson plays him well, indeed! He also comes off blissfully aloof. When his girlfriend suggests they do something passionate after work, he suggests reading "King Soloman's Mines!"
The second reason to watch this series is, without a doubt, James Dreyfus' performance as the figity, effeminate, Mars bar-loving Constable Goody. He often gives Rowan a run for his money in several scenes. His constant attempts to gain the affection of Constable Habib and his interactions with Inspector Fowler are hilarious.
The only real thing I can complain about is the swap out of Det. Insp. Grim's sidekick between series one and two. Mark Addy's character is okay in series two, but the Det. Constable Cray was hilarious in the first series. He didn't say much, but that was the point...he was just sort of a neanderthalish guy, but the delivery was quite funny.
I'm not giving this a full 5 stars simply because I am comparing it to truly untouchable stuff like "Black Adder," but it's certainly a worthy addition to anyone's BritCom collection. If you're a fan of British wit, Ben Elton or Rowan Atkinson, I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Of all the hoity toity, artsy fartsy....
Review: It's about bloody time they give US fans a taste of this show on DVD. I've had the Region 2 DVD for a few years now, and I guess they decided it's time to sell it over here. Inspector Grim is hilarious with his run-on sentences and overenthusiasm for cases which usually don't end up going his way (like in the Xmas episode when he bags the wrong group of Christmas carolers). Grim's right hand man in the 1st season (the dark haired guy with the unibrow) is much funnier than season two's guy (even though that heavy set guy ended up starring in a US sitcom I think called Yes Dear). He just didn't get the lines and gags that the 1st season gave our unibrow actor. Every character in this show is strongly written and played to a tee. Goodie is also hilarious. Rowan Atkinson makes the show, of course, with his deadpan, afraid of sex and commitment, Chief Inspector role. My only knock is how come it only lasted 2 seasons??? It's better than 90% of British comedy that's been out over the years, and it only got a handful of episodes made? I heard a rumour of a season 3 coming out but not sure if it will every materialize. Since it's been about 7 years since Season 2, it may be hard to get back into the flow of things. But I would certainly welcome it!!! Just get the original cast back!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Rowan
Review: It's not Mr. Bean, and not the Black Adder, but it's really, really funny. The relationship the beat cops have with the Special Ops guys makes for some very hilarious reparte'. Every character adds real comedic value to the whole, much like the gang of "Are You Being Served".
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