Private Eyes - Season 1 - DVD

Content: Once a star on the ice himself, Matt Shade (Jason Priestley) now looks after young hockey talent as a talent scout in Toronto. When his most promising player becomes the victim of a dastardly act of sabotage, Matt goes out on his own to find out who is behind the crime. In doing so, he must team up with private investigator Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson), who quickly becomes annoyed by Matt's unprofessional behavior. But when they solve the case together, Angie has to admit that they actually make a good team. Without further ado, she offers Matt a job and from then on they go on the hunt for criminals together in Toronto - and often get into each other's hair.

There are series that feel like slipping into a warm pair of slippers after just a few minutes. It just fits and makes you feel comfortable. The reason for this may sound like a criticism, but it is meant in a positive way: the very conventional realization provides a certain recognition value, which evokes positive memories of other series of this kind. Private Eyes belongs to these series. The Canadian production is old-fashioned in the best sense of the word and brings back fond memories of classics like The Model and the Sleuth or Remington Steele, especially for children of the 80s. But that's not to say that the series itself feels dusty. Quite the opposite: the production is fresh and modern, but enriched with a good portion of classic charm.

Even though we are living in a golden age of TV, where very complex series dominate the market and are rightly celebrated, it's good to be entertained in a simple way. With a self-contained story per episode and a clearly structured dramaturgy. That may not be exactly original - but it's damn entertaining. The fact that this crime series works is also due to the well-harmonizing cast duo. Cindy Sampson and ex-Beverly Hills, 90210 star Jason Priestley play off each other perfectly that it's just a joy.

But the many atmospheric shots of Toronto also give the series that certain something. Even though many series have been shot here, the Canadian metropolis has usually had to serve as a double for US cities like New York. The fact that Toronto itself is the setting and the many facets of the city - such as the wonderful, car-free Toronto Island - are included, is rather unusual and gives the series its very own character.

Unfortunately, the first season ends after just ten episodes. Not only the small cliffhanger at the end of the last episode makes you want to see more, which will certainly not be long in coming in Germany. If you like classic crime series with humor and romantic tingling, you should definitely pay a visit to the two private detectives Everett and Shade: Absolutely worth watching!

Picture + Sound: The audiovisual realization of the series on the DVD is overall on a good to very good TV level. The picture is clean and aside from some slight picture noise in darker sequences, there are no noticeable glitches visible. The color scheme is coherent and comes off particularly well in the atmospheric shots of Toronto. The sound is primarily dominated by the very centrally mixed dialogue, but does have a few good surround moments to offer every now and then, providing a bit of movement in the soundscape. Good.

Extras: Bonus features on the third DVD include four short featurettes on the main actors and their roles, plus a multi-part webisode. Around 23 minutes of bonus in total - not much, but well worth watching for fans.

Conclusion: Private Eyes is an entertaining crime series from Canada that is old-fashioned in the best sense of the word. The duo of Everett and Shade, wonderfully played by Cindy Sampson and Jason Priestley, are reminiscent of the good old days of The Model and the Snoop or Remington Steele, while still making the series feel fresh and modern. The ten episodes of the first season definitely whet the appetite for more whimsical crime hunting in Toronto. The DVD can convince in the technical aspects, the bonus material is clear, but worth watching.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp