Hamish Macbeth

This program reminds me a great deal of "Northern Exposure", a compliment since N. E. was a particular favourite of mine. How could you not like a small community where the natives sit around the local pub reading philosophy and arguing the relative merits of existentialism vs. scientific determinism, or where the local constable poaches salmon and the doctor smokes questionable substances in his pipe. Too bad Robert Carlyle is becoming such a celebrity. I suspect we've seen the last new episodes of this charming show.

Neither is James Bond these days.

And for those who find the plots far-fetched, I can assure them they're not. I grew up in the 1960s in a village just a short way up the coast from Plockton where the series were filmed, and stuff like this really did happen. One of the reasons I enjoy the series so much is that I can put a real name to every one of the major characters - they are so true to my first-hand experience.

A gold medal series, for sure, and Carlyle certainly captured the essence of the highland bobby who walked a fine line between upholding the Law and being an accepted member of the community - an accomplishment my own father was unable to achieve, I've been told!

I wholeheartedly recommend this series of the small town constable Hamish MacBeth. It does remind me a lot of Northern Exposure, but without the constant whining of Rob Morrow as Dr. Joel Fleishman. This series is so well written that it always makes you feel like you're a member of the village of Lochdubh. The scenery is gorgeous, the background music is perfect and the story lines are actually pretty simple with the focus on the people and their day to day lives. It is so refreshing to view a series that does not depend on outrageous situations to get by like ABC's Desperate Housewives....the Brits are light years ahead of anything that Hollywood can put out...and have been for decades. Both of my daughters ( ages 20 and 24) LOVE this series. I am sad they only made 3 seasons worth, but, each and every episode is first rate quality....even if I can't understand a lot of their dialog...their Scottish accent is accurate and hasn't been dumbed down for us Americans. A true first rate series that I will recommend to anyone.

Hamish Macbeth is a charming comedy/drama filled with excellent acting and engaging storylines. Robert Carlyle is excellent as the title character and constable of the town, who's managed to arrest very few people. Hamish has two women in his life, the beautiful novelist Alex and the plain local newswoman Isobel...my desire to see Hamish end up with a certain one of them kept me on the edge of my seat for months as I caught reruns on BBCAmerica.

One of the best episodes was a hilarious ode to Romeo and Juliet, in which the townspeople put on a production of West Side Story while the two lovers playing the leads struggled to be together and the same four men played both the Sharks and the Jets. By far my favorite episode is the two-part season finale "Destiny", featuring a complicated plot that involved the "Stone of Destiny" and a tryst in a cave...for those of you who love charming shows with twists and turns that can't ever be expected, watch Hamish Macbeth.

I bought the full series on dvd and wasn't too keen on the first episode. However, the series has grown on me and each episode is quite unique - some episodes are zany and quite brilliant. The scenery is wonderful, there are some superb cameo roles and some small touches are very very funny.