IMDb user comments for
"Hamish Macbeth" (1995)

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13 comments in total

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12 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
A great show, 22 July 2002
Author: steventemplar from Japan

I have just started watching this show because it is offered on satelite here in Japan. I love it, and enjoy the small-town characters and situations. I am of Scotish ancestry and enjoy seeing something of the countryside and Scotish people. Also, the acting is great and the characters are fun. Hamish MacBeth is played by the very talented Robert Carlyle. Hamish is the small-town police officer who is inter-twined with the town. He is part of the town yet has to be the law as well, which puts him into situations on occasion. The townfolk are great and well played. I wish that the show had more seasons than it did, but I am glad to have what I can get! If you are a fan of Scotland or small towns and mysteries, then you'll enjoy this one!

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Highland Exposure, 25 February 1999
Author: robert from Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada

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.

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7 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Hamish Macbeth is delightful., 14 January 2001
Author: noangelstephie from Ona, WV

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.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
So what if it's nothing like the books?, 9 August 2006
Author: iwprice

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!

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Love, love, love this show, 23 July 2005
Author: tilli79 from Helsinki, Finland

As someone already noted, this show has some similarities with my all time favorite TV-show, Northern Exposure. At first I thought that it was going to be just another British cop-drama, such as Wycliffe or Heartbeat, but soon I realized that it was so much more.

The people of Lochdubh are a tight group with eccentric personalities, (just like in NE) and they take the extraordinary and peculiar incidents as an everyday life. The main character, is of course the local police officer, Hamish McBeth, but the rest of the cast aren't out shined by him. Hamish tries not to draw too much attention to himself as the local law enforcer so he won't be promoted and forced to leave the town he loves. This is the reason for the low arrest rates in Lochdubh. Usually the town it self acts as the judge, the jury and in very rare cases as the executioner.

It is very difficult to decide in to which category put the series. Drama, comedy, fantasy...? It has all of those qualities and more. They are showing the shows re-runs here in Finland and when it ends once more, I'll be missing the people of Lochdubh.

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful cast and writing, 8 February 2005
Author: ladyjatbay-1 (ladyjatbay@sbcglobal.net) from United States

Just finished (I think its over) watching the last of the series on BBC America. I looked forward to every Monday night, even though they stupidly put it on at 11 pm making my Tuesdays at work a bit of a drag. I especially liked the pagan influences and the realistic portrayal of a psychic. Of course some would argue that it was not pagan, but what do they know - only us conscious observers who have studied our ancient ways will agree.

The writing was very good, as was the scenery and filming. I don't know how to talk like a Hollywood pro but I enjoyed being captivated by the little village each week. The only sad thing that I picked up on were a few minute details. Whenever they shot scenes in the village there were always these pesky tourists in the background. As they were not also in character or native dress, they were a constant nuisance and check in to reality. The last show that I watched Isobel was not dressed properly for her hike. It bugged me, especially when she got caught in a snowstorm. I think she had a thin summer flannel jacket on. The problem was that her character was aware that there was going to be a storm and had time to prepare. Bad Costume Department person. Of course she could have taken some responsibility as an actress too.

I doubt there will be more episodes because the UK is famous for doing novella type stories like the Spanish. Rather than us goofy Americans who need to drag out scripts for years and years until the actors are so bored stiff and their lines get really dumb.

I agree with the earlier comment that this show has elements of Northern Exposure, but I think Hamish MacBeth was much better x10. I will take foreign exposure over Hollywood exposure any day of the week!!

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Haimish is in everyone of us, 21 April 2008

Author: yaelz10 from Israel

In my country, Israel, there are few people who remember Haimish Macbeth series, which was on TV in about 1997. I admit I fell in love with him. I wish our channels will buy the series again, not just because of its great actor, but because of the story of the simple ones, like me. The simple people who strangle in life, each one has his own, their relationships, habits, friends, moral, love and work. Even in the Internet era, in the virtual relationships and friends in which the detached and cold atmosphere rules, we are all human beings eventually, who handle with beauty or charm, talent or life wisdom, effort and concentration, calm and smiles or all these above - our life, as Haimish. I thank you a lot for enlightening my eyes, because I didn't remember the are books this series is based on. I'll purchase and read. Thank You !

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NOT BASED ON THE BOOKS, really, 26 January 2008

Author: klkoegler-1 from Kentucky

If you separate this series from your expectations from the charming series of books, you may still enjoy the TV shows. Not very mysterious and not connected except by name to what MC Beaton has achieved. It is great to see Robert Carlyle, as always, and Shirley Henderson, who plays the neurotic friend of Bridget Jones, is quite appealing here as Isobel. And the scenery is stunning. Still, I must agree with the opinion of another writer on this site that it IS a bit of washed out imitation of MONARCH. Still superior to most of what shows up on American telly, though, and worth it for the locales and the quirky villagers.

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Wonderful show, well written and well acted, 20 January 2008
Author: JohnRozich from United States

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.

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2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
What an amazing show!, 30 September 2004
Author: Rena Sayles (lady_rean@yahoo.com) from Mississippi, USA

Living in the southeast US, I didn't get to see this show until it was probably already canceled in the UK. It didn't matter to me, I watched every episode, and some of them more than once!!

It's a shame that it had to end, I really enjoyed it that much. There was just enough "soap" to it to make you want to keep coming back, to see how the lingering story worked out, but every week, there was some new something that came to a conclusion. That made it that much better to watch. So many night-time soap-opera style shows are just continuous dramas which is just TOO much for me.

If anyone ever knows anything about this being on DVD to purchase, I sure hope they will let me know, because I would be ordering a complete set!! :)

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