Bergerac - The Complete Third Series

Tagline

Ingenious plots, rich rogues, clever criminals, incomparable locations... Bergerac is back!

Synopsis

Handsome, blue-eyed and brooding, maverick cop Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac of Jersey’s Bureau des Étrangers is one of television’s most popular detectives.

Moving with the power of Bergerac’s vintage red Triumph Roadster sports car, each episode guarantees full-throttle excitement, ingenious plots and colourful characters as Bergerac patrols the harbour cafes, cliff-top mansions and secluded coves on the trail of the villains, murderers, spies and smugglers of the holiday island and tax haven.

As Series 3 opens it looks as though Jim is hitting the bottle again. Suspended from duty and under suspicion of murder, Jim is in personal and professional crisis. And whilst women continue to find him intriguing, none can compete with the job, although there is definitely a spark when he encounters attractive jewel thief, the ‘Ice Maiden’ Philippa Vale for the first time.

Combining action with atmosphere, and spectacle with suspense, BERGERAC launched John Nettles to international stardom for 9 series, leading him to another long-running role as D.C.I. Barnaby in MIDSOMER MURDERS. For the first time, all 10 uncut episodes from the third series arrive on DVD.
1. NINETY PER CENT PROOF
After three years of going dry, it looks like Jim Bergerac is hitting the bottle again. He went on a bender after failing to get an outright conviction in court against a suspected arsonist, and is thrown out of the Royal Barge for being drunk and disorderly. Friends, family and colleagues are shocked, but give little credit to his claim that an unknown enemy forced drink down his throat. His situation is not helped when he claims to have seen a murder he cannot substantiate. Obviously it was a figment of his drunken imagination. Suspended from duty and under suspicion, Bergerac is determined to find out who did this to him.
Guest Stars Ray Winstone, Alan Hunter, Anthony Steel, Carol Royle and Hugh Sullivan
Written by Brian Clemens
Directed by Robert Young

2. A HOLE IN THE BUCKET
The arrival of Terri Fuller and Liz Phillips causes sudden consternation in a number of circles. For Jim Bergerac it means cancelling his leave and disappointing his ex-wife so that he can keep an eye on them. When Bergerac jeopardizes his career to protect Terri from prosecution, it becomes obvious to those around him, particularly Charlie Hungerford, that Bergerac is deeply involved with these women. It is only when a gunman arrives on Jersey that Charlie realises that Jim’s involvement is a matter of life and death.
Guest stars Rosy Clayton, Celia Gregory,Peter Childs, Barrie Cookson, Celia Gregory, Godfrey James,
Bruce Lidington and Donald Morley
Written by Bill Craig
Directed Ian Toynton

3. HOLIDAY SNAPS
On a camping holiday in France,Tony Morel is arrested for the brutal murder of his wife, Janet. As a foreign national, however, he is quickly released through lack of real evidence. Dupont, the French detective involved in the case, is convinced that Tony is the murderer and, since the Morels come from Jersey, he enlists the help of Jim Bergerac to investigate the couple’s background. Bergerac, however, is convinced Morel is innocent. But as the investigation proceeds, both policemen find cause to question their original opinions.
Guest stars Michael Angelis, Lee Montague, Bridget McConnell, Brian Hawksley, Michael Jeyes and Jean Boht
Written by Nick McCarthy
Directed Ben Bolt

4. ICE MAIDEN
The notorious jewel thief Philippa Vale, known as the Ice Maiden, arrives on Jersey. She claims she is here for a holiday, but it is too much of a coincidence – a large diamond is about to be privately auctioned. Bergerac is assigned to warn her off. Since Philippa has never been caught, let alone convicted, she can afford to treat the warnings – and Bergerac
– with some amusement. Convinced that she intends to steal the diamond, Bergerac concentrates on making the auction entirely secure and arranges to keep Philippa under observation. The latter has a certain amount of harmless fun at the expense of the Bureau des Etrangers in general and Bergerac in particular. But when the impossible happens and the diamond is stolen in mid-auction, the fun ceases to be harmless.
Guest stars Liza Goddard, Dave King, Jennifer Guy, Frederick Hall, Richard Hurndall and Ian Collier
Written by Rod Beacham
Directed by Robert Tronson

5. COME OUT FIGHTING
A European professional boxing championship is to take place on Jersey. The champion, Jacques Laronde, and the challenger, Eddie McCord, both set up training camps on the island. From the outset things go badly wrong for McCord, who is plagued by an escalating series of mishaps. It looks as though someone may be behind them, and certainly Laronde is not above pulling a few dirty tricks to unsettle his opponent – at home in France he has been in trouble with the police. Bergerac investigates and concludes that Laronde is an unstable and potentially dangerous man. Inspector Dupont’s presence on the island partly succeeds in allaying Bergerac’s misgivings – until McCord’s wife, Donna, disappears.
Guest stars Oliver Cotton, Tony Osoba and Eva Mottley
Written by Alister Bell
Directed by Robert Young

6. A TOUCH OF EASTERN PROMISE
Charlie Hungerford and a syndicate of Jersey businessmen have ambitious plans to build a hideous leisure complex in one of the island’s undeveloped bays. The capital costs are so huge that they need additional outside finance. Through a Saudi diplomat, Charlie gets in touch with Zaki Mansoor, a charming entrepreneur whose wealth and contacts are just what the syndicate needs. Mansoor visits Jersey to discuss a deal and immediately falls victim to some quite spectacular mishaps. He insists these are purely accidental, but Bergerac’s suspicions are aroused. Gradually he becomes convinced that there is less to Mansoor than meets the eye.
Guest stars Nadim Sawalha, Zia Mohyeddin and Raad Rawi
Written by Brian Finch
Directed by Chris King

7. A CRY IN THE NIGHT
Retired international rock star Boy Buckley is a trend-setter on Jersey, particularly among the ‘six-gin valley’ crowd. When he throws a party on his newly acquired motor yacht, two of his guests – Rupert Galliers and his wife Emerald – fall overboard. Rupert drowns and Emerald is rescued, unconscious and close to death. Despite statements to the contrary from all the party-goers, Bergerac is convinced that a murder has been committed.
Guest star Don Hawkins
Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Oliver Horsbrugh

8. THE COMPANY YOU KEEP
Paul and Harry are two small-time London thieves responsible for a mini crime wave in Jersey. Thanks to an inside informant, they are able to plan their jobs properly and carry them out with a minimum of risk. Bergerac is aware the thieves must be receiving tip offs, but his only course is to wait until someone makes a mistake. When Angela Marshall does, it is Charlie Hungerford who spots it. But he is reluctant to draw attention to the fact that he keeps shady company.
Guest stars Mel Martin, Tony Selby and Mike Grady.
Written by Tony Hoare
Directed by David Reynolds

9. TUG OF WAR
Having served seven years in prison, Jack Broughton is out on parole. Collecting his young son, Geoff, he brings him to Jersey for a holiday – without telling his parole officer or Pam, his ex-wife and Geoff ’s legal guardian. Pam and her second husband, Ken Lewis, are in Jersey looking for him. Bergerac is given the task of finding and arresting Broughton on what seems a minor technicality. As the investigation proceeds, however, it becomes clear that Broughton has more than one reason for coming to Jersey, just as Pam and Ken Lewis might have more than one reason for following him.
Guest stars Alan Lake, Shirley Stelfox and Stephen Yardley.
Written by Paul Wheeler
Directed by Laurence Moody

10. HOUSE GUESTS
When international financier Sir Gervase Ewell sets up a meeting of European money men in his Jersey mansion, the security arrangements are extremely tight. Sophisticated surveillance equipment and armed guards patrolling the house are backed up at a discreet distance by the regular police, co-ordinated by Jim Bergerac and the Bureau des Étrangers. Even allowing for human error the arrangements should be foolproof, but the stakes are so high that the smallest human weakness could give a ruthless man the opportunity for profit. In the event, the meeting’s uninvited guests are more than ruthless, but one of them is attending the meeting for reasons other than financial gain.
Guest stars Patrick Allen, Dudley Sutton and Kate Fahy.
Written by Bill Craig
Directed by Robert Tronson