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DNA - COMPLETE SERIES ONE AND TWO

Acorn Media USA / 2 disc set / Region 1 / Released 13 May 2008

Featuring Tom Conti, Samantha Bond, Ryan Cartwright, Indira Varma

DNA (or DoNovAn as it was known in the UK) sees Tom Conti headlining in a highly intriguing paranoid tinged forensic crime thriller. He plays former criminologist turned bestselling writer Joe Donovan who is called back in to the fold to investigate a suspiciously familiar looking murder (seven years previously Donovan had been driven almost mad by a case which led to him quitting.)

Joe is quite unusual in comparison to other TV tecs though as in the opening two parter it looks like he could just be the guilty party, he also suffers from memory lapses, enters into a fugue state in fact, and at one stage even wakes up at the scene of a murder, add to this the fact that his wife has been having an affair with the victim and Joe's DNA has been found on the murder weapon and he is fighting a desperate battle to not only clear his name but catch the real killer.

The first story (which was intended as a two part pilot for a possible) really hooks you in and absolutely floors you with the plot developments in part two (which we won't reveal here of course); The following year (2005) saw the arrival of three more featurish length episodes which see Joe now back as a fully fledged member of the forensic team, the first which rather nicely carries on lots of echoes from the previous story and the third is something different altogether as Joe and his team investigate a case of possible biological terrorism aboard a cargo plane.

Very moodily and stylishly shot, DNA stands up well as an involving crime drama, one that possibly didn't get the audience it deserves and one that we would have liked to have seen more of. Tom Conti is a great actor who isn't seen enough these days and there are also strong roles too for the gorgeous Samantha Bond as his wife and excellent young Ryan Cartwright (from the superb Grimleys) as his teenage son.

Incidentally the Donovan's very groovy home is actually two different houses, one of which is the Cheshire home of DIY millionaire Frank Cohen, famous for his immense art collection.

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For more info on this release visit Acorn Media



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