Review of Rock Follies Series 1 (two disc set)

Introduction

I vaguely remember watching this in the U.S. back in the late 70`s and I do remember it had quite a following both in the UK and US. It centres on the story of three girls from diverse showbiz backgrounds who form a rock trio after meeting at an audition. The two more famous of the trio are Rula Lenska (Dennis Waterman`s wife) and Julie (What happened to her after this) Covington.
The show was innovative and a little risque for its time and contained some great performances by the trio. I`m not totally sure if the two other member could sing but Julie Covington was knock out and had a number one hit pre Madonna with "Don`t cry for me Argentina".

This disc features all the first season episodes. I`m not sure how many seasons this ran for!

Video

Framed at 1.33:1 the picture is surprisingly good! Clean and free of any macro blocking it has great detail and colours are vivid and gloriously well produced. The question is, did someone at the authoring house love this and treat it with care and attention or is it just an enjoyable accident?
Blacks are solid and whites sharp and crisp with no smearing or haloing. The only gripe is the slight grain associated with early TV drama transfers. This gives the impression of a fine mesh over the screen and on some occasions, this being one of them, doesn`t seem to move with the picture. That said it isn`t that evident in all scenes and doesn`t detract from what is essentially a great transfer.

Audio

A stereo 2.0 soundtrack pumps out some reasonable bass with dialogue that is always clear and easy to hear. The use of surrounds for a more ambient room filling effect on the musical numbers would have been a nice bonus.

Features

A short and sweet interview with writer Howard Schuman and composer Andy Mackay that I must say is dull and lacks the humor of the main feature.

Conclusion

A nice trip back in time with a transfer that really shows up some of the older movies that are being churned out at present. Sound is adequate and packs a good punch in the bass dept. The real problem with this disc is its lack of any top-notch extras. This set is crying out for a retrospective from the three main leads or a commentary track.