Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15976 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-07-06
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 300 minutes

Synopsis
Former Scotland Yard detective (Trevor Eve) is sent to Nairobi to lead a new criminal investigation unit, where he encounters a complex mix of blackmail, murder, and passion. As he works to fight crime in this gritty city, he also must contend with the colonialistic leanings of the country's expatriate population. This release contains the complete miniseries of HEAT OF THE SUN: 'The Sport Of Kings', 'Hide In Plain Sight', and 'Private Lives'.

Customer Reviews

"Are You Married? Or Do You Live in Kenya?"
...so went the joke at the time of the 'Happy Valley' set in 30's Africa. I have waited a long time for this excellent 3 part series to become available on dvd, and it is worth the wait. Trevor Eve is the former Scotland Yard Superintendent whose dogged pursuit and ultimate shooting of a murdering politician leads to him being 'banished' to the police service in colonial Kenya. A very PC man, clearly light years ahead of his time, Albert Tyburn (Eve) treats the native population and the white settlers with the same sense of fair play and justice, and is soon at loggerheads with his new boss.

The stories are well written and each episode runs to 105 minutes. The quality of the filming and the stunning locations no doubt were the reason that costs prevented any more episodes being made, but each of these stand alone films is so involving they will be watched again and again by the viewer.

Susannah Harker (Pride and Prejudice) is the private pilot Emma Fitzgerald who is on hand to provide transport as well as possible romance for Albert, whilst Julian Rhynd-Tutt (Green Wing) is excellent as the highly-bred crackshot police officer James Valentine, who puts his shooting prowess down to a father with a gambling problem, a large country estate - and the fact that "a chaps got to eat".

I knocked off one star purely because no matter how much the viewer in 2009 might wish to believe it, it is unlikely that such a right thinking man would exist in the 30's Colonial world. Trevor Eve smiles quite a bit during these stories, perhaps thinking the same thing. Watch out for his cricketing skills in the 3rd story - I believe he still holds the record today for the youngest Brit to score a century (at age 15).

The Happy Valley lifestyle is perfectly present though, with well meaning missionaries, utter cads, alcoholic bored upper class wives and struggling plantation farmers, as well as tribal leaders, native villagers and native police officers who face daily struggles to survive in their own land.

classic adventure
A great production, three extremely exciting and well produced dramas.It also benefits from a first class cast,once again the option for subtitles is welcomed and I feel that this option should be included in the description as it can help customers decide on selection of an item.

A very pleasant surprise
I came across a reference to this series on IMDB - that invaluable site. Went to Amazon and there it was at a very reasonable price. And my wife and I had three very enjoyable evenings. OK - it isn't The Wire but it is well made, interesting plots and sub-plots, engaging characters, and beautiful setting - filmed in Zimbabwe but supposed to be set in Happy Valley, Kenya between the two world wars.

Trevor Eve does a very good Trevor Eve; Joss Acland and others overact most enjoyably. And I fell in love with Susannah Harker all over again - particularly when she had a flying suit on. Would have liked to see a little more of the dark side of colonial Africa but maybe we got as much as an entertainment can provide. Must have cost a bomb to make and maybe that's why it was discontinued after three episodes. Or maybe the audience was not comfortable with the way in which the "Empire" was depicted. Anyway, well worth a punt for a viewer.