Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7948 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-27
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 325 minutes

Synopsis
The channel four series from 1990, in which three security guards working the night shift at a tower block, observe strange and bizarre happenings.

Customer Reviews

My life is now complete
I have waited for many years for this fantastic series to be issued, I have a very old video copy from when the series was first shown on TV. It was shown late at night and had a cult following. Robert Lindsey, David Threlfall and James Ellis are superb in this surreal adventure about night security men. I loved it when it was first shown and have waited for years to own a decent copy of the two series. Thank you thank you my christmas is complete, as you can see I am very happy. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS SERIES TOO HIGHLY TO ANYONE WHO ENJOYS A SOPHISTICATED AND CLEVER COMEDY.

At last!
Well the quality of the DVD is rather poor, and the extras are, well, nonexistant, but who cares? Now that I have this absolute gem of a show on DVD in my collection, my life is complete. One of the most entertaining, hilarious and surreal shows you are ever likely to see. Never heard of it? Buy it. You won't regret it.

Brillant
In the dizzying heights of a high-rise tower block, three security guards while away the night shift in a variety of bizarre ways.

Writer Paul Makin had been an important member of the team on a number of Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran comedies, but here he scripted the strangest offering yet from their Alomo company. (Incidentally, they coined the name Alomo Productions to mean 'A Lo [for Laurence] Mo [for Maurice] production'.) Nightingales unashamedly did away with the traditional realism of most sitcoms to delight in a fantasy world of its own making. The three security guards were quite at home in this off-centre environment and took most of the surreal happenings in their stride. The eldest member of the trio was Sarge, a friendly, optimistic man with the air of a friendly uncle. He was completely happy with his position - unlike his cohorts, the articulate but frustrated Carter, and the dense and violent Bell. Carter wanted more out of life whereas Bell's disposition was naturally grumpy and easily provoked.

The heavyweight acting talent seemed to relish their parts, which, in all honesty, had more in common with characters from a Pinter play than a sitcom. Indeed, a recurring joke was the trio's obsession with this particular playwright. In the course of the two series the topics of conversation embraced a real (albeit friendly) werewolf, a murderous poisoning attempt, both the Pope and Harold Pinter leaving the trio's Christmas party on a tandem and (in the same episode) the failed attempts of our heroes to escape being drawn into a Christmas allegory.

Nightingales was a novel and commendable attempt to create something strikingly different within the sitcom format - a not wholly successful but brave and worthy effort nonetheless. Surprisingly, given its 'difficult' and dark nature, a US version was mooted. An unaired pilot episode, made in 1992, was written by Tony Sheehan, produced by Allan McKeown, directed by James Burrows and starred the British actor Trevor Eve. Predictably, it failed to find a buyer and no show developed.

Oh and the music sung at the end is by Robert himself.