Don Matteo: Set 1

Finally; more Don Matteo DVD's with English sub-titles
I first purchased a Don Matteo series with English sub-titles about two years ago. It was great family entertainment, as well as way to help learn Italian. I was so disappointed to find that there no more Don Matteo videos available with English sub-titles anywhere in the USA; that is until Amazon made Don Matteo series 1-4 available. I've watched series 1, and I thought it was pretty good. Even though it wasn't as good as the first series I bought(season 4), I still give it 5 stars; mainly because there's practically no other entertainment availble to even watch anywhere else online of this nature. It is a decent family entertainment program with a mixture of moral values that is really a rarity for our modern media age. Even though I enjoy hearing the Italian language, and reading the English sub-titles; I really wouldn't mind watching it dubbed with English; just to see how it turns out. I recommend it to families who like to watch progams without all of the cussing, vulgarity,...

Finally being released in original order
It looks like these new sets are following the original order of episodes as they were aired in Italy! I'm crossing my fingers that they will continue with the rest of the Don Matteo seasons (in Italy they are currently in production of the 9th).

This is the most popular TV series in Italy: each new series tops the market shares and the re-runs air constantly. RAI International, the cable/satellite channel available outside of Italy, only gets them after they've aired in Italy so we see them over 6 months later. Also, they can be viewed online via RAI Italy's website but as with RAI International, there are no subtitles/translations. I've watched both ways but since my Italian isn't absolutely fluent, I was overjoyed to see a subtitled DVD a couple years ago. While I own it and enjoy it, it starts with the 4th season and only contains half of the episodes at that.

If you love Italy and Italian culture, whether your roots are Italian or not, you must see this...

Entertaining
This series is a wonderful, fun series based in the beautiful Italian city of Gubbio. While not extremely true to life, the series is entertaining television. Yes, the priest is smarter than the carabinieri, but he is extremely respectful and his intentions always pure. This is not hard, serious detective fiction, but rather often light (not always) and dealing with human nature above all else. If you are looking for light, humorous (sometimes) detective fiction that can be enjoyed by the whole family, this is your series.

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