Silver Spring, MD — From award-winning playwright and screenwriter Alan Plater, The Beiderbecke Connection debuts on DVD from Acorn Media on March 2, 2010 (DVD 2-Vol., www.AcornOnline.com, $39.99). Plater (Oliver’s Travels, A Very British Coup) returns with a third Beiderbecke mystery as quirky and fun as the first two. Akin to The Thin Man movies, with its unusual characters, witty banter, and twist-filled mystery, the series stars James Bolam (New Tricks, The End of the Affair) and Barbara Flynn (Cracker, Cranford). The Beiderbecke Connection broadcast on public television in the 1990s along with The Beiderbecke Affair and The Beiderbecke Tapes.

Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne have settled down. Teachers at a run-down school in Leeds, they’re new parents to a son they call Firstborn. Trevor (James Bolam) is a jazz fan; Jill (Barbara Flynn) wants to save the planet. One day a friend asks a favor: will they look after a refugee? His name Ivan, but he’s not that terrible. Soon Trevor and Jill are harboring criminals, under police surveillance, and trying to convince the headmaster that their new school supplies aren’t stolen goods.

The conclusion to the Beiderbecke trilogy sees the return of beloved characters: Big Al, Little Norm, Detective Sergeant Hobson (now Detective Inspector Hobson, PhD), and Mr. Pitt, former town planner. The banter is easy and the humor wry in an offbeat adventure set to a jazzy, BAFTA-winning soundtrack inspired by jazz great Bix Beiderbecke and composed by BAFTA-winning musician Frank Ricotti.

Acorn Media released The Beiderbecke Affair on DVD in January 2009 and The Beiderbecke Tapes in September 2009.

Street: March 2, 2010
DVD 2-Vol. Boxed Set: 4 episodes - Approx. 204 min.
SRP: $39.99

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media distributes distinctive home video releases to the North American market with a special focus on the best of British television. Acorn’s DVD sets are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn Media at (888) 870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.