I was happy when I learned this classic week of Coronation Street was to be released on DVD. Alas, it isn’t without its failings. For whatever reason, all but 2 of the episodes (including the crash itself and, bizarrely, the live episode) have been given that rotten “filmic” treatment which turns the broadcast videotape clearness into an annoying blur in a sickly try to make it seem cinematic. This is especially plain when the end credits for the live episode roll ; the effect is deplorable. One wonders why this has been done, particularly in nowadays of HD.

Though it is a blessing not to sit thru unending furniture store bankrolled advertisements, some of the modifying is sudden; never much more than the climax to the crash episode itself, when the fantastically directed (thanks to the wonderful Graeme Harper) last shot, with Ken and the other residents taking in the terror of the disaster, ending in an extraordinary CGI shot of Weatherfield, is cut off in its prime.

The broadcast version was miles better. The DVD is redeemed by the wonderful extras, however: originally available on the web, it’s wonderful to ultimately own the fantastic in back documentaries, a wonderfully touching scene with Ken and grandchild Simon, and a fascinating (but facetiously-narrated by Craig Charles) look at fifty years of stunts at street level. At the day’s close, a 2 disk set for (in most shops) less than £10, it is a fair purchase; just not for Street purists.