100 Centre Street - Complete Series - 9-DVD Box Set ( One Hundred Centre Street ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Australia ]

So I first saw 100 Centre Street when it originally aired on the A&E Network in the early 00's, and REALLY liked it. Unfortunately, at the time that this show was airing on TV, I was living in an apartment complex that prohibited satellite TV (or outdoor TV antennas) and essentially had a monopoly with a cable company which, in my opinion (based on my experiences with them) was AWFUL, and completely unreliable.Pretty much from the moment that Comcast (or ComCRAP as I call[ed] them) bought out/took over the AWESOME cable company (though I can’t remember the name of it now) which had been the TV service provider for the apartment complex during the first 6 months or so after I'd moved in, I had CONSTANT problems with my cable TV. Not only poor video reception, but repeated billing glitches (wherein they “lost” or never recorded my payments, even when I'd went to major hassle [because I was/am unable to drive] to PAY IN PERSON — and then despite the cable bill having been paid, they would shut off my service, claiming that they couldn’t restore it until they tracked down my payment [which for some odd reason, would usually take them at least 7-10 business days to do!] and then the whole thing would often start all over again, the next month/next billing cycle!) that resulted in frequent outages (such as the aforementioned erroneous shut-offs) lasting hours, even days at a time. In fact, for 2 years out of the 2½ years or so I lived in that apartment, my cable service was usually out/non-functional for AT LEAST ½ (or more!) of the days each month.However, I didn’t have any other options, because as I said, the apartment complex prohibited satellite dishes (though I DID try to put a DirecTV dish in an inside window, sadly [but not surprisingly] I wasn’t able to get any signal/reception) and outdoor TV antennas, they did not allow other cable services (like WOW [Wide Open West] or Bright-House, etc.) and this was the days before online video streaming (indeed, most people were still using DIAL-UP internet!) and Internet TV services like Sling, Philo and others. Thus, my only source for TV was a crappy “rabbit-ears” indoor TV antenna, which because of the location/direction of my apartment, barely gave me 2 channels reliably with half-way decent reception — and that too, only if on that particular day/time/weather, I happened to get lucky!So, I not only missed many episodes of this series, 100 Centre Street but also other favorites that were airing at that time, on cable as well as OTA (over-the-air) broadcast TV like:* State of Grace with Alia Shawkat & Mae Whitman* Any Day Now with Annie Potts & Lorraine Toussaint* Third Watch* "The Huntress" with Annette O'Toole* Judging Amy* "Family Law" with Kathleen Quinlan and Tony Danza* Strong Medicine But back then (in the days when dial-up internet was still the norm, before online video streaming services) I didn’t really think about how impossible it would be to find/get these TV series to watch later on. Because at that time, since the market for DVDs (and in particular, the TV series on DVD sets) was just burgeoning, I guess I thought that ALL of these shows would eventually be available either on DVD — or that at the very least, at some point they would be aired again as reruns in syndication, and I could just tape-record it off of TV then, when I’d (hopefully!) have a better, or even GOOD TV service. Unfortunately, as far as I know, with the exception of Judging Amy which did air on TNT, as well as, from what I heard/read also on the GMC network (because AFAIK that particular channel was either not offered by the cable company I had at the time Judging Amy was airing on that channel — or that channel was not included/available in my cable package) for awhile — and also though some of these shows (like Third Watch) have had a season or two or even just an episode or two (like State of Grace Vol. 1) released on DVD, regrettably, NONE of them have either been released on DVD in their entirety or aired again in syndication. In hindsight, I wish that I had asked a family member or someone else (like maybe even put an ad on Craigslist or someplace offering to pay someone) with reliable cable or satellite service to tape these shows for me. Just like I also wish that when I was growing up, I had thought/had the foresight to tape-record favorite 80s & 90s TV series like:* Life Goes On* Who’s the Boss?* “Baby Talk” (the TV series based on the movie Look Who’s Talking)* Mr. Belvedere* “Just the Ten of Us” (the spin-off of the TV series Growing Pains)* My Two Dads* Covington Cross* Silver Spoons* BlossomHowever, I didn’t and ever since then I have been repeatedly looking for ALL of these series EVERYWHERE (online video streaming, fan trading/selling on websites like iOffer, even bootlegs!) for years — all to no avail, until recently when I was at least lucky to finally find the complete series of 100 Centre Street available on DVD in a non-US format/region.At first I was worried that I'd have to buy a separate region-free DVD player just to play these discs — but after a bit of research found out that, that wouldn't be necessary. Because the internal optical (CD/DVD) drive on my MacBook Pro laptop could essentially be made a region-free DVD player by turning off the "auto-play" setting for the disc drive, and using a separate video application (like VLC player) to open & play the discs. So I did/do that and I have had NO problems playing this PAL video DVD set from Australia. Later on, I might still get a multi-region, zone-free Blu-Ray/DVD player to play discs without my MacBook Pro laptop being monopolized to do so. For now though, there's not much point in spending a hundred dollars or more for another Blu-ray/DVD player that's region-free, when this 100 Centre Street complete series set is pretty much the only non-US format DVD discs that I own. However, I am SO glad that I have this series on DVD — even if its a foreign-format (PAL video) set.Because I LOVE this show! 100 Centre Street is a GREAT, but totally under-appreciated legal drama created by the late Sidney Lumet, and starring Alan Arkin, Val Avery, Bobby Cannavale, Joel de la Fuente, and Paula Devicq, which gets its name for the street address in Manhattan of the New York City Criminal Court and the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Criminal Term, for New York County. From the blurb on the back of the box: From legendary director Sidney Lumet, 100 Centre Street is a dramatic and riveting night court series which takes a look at the world of big-city justice.Taking its name from the address of New York City’s courthouse, this series tells a powerful story of the prosecutors, judges, defence attorneys, and the criminally accused, who find themselves caught up in the routine chaos of a hectic urban night court.This set contains the complete series. As I mentioned, this show aired on the A&E Network cable TV channel from 2001 to 2002 and has been called “a more gritty and accurate version of Law & Order however UNLIKE “Law & Order”, 100 Centre Street focuses a LOT more attention on the personal, social, romantic & family lives of its characters rather than just on the work lives and criminal cases like “Law & Order” does. Episodes deal with not just the various criminal cases that appear in the court, but also the friendship between Judge Joseph (snidely called “Let ‘Em Go, Joe” by his critics for his leniency towards criminal defendants) Rifkind, a liberal Jew, played by Alan Arkin, and Judge Atallah “Queenie” Sims, a conservative & hard-nosed lesbian African American, played by LaTanya Richardson, as well as a romantic relationship between ADA Bobby Esposito, played by Joseph Lyle Taylor and ADA Cynthia Bennington, played by Paula Devicq, and other storylines.I’m only on the 2nd disc of this 9-disc set but almost from the moment I started watching, I remembered why I LOVED this series when it aired on A&E Network, and now I can’t wait to see the rest of the episodes, especially the ones that I missed when it was originally on TV. I just wish that this series had not been cancelled so abruptly — after just one year, and instead, had gotten a fair(er) chance to prove itself before getting the ax. But even though it means having to watch it on my MacBook Pro laptop instead of on a big TV (yes, I know I can connect my laptop to the TV — or use other means [like AirPlay] to stream my laptop to the TV) I am so glad to have this series on DVD. It’s just too bad that the producers or others who own the rights to this show refuse to release it to DVD in the US. It’s incomprehensible how the complete series of such UTTERLY HORRIBLE shows like Sanford & Son and Two and a Half Men and Gilligan’s Island and even My Mother, the Car have made it to DVD — and yet, such great shows with a SOLID fan following like Third Watch and Judging Amy and Life Goes On and Who’s the Boss? have either not been released to DVD, or if they have, usually only 1 or 2 seasons are available on DVD. Its totally MIND-BOGGLING!100 Centre Street is a GREAT show — and even though its a moot point for me now (since I have this Australian DVD set) it should be released on DVD in the US for other fans as well as all the potential new fans who discover it. As I said, I am only on the 2nd of the 9-disc set, and since I didn’t get to see many of the episodes when it was on TV, I’ll have to come back and update my review once I’ve seen the rest of the series. But so far, I ❤️ 100 Centre Street and the ONLY reason I’ve given this set 4 stars instead of 5 is because the disc information listed on the 1st (and maybe 2nd) series case is wrong. For example, it says that on Disc 1, the episodes on the disc are:1. Episode 1: “Bobby and Cynthia”2. Episode 2: “Queenie and Joe”3. Episode 3: “And Justice for Some”4. Episode 4: “My Brother’s Keeper”However, that information is INCORRECT. Because Disc 1 only has the first 3 episodes (“Bobby and Cynthia”, “Queenie and Joe” and “And Justice for Some”) and the 4th episode is on the 2nd disc. Similarly, the information about Disc 2 (and presumably the rest of the discs in the set) is also inaccurate as it says that Disc 2 has:1. Episode 5: “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”2. Episode 6: “Hostage”3. Episode 7: “Things ChangeBut yet again, there are only 3 episodes on this disc, Episode 4 (which is listed as being on Disc 1) and Episode 5 (“No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”) & Episode 6 ("Hostage"). If it weren’t for these errors, I would have rated this set a full 5 stars, but clearly there is something lacking in the quality control and I can’t, in all honesty give this set 5 stars as much as I LOVE the series itself so far (I am currently on Episode 6) Other than that, though and all in all, IMHO 100 Centre Street is a GREAT series and I’m really excited to see the rest of the episodes and find out what happens to the characters I love. ★☆★☆ 4 STARS!!!

We had watched every single episode of this series on t.v. and *loved* it; the stories were quite believable, plus the actors did a terrific job. We'd tried to find DVDs for many years and *finally* managed to do so. Watching the series after all these years was like seeing old friends again.

Bought this for my step mom because she loved it!!

Possibly the best "court room" drama series ever made. I just love it.