Mystery! is a subset of Masterpiece Theatre on PBS which brings British Mystery series to America. It long been a staple in my family and given my love of Agatha Christie is unsurprising I've got the bug. Oddly I often hate the adaptations of Agatha's novels and instead my Mystery love is divided between three main series Foyle's War, Inspector Lewis, and Inspector Lynley. Foyle's War does a beautiful job of capturing World War II era Britain and is beautifully shot and cleverly written. Inspector Lewis is set in modern Oxford and is notable for the great dynamic and dialogue between rather rough around the edges Lewis and his highly educated reserved sidekick, Sergeant James Hathaway. Lynley, however, will always be the one closest to my heart because it was the first I watched. Lynley is very uppercrust (he's an earl) polished, handsome, while his sergeant, Barabara Havers is working class a bit homely was demoted for being difficult to work with yet is nevertheless adorable. She has a tendency to find herself alone with the villain at the end of the show just as Lynley figures out the mystery and realizes that she is in trouble. She also (in moment that has gone down in Horstmanian lore) once shot a commending officer in the chest with a flare gun, good times.
I suppose Midsomer has never actually been on Mystery, which I suppose excuses you from mentioning it here!
ReplyDeleteI love Lewis's sidekick the best, I think.
Just saw my first Foyle's War Sunday night. The plot was really obvious. Is that usually the case, or was it just an off episode?
I HEART MYSTERY!! :-)
yes, I agree that Midsomser deserves a mention. Foyle's War...in my opinion the plots vary in their subtlety. It seems we usually end up commenting more on the way the series effectively evokes the time and place and on the general production quality than on the plot. Do you agree?
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