Pie in the Sky: Series Two Review

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(More customer reviews)Series 2 is even better than Series 1--which was fantastic. The episodes are suspenseful mystery, great character dialogue, a 2nd but parallel restaurant scene plot, and a broader implementation of comedy (still more cop than comic or chef though). It all add up to 5 stars, newly improved from gold to platinum.
For newcomers, "Pie In The Sky" is the name of the Crabbe restaurant introduced in the first series (see my 5-star review.)
Chef/cop Crabbe (Richard Griffiths) still wants retirement from police investigation in favor of the PIE IN THE SKY restaurant. But blackmailing Police Chief Fisher (Malcolm Sinclair) needs his sometimes odd ways of getting at the facts. Wife, Margaret (Maggie Steed) is still doing her numbers thing with the restaurant and occasionally assisting with undercover cop work while understanding little about her husband's cuisine. Beautiful & promoted Det. Sgt. Sophia Cambridge is Crabbe's assigned aide in crime fighting. More cast is familiar, and the stories are great. British mystery plus laughs; so what's the down side? All those in-your-face looks at Chef Crabbe's delicious Steak & Kidney Pies without getting even one taste. It is maddening.
10 super episodes, each about 49 minutes, and every one seeming to top the entertainment level of the previous. SUBTITLES available too, we were confused a few times with the British slang, but some new words brought laughs as we deduced their meanings. Griffiths's bio and cast filmographies complete the bonuses. It's the episodes and food looks that are "Pie In The Sky" "To Die For" good.
Episodes:
1 HARD CHEESE: Crabbe forced to look into crime of a prowler/thief woman's underpanties. His cheese vendor may be poking around in more places than the Swiss cheese.
2 BROWN BREAD: Title phrase is slang for dead. A lefeless man in the restaurant's restroom is connected to 1/4 million pounds. A crime for Crabbe.
3 POLICEMAN'S DAUGHTER: Fisher's daughter runs away & Crabbe must find her. A disgusting look at Stargazy Pie--golden crust with 8 fish heads protruding.
4 THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Did the restaurant's fish supplier murder? Crabbe's wife gets involved fishing for clues.
5 DEAD RIGHT: Kitchen staff increases Crabbe's chicken coop egg production while he looks into threatening notes to a professional medium.
6 BLACK PUDDING: Senility, memoirs, greedy nephew, & kitchen squabbling make for a funny mystery. Senior fun.
7 SWAN IN HIS PRIDE: Fisher forces Crabbe away for investigating a drowning of lady cop while the restaurant kitchen drowns from burst water pipes.
8 THE MILD BUNCH: Crabbe's assigned search for Coverly sisters, aged-con-check bouncers parallels tracking the secret of bread & butter pudding perfection. Delicious episode.
9 MYSTERY OF PIKEY: Teenage Pikey must be caught to end local robberies but the chef is thinking pike as in the fish.
10 LEMON TWIST: Fisher, Cambridge, and Crabbe have a seminar weekend as the restaurant gets a rave newspaper review. Success has it's ups and downs. My wife and my favorite episode.
Fantastic TV British Mystery (Comedy drama) series of several years running. I recommend Series one and Series 2 of PIE IN THE SKY. And will there be another Series on the menu in the future? I'd bet on it, this is too good to stop with just 2 sets.

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The DELECTABLE British Detective Series
Semi-retired policeman Henry Crabbe (Richard Griffiths, The History Boys, Harry Potter) would rather be cooking than catching criminals. Unluckily for him, he happens to be good at both. His boss, Assistant Chief Constable Fisher (Malcolm Sinclair, Casino Royale) doesn\'t want to lose him, and his accountant wife, Margaret (Maggie Steed, Shine on Harvey Moon), worries his new career as a restaurateur won\'t be financially viable. So, while indulging his culinary passions, Crabbe remains on call for those particularly tricky cases that Fisher sends his way. Larger than life as he is, sometimes there just doesn\'t seem to be enough of Crabbe to go around.
Seen on public television, this delightful series is "an enjoyably British mix of character comedy and murder mystery with a light touch, a dash of culinary spice, and plenty of police corruption" --MSN Entertainment.
DVD FEATURES INCLUDE biography of Richard Griffiths and cast filmographies.

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Red Riding Trilogy Review

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(More customer reviews)It's not often that I watch British movies, so I was surprised at just how good this made-for-TV film was. English writer David Peace published a four-edition book about serial murders and police corruption in Britain. The books were adapted into three movies for British television, and while the crimes that take place are real, the stories are fictional.
What attracted me to the 1980 installment in the trilogy was that it starred British actor Paddy Considine, who I became an instant fan of after watching PU-239 (The Half Life of Timofey Berezin). Paddy is terrific as Peter Hunter, a police officer brought on to help with an unsuccessful investigation of a serial killer.
What I liked about the film is that it wasn't particularly fast-paced nor suspenseful like some American crime dramas, but a slow, building tension that really delivered by the film's conclusion. The cinematography was great, with cold and rainy scenes giving it a bit of a film noir vibe. I absolutely loved the movie's score, which was haunting and beautiful.
Remember, this is a made for television movie, not a big-budget blockbuster. So if you're expecting a movie in the vein of Seven, that's not what you'll be getting. What you can expect is amazing acting by an experienced cast, bubbling tension, and a surprise ending.
As far as Red Riding 1974 goes, I've been a fan of British actor Sean Bean since his breakout role as IRA soldier Sean Miller in Patriot Games. While he doesn't get much screen time in this particular film, he's representative of the top-notch casting. The film has an incredibly experienced cast of talented British actors, which makes 1974 a real treat. The standout performance in this film is definitely Rebecca Hall's portrayal of Paula, the mother of a slain child. While she didn't get to demonstrate her acting chops in Frost/Nixon (as love interest to David Frost), she's given plenty to work with in 1974.
Much like Red Riding: 1980, the film stars very slow, and patiently comes to a rolling boil by the conclusion. I also loved the lighting used as the film progressed, particularly a dinner party scene with shades of Eyes Wide Shut. What's interesting is that the movie was shot on 16mm film that was often used in the 70's, so a genuine period vibe is established. 1974 isn't the same quality as Red Riding: 1980, but a film you should check out if you like conspiracy movies.

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RED RIDING TRILOGY - DVD Movie

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Hill Street Blues - Season 2 (1981) Review

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(More customer reviews)Please, please release season 3 and the other seasons of Hill Street Blues. The first two season were excellent and I want more!Other fans, please click on my review as helpful so the powers that be can see we want more HSB.

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Created by Steven Bochco (?Murder One,? ?NYPD Blue?) and Michael Kozoll, and featuring an ensemble cast including Daniel J. Travanti, Veronica Hamel, Bruce Weitz, Charles Haid, Betty Thomas and James Sikking, each episode chronicled a day-in-the-life of the cops on the beat, starting with the infamous morning roll call and ending with a recap of the day?s events.The first hard-hitting series of its kind, ?Hill Street Blues? garnered 26 Emmy® Awards ? including four for Outstanding Drama ? won two Golden Globes®, and is credited with inspiring beloved dramas such as ?St. Elsewhere,? ?Law & Order? and ?NYPD Blue.?

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Blue Murder: Set 3 (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Blue Murder, Set 3,"debuts on DVD, available on this side of the pond for the first time. The show, a crime drama/police procedural, leavened with some sly humor, and a domestic side, is made by the British firm Independent Television (ITV)and is a ratings hit in the U.K.,where it consistently ranks #1 in its primetime slot.
Caroline Quentin ("Jonathan Creek," "Men Behaving Badly,"), an award-winning actress, plays Detective Chief Inspector Janine Lewis, and reveals that she's got solid dramatic chops, as well as comic ones. She supervises a squad in the contemporary English midlands city of Manchester; but she's also a single mum of four, who finds it equally difficult to supervise goings-on in her own home. Ian Kelsey ("Casualty") plays her handsome lead detective, source of some romantic and professional stress. Nicholas Murchie stands out as Detective Schapp.
The series inevitably will be compared to Helen Mirren's "Prime Suspect," although the mysteries in this series are lighter than, not as powerful as, some in the other series. However, the three new mysteries are set in Manchester, and filmed there: it's a bustling town we don't often get to see. And it's been filmed with a liberal hand, no shortage of cars and people in the streets, bars, police station. The actors have been encouraged to use local accent and slang, which add greatly to the pleasure of the production, and the distributor, Acorn has been kind enough to give us - unadvertised - subtitles, thank goodness.
Episode 1, "Not A Matter of Life and Death," concerns the murder of black footballer Duane Kent, a rising star in the local youth league. Investigation seems to indicate that he led a - puzzling--double life.
Episode 2, "Desperate Measures," concerns Dr. Donald Halliwell, shot dead outside his office while in the midst of a much-publicized malpractice suit. Then a disgruntled intern in his practice turns up missing. Investigation shows irregularities in Halliwell's life, and practice, motives for murder.
Episode 3,"Crisis Management." We learn that DCI Lewis tells strangers-- in this case, a handsome army man met at a pub--that that's what she does. But there's almost immediately a vicious murder on his regiment's base, only a week before its deployment to the Persian Gulf. This episode has some strong character arcs, and traction.
If you like a lighter, female-headed, female-oriented mystery, with a domestic angle, and a sly streak of comedy, check it out.

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A single-mom cop who brooks no nonsense at home or on the job. When strangers ask Janine Lewis what she does for a living, she tells them, "crisis management." And she’s not kidding. As detective chief inspector, she supervises a squad of cops investigating some of Manchester’s most brutal, highly publicized crimes. As a single mom, she wrestles with soccer practices, field trips, and schoolwork for her four children. She handles her daily crises with energy and aplomb, protecting her kids as well as the detectives under her command with a fierce maternal affection.Award-winning actress Caroline Quentin (Jonathan Creek, Men Behaving Badly) portrays Janine with the perfect combination of toughness and tenderness.And Ian Kelsey (Casualty) brings a subtle vulnerability to his role as DI Richard Mayne, the lead detective on Janine’s team. These tense, tightly plotted mysteries show the everyday trials and triumphs of a woman balancing career and family. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE behind-the-scenes documentary and cast filmographies.

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Prime Suspect 4 (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)Prime Suspect 4 was different from the prior three series as this had three stories and three episodes instead of one story presented over 3 episodes. Superintendent Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) is the no nonsense head detective that sees through the muck to find the killer despite her superior's lack of support.
The Lost Child - Directed by Shakespeare in Love's John Madden. In the usual Prime Suspect twist, Jane has just had an abortion and on her return she is assigned a child abduction case. The Prime Suspect is a man that physically abused his stepdaughter, Chris Hughes (Robert Glenister) but his current girlfriend has given him a solid alibi. When the baby is found dead in a sluice, Jane puts the investigation into overdrive. But when an overzealous police officer shows Hughes' girlfriend a therapy tape, she recants her alibi. This sends the team after the wrong man.
Inner Circles - After a pair of intruders are caught, the owners dead body is found. When the local DCI is "otherwise engaged," Jane is brought in and she is more interested in who did it than keeping the peace of the quiet town. The country club inner circle wants the murder to be charged on the intruders but the facts do not support this. In fact, the victim had financial problems and was involved in a notorious counsel land deal. When Jane figures it out, the killer himself has been murdered. Now she has to prove who was behind it all.
The Scent of Darkness - A woman's body is found and everything points the killer to be Marlowe. But Marlowe is in jail (see Prime Suspect 1). Now Jane has to figure out who is the copycat killer. And is there an additional motive behind the killing. When Jane refuses to consider the new murders could be linked to the old, a member of team leaks details of the murders. Or is it her new boyfriend. Jane gets taken off the case but she continues to investigate and finds out the reason Marlowe was killing his victims. But now she needs to put together the reason why the new murders are happening.
Prime Suspect is the best police drama ever. Saying these are not as good as the first two is like comparing two fine wines. These are still better than anything you will find on television. Helen Mirren has created a detective of great insight that is battling a sexist hierarchy. Tennison's bosses know that she is the best but cannot give acknowledgement of this to a woman. Therefore, when she is in charge, she takes no guff and no prisoners.
DVD EXTRAS: None


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Helen Mirren is Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison who is promoted to Detective Superintendent.In this Fourth seriesthree two-hour episodes are included:The Lost Child, Inner Circles, The Scent of Darkness.

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The Mentalist: The Complete First Season (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)This TV show, in its first season, is, like "Life," a police procedural with lots of flavor--in this case, a former phony psychic who, years ago, talking insultingly about a serial killer on his psychic TV show.
The killer was watching the show, apparently, took offense, and proceeded to murder the guy's entire family.
After much soul searching, our hero quit his pseudoprofession and now works with a police agency doing for crimes what Gregory House does for his hospital--solving the cases no one else can solve. He uses his ability to read people and situations that stood him in good stead during his stint as a phony psychic.
Of course, like the cop in "Life" his merry, mischievous exterior conceals an iron core of permanent, near-psychotic rage. The Mentalist works with the police agency he works for in order to find the serial killer to killed his family, and he has told his boss there, in merry seriousness, that if/when he finds the guy, he will take him apart in a way Dexter (as in the HBO series) would admire.
All this is backstory. No spoilers, as I promised. There's considerable interaction with his boss, her boss, and the three person team that also works with the boss, and they're all competently played, seemingly pretty much credible as detectives.
So both this and "Life" have:
1. fine actor in the lead role--with "The Mentalist," Aussie heartthrob Simon Baker, who every woman appears to find irresistable (according to my wife).
2. multilayered plot, with an ongoing story arc on top of the case du jour, and evolving relationships among the team members.
3. light and shadow--lots of comic moments alongside very dark stuff indeed. In painting this would be called chiaroscuro (think Rembrandt paintings of interiors illuminated by candles).
If you like "Life" I'm certain you'll like "The Mentalist" even if the more run of the mill procedurals (all the CSIs for example) don't appeal to you. I'd also put "Bones" in this category FWIW.
And this is about as good as we can expect until Joss Whedon's next show shows up (presumably "Dollhouse" with Eliza Dushku, herself a master of chiaroscuro).


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"A mentalist is a master manipulator of thought and behavior." The mentalist is Patrick Jane (Simon Baker in an acclaimed performance), a celebrity psychic whose wife and child are viciously murdered by an elusive serial killer called Red John. Devastated, Patrick admits his paranormal act is fake, renounces his earlier life and uses his astonishing skills of observation and analysis – talents that made him appear psychically gifted – to bring killers to justice. At crime scenes across California, Patrick now helps an elite team of detectives break their toughest cases. But no matter how many criminals he catches, Patrick never forgets his central goal: Find Red John. And bring him down.

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Blue Murder: Set 2 (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Blue Murder, Set 2,"a crime drama/police procedural, chronicles the doings of a Manchester-based contemporary female British detective who's both a top cop and a single mum to four. It was made by British Independent Television (ITV), and is a ratings hit in the United Kingdom, but has not yet been broadcast here. It is, inevitably, reminiscent of Helen Mirren's Prime Suspect 1; though the mysteries tend to be somewhat kinder and gentler.
In the lead role, DSI Janine Lewis, Caroline Quentin(Jonathan Creek - Season One, Men Behaving Badly - The Complete Collection (The Original British TV Series)) gets a chance to prove herself a substantial actress, as well as a talented comedienne. In her job, she faces drive-by shootings, abducted children, and police corruption; at home, the, praises be, no longer all that young, nor all that slim, detective interviews nanny candidates, and attempts to comfort her bullied young son. Ian Kelsey ("Casualty") co-stars as her second in command, handsome DI Richard Mayne; he provides romantic and sometimes professional tension. And as Detective Schapp, Nicholas Murchie turns in particularly flavorful performances. The series is filmed on location in Manchester, a busy Midlands city that we don't get to see much of here, and it looks good. Enough extras have been hired so that the city bustles as it should, too. The actors have been encouraged to trot out their Manchester accents, which add a lot of atmosphere to the productions, and, thankfully, Acorn Media has added unadvertised subtitles, so that we can actually follow what's happening, local slang and all. However, the series' direction could be tightened a bit; the actors sometimes tend to stand around, posing.
In Episode 1, "The Spartacus Thing," we meet a fairly dysfunctional family. Mrs. Hickson has killed her husband's dog: he has strangled her with a dog chain, and served only eighteen months for it. Upon his release, he is strangled in strikingly similar fashion. Fifteen members of his dead wife's family confess to the murder. This episode piles up the most unlikely events to reach a conclusion.
Episode 2, "Make Believe," concerns three-year old Sammy Wray, who apparently vanishes into thin air from a neighborhood playground. Soon, the body of a child of similar age turns up nearby, wrapped in a sheet in a drainage tunnel. The plot's tight, has some good twists and turns, is emotionally involving, and will keep most viewers' attention.
Episode 3, "In Deep," follows a group of four college friends who used to fish together at a nearby lake, where the body of a man eventually identified as Mickey Day, small-time crook and drug dealer, is found. Now someone's picking off the college friends, one by one. This episode, too, must pile up the most unlikely events to reach conclusion.
Episode 4, "Steady Eddie," tells the story of Eddie Carter, popular copper's cop, who preferred walking the beat to climbing the slippery ladder of departmental promotion. When a jewelry heist goes wrong, and Carter is killed in a drive-by shooting, Janine and her team are forced to investigate him, and find out some things about him that they'd rather not have. Again, an absorbing mystery, with plenty of twists and turns.
Now, I'm not sure who's been asking for kinder, gentler British mysteries; surely, not me. I find Hetty Wainthropp Investigates - Complete Collection acceptable, because, after all, the title character is played by Patricia Routledge, better known as our Hyacinthe Bucket, from the hilarious Britcom Keeping Up Appearances: The Full Bouquet. And Rosemary & Thyme - The Complete Series works, because you've got those lovely gardens to look at, and the female leads are both, also, apt and talented comediennes. However, if you like female-headed, female-oriented, mysteries, and prefer them softer-edged, this may just be your cuppa.


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A top cop dedicated to her job and devoted to her family. On the job, Janine Lewis deals with drive-by executions, decomposed bodies, and abducted children. At home, she interviews nannies, schedules parent-teacher conferences, and bolts breakfast on the run. Such is the life of a Detective Chief Inspector on the Manchester police force who also happens to be a single mum raising four kids. Caroline Quentin (Jonathan Creek, Men Behaving Badly) brings sensitivity, passion, and wry humor to her role as a woman balancing the demands of a high-risk, high-profile profession with the need to nurture her high-maintenance family. Ian Kelsey (Casualty) co-stars as DI Richard Mayne, Janine's sexy second in command - a source of romantic and sometimes professional tension on their tight-knit team.In four taut crime dramas, Blue Murder realistically depicts the everyday toils and triumphs of police work alongside the insistent tug of family life for a single mother. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE text interviews with stars Caroline Quentin and Ian Kelsey and cast filmographies.

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Cracker: The Complete Collection Review

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(More customer reviews)"Cracker: The Complete Collection," is our first opportunity to acquire all eleven of the riveting mysteries in the highly-praised British television series of crime dramas. It comes as a deluxe set of ten disks that includes all three series of the long-running British mystery (1993-95), two standalone TV movies, and a 45-minute behind-the-scenes retrospective documentary. It runs approximately 22 ½ hours all told, and also includes, thank goodness, and thank you Acorn Media Group, subtitles for each episode: it would, otherwise, be rather difficult for us on this side of the pond to make out the Manchester accent, as that handsome, ethnically diverse northern English city is where the series was largely filmed, and the actors encouraged to utilize its hard-on-the-ears accent. The series has shown here on the A & E network, and on BBC America: it was made by Granada for broadcast over the independent TV stations (ITV) in the United Kingdom.
Jimmy McGovern (The Street), a hugely talented writer who has traveled far on, and from, his Celtic working class Liverpool origins, created the series and wrote several of the strongest episodes. The series stars the very large Scottish Robbie Coltrane, who took his stage name in homage to the American jazzman John Coltrane; he was better-known at that time as a comic actor (Nuns on the Run, I believe, is where I first saw him, playing with Eric Idle). Coltrane made the role of Cracker, Edward Fitzgerald, a brilliant but deeply flawed forensic psychologist, who frequently worked with the police, his own; and his extraordinary work in it made him famous. He has gone on to play in Ocean's Twelve,GoldenEye, and as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films. Coltrane is volcanic in "Cracker," and there are those who will say, like "The Philadelphia Inquirer," that it is his greatest role.
Mind you, Coltrane plays Fitz as an abrasive, egocentric man, addicted to alcohol, cigarettes and gambling: the character drinks a bottle of scotch a day; smokes 50-60 cigarettes, and keeps his family in constant financial turmoil with his gambling. Coltrane is backed in this series by an excellent supporting cast: Christopher Eccleston (Heroes, Doctor Who), as DCI David Bilborough; Geraldine Somerville (Harry Potter series), as DS Jane Penhaligan; and Barbara Flynn (The Beiderbecke Affair), as Fitz's long-suffering wife, Judith.
In addition, the producers have gone out and hired some of the best actors around - and a lot of Celts-- for guest star spots. The often-seen Irish actors Adrian Dunbar, and Susan Lynch each carry an episode, he as Kelly in the first, "The Madwoman in the Attic," a story of railway murders based on a real murder that took place in a train en route to London in the early 90s. She, Lynch, carries the second episode, "To Say I Love You," as Tina; both are powerful performers in powerful stories. The veteran, well-known character actress Beryl Reid also shows up in this second episode, as Fitz's horse-playing mother. The intense Scottish actor Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty - Fully Exposed Edition), as Albie, a skinhead, carries the fourth episode "To Be a Somebody," so well, people are still talking about it. The almost-equally intense English actress Samantha Morton carries the fifth episode, one written by Ted Whitehead rather than McGovern, "The Big Crunch," as a teenage schoolgirl too naïve for her own good. The lovely Fleur Bennett carries the ninth, "True Romance," as an achingly vulnerable young woman: she too, I believe, started in comedy, or at any rate I saw her first as Mavis Moulterd, country-girl/straight-woman to John Inman's Mr. Humphries in the early 90's Are You Being Served? Again! (The Complete Series)
McGovern's scripts are tight, cunning, and fast, no leisurely British exposition here, and capable of continual surprises. Whitehead's are very good, but not quite. Paul Abbot's scripts are fine, but not in the same stratosphere. In Abbot's 9th episode, "True Romance," we suddenly get a left-wing; anti-Thatcher outburst of the sort that could quite ruin McGovern's final script included here, the 2006 standalone, "A New Terror," for a lot of people. There is also a 1996 standalone, "The White Ghost," nice script by Abbot, set in that fascinating and beautiful, tropical, oriental and British city, Hong Kong, in that fraught time shortly before its July 1st, 1997 handover to the Chinese.
Granada certainly didn't stint on this series; it's lavishly filmed, with plenty of cars and people in the urban streets, auditoriums and nightclubs full of students. Direction was excellent, from Antonia Bird and Michael Winterbottom, among others. The music, from a number of talented men, also adds to the mood. The Hong Kong mystery really gives you an eyeful of that great city. The series won more than 25 major awards, including two BAFTAs for best drama series, and three for best actor for Coltrane. Many critics, including one at "The Boston Globe" consider it the best made-for-TV-mystery or cop series. And me? I won't lie to you: I have always loved this series.


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A brilliant criminologist probes the dark recesses of the soul
With more than 25 major awards--including BAFTAs for best drama series and best actor--Cracker ranks as one of British television\'s most acclaimed crime dramas. Robbie Coltrane (Harry Potter, Ocean\'s Twelve) truly inhabits his role as the brash and brilliant forensic psychologist, Dr. Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald. For the police, Fitz\'s astonishing insights into the criminal mind prove invaluable, but his arrogance and boorishness make him barely tolerable as a colleague. For his family, Fitz\'s self-destructive compulsions--scotch, sex, and gambling--bring only pain and turmoil.
Complemented by an outstanding cast, Coltrane delivers a brilliant performance as a genius who can dissect a psychopath\'s motives, but can\'t keep his own demons at bay. These powerful crime dramas examine the pressures and prejudices of contemporary urban life and the violence that they spawn.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE Cracker: Behind the Scenes, an intimate, 45-minute visit with the show\'s cast and creative team.

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The Vice: The Complete Second Season Review

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(More customer reviews)Usually I buy the dvd set, watch it, then sell it but THE VICE is too good to part with!!! I love british mysteries usually for the mystery part but in THE VICE (first and second season) its the characters that engaged me. The ensemble cast is so good and the characters they play are each full and complex. Highly recommend both seasons of this show and hope there are more coming.

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British award-winning actor Ken Stott stars in The Vice, a hard-hitting drama set in the vice unit of the Metropolitan Police, based in the heart of London s West End. Prostitution, pornography and murder are all part of the workload for the vice team as they investigate the capital s darker secrets. Aired on BBC America. Perfect for fans of A Touch of Frost, CSI, and British crime dramas. Starring Ken Stott (BBC s The Singing Detective and Messiah, Rebus, and the upcoming Narnia sequel). During its 5 year run in the UK, THE VICE received several wins and nominations for BAFTA TV Awards. National advertising includes :30 second TV spots running on BBC America, the network that originally aired the series in the U.S.

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Waking the Dead: The Complete Season One and Pilot Episode (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)I first saw this show on BBCAmerica about 6 years ago and was instantly a fan. I am a fan of shows such as CSI:, CSI:Miami, and had seen some of the Cold Case episodes. I do agree with the reviewer above that the episodes are a little slower than the shows here in the US, but Waking the Dead has such great actors and the characters really drive the storylines. Trevor Eve and Susan Johnston play off each other very well. Claire Goose, Will Johnston and Holly Aird who make up the rest of the team are equally compelling. Looking forward to more of this series making it to DVD here in the states. A little disappointed that there were no commentaries or extras but I'm not going to complain because it seem to take forever for British shows to make it on to Region 1 DVDs. Hopefully BBC/BBCAmerica can make that happen a bit more quickly.

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The Cold Case Unit, led by quick-tempered, no-nonsense copper DS Boyd (Trevor Eve), have assembled to re-examine "unsolvable" crimes with cutting-edge detection techniques. But the pressure is on for this mix of forensics, psychology and detective investigation to yield results.

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New Tricks: Season Two (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)My husband and I really enjoyed season one and preordered season two on Amazon. We were not disappointed and as a matter of fact, found this series even better than the first. A female police officer has been disgraced and sent to run a cold case unit. She is able to bring on board some retired police detectives to help her as consultants. The batch she is finally able to persuade to join her are some very quirky former and now retired coppers. The chemistry between the actors is very good and the mysteries are well plotted. This is a 'light' set of mysteries. The second season allows for further character development which only increases the viewer's pleasure. This series is highly recommended.
****We are hoping that BBC will soon release the other seasons on dvd.****

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The second season of the BBC's comic whodunit, New Tricks, arrives on DVD 1/19! They might not look like a team of crack detectives, but once veteran coppers Lane, Standing, Halford, and their bullish boss Pullman get their (false) teeth into their cold cases, things heat up pretty quickly.With old-school detective work and a little state-of-the-art forensics, the veterans unearth a range of baffling crimes including the murder of a lawyer, a racially motivated attack on an Asian bride, and a mysterious unidentified human torso.Will they succeed where others have failed?Or will the burden of all the years begin to weigh down on them?After all, we all have to grow old sometime.

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Blue Murder: Set 4 Review

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(More customer reviews)"Blue Murder: Set 4," the latest available television episodes in the hit British mystery series/police procedural, arrives on these shores. The Blue Murder pilot debuted in the U.K. in May 2003, on ITV (Independent Television Stations); where it drew almost 8.4 million viewers, a number seldom heard of there. The series, which was created by native midlands author Cath Staincliffe, has continued to do very well in the U.K., consistently ranking number one in its time slot. It has, unfortunately for us, never aired on broadcast TV here: the "San Francisco Chronicle" calls it "The best British mystery you haven't seen...." Luckily, we can at least get it on DVD; this 2-volume boxed set runs approximately 271 minutes; it includes all six episodes from Series 5, which will air in the U.K. in 2009. (Acorn Media has released all previous episodes in Sets 1-3.) Even more luckily, Acorn Media has given us subtitles, as this set, like its predecessors, is located in Manchester. And, while the Manchester accent and usage fall interestingly on the ear, we're not familiar with them this side of the pond.
To begin with Manchester, it sure has cleaned up very well: centuries of black industrial grime gone, revealing a beautiful city, with interesting, varied architecture. And a diverse, varied population: the M.E. in the current series is surely a descendant of the Indian subcontinent. The series stars the talented, award-winning actress Caroline Quentin (Men Behaving Badly - The Complete Collection (The Original British TV Series); Life Begins - Series 1); as Detective Constable Inspector Janine Lewis, a hard-driving, high-profile contemporary detective and single mother of four, who must always try to balance the demands of family, where she's just "Mum," and career, where she's "Boss." Quentin was once best known as a comic actress, (Jonathan Creek - Season One); but in this series she shows substantial dramatic chops, as well as her comedic gifts. Mind you, she doesn't play Janine Lewis as another Jane Tennyson, Helen Mirren's tough female cop; but, then, she's not intended to. Ian Kelsey (CASUALTY - Series 1 (BBC Series)) costars as Detective Inspector Richard Mayne, Janine's second in command, and erstwhile romantic interest - though in that regard, he seems to be getting a bit doughy of face to me. Among the station house company, Nicholas Murchie stands out as Detective Sergeant Tony Schap, and seems to be enjoying some beefed up roles.
Volume 1 consists of the following:
Episode 1: Private Sins. (Part 1) An illegal Byelorussian immigrant and private investigator is found murdered in a parking lot. Lewis supervises the investigation with more than the usual stress at home; it makes her think an offered promotion, that would get her off the streets, isn't the worst idea. Meanwhile, Schap, who gets a lot of facetime in this arc, seems to be running his own covert investigation.
Episode 2: Private Sins (Part 2). A key informant ends up dead, and Schap's secrets start coming out. Furthermore, in a story populated by ex-cops and firemen, many possible motives for murder start appearing.
Episode 3: Tooth & Claw. Veterinarian Ruth Turner is found strangled, on the route of her daily run near rural, bucolic in appearance, Hunter's Low. As Janine and her team start looking into the case, some of the village's seamy activities come to light.
Volume 2 gives us:
Episode 4: Having It All. A defeat in a cheer leading competition starts the unraveling of the team and its coaches. Melanie Gaskell discovers her mother Helen, team coach, bludgeoned to death in the garage.
Episode 5: This Charming Man. Local hero/rock star Jack Taylor, charismatic leader of an up and coming band, dies in his apartment after a sold-out concert. The cops must find their way through the Manchester music scene, where Richard keeps claiming to have some experience.
Episode 6: Inside. Bernard Aspen has been in prison for 15 years of a life sentence, for a murder his family insists he didn't commit. He's found drowned in a washroom. Richard decides to go inside undercover.
The series has been filmed with a liberal hand, no shortage of cars and people around. The dramas are substantial, the mysteries gritty and challenging, frequently told from the female point of view. The cop shop scenes are lively, leavened with sly humor, and interspersed with Janine's family business. In fact, as everybody grows into their parts, I'm just getting to like this series better and better.

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In the squad room, the cops on the Manchester murder investigation unit call Janine Lewis Boss. At home, the kids simply call her Mum. In both places, she manages to keep everybody in line but just barely with a firm yet affectionate hand. Award-winning actress Caroline Quentin (Men Behaving Badly, Life Begins) brings astonishing dramatic depth to her role as a chief detective and single mom trying to balance the demands of career and family. Ian Kelsey (Casualty) costars as Janine s fiercely loyal second in command and erstwhile romantic interest. This six-episode set sees Janine tackle some of her most baffling cases yet: the murders of an illegal Belarusian émigré, a suburban cheerleading coach, a rock star about to break into the big time, and more. In Blue Murder s signature style, heart-tugging domestic drama and good-natured workplace ribbing leaven each suspenseful, grimly realistic mystery.

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Taggart: Set 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)"Taggart,"a British mystery television series made by Scottish TV, premiered in the United Kingdom in September 1983. It was led by actor Mark McManus, as DCI Taggart. Unfortunately, McManus died in 1994, and the series also lost the flavorful actor playing its medical officer. However, the show was then led for several seasons by actor James McPherson, (a likable enough actor, but too lightweight to carry the show), who had already been a cast member, playing DCI Mike Jardine. From 2002 to the present day, Alex Norton, (Patriot Games (Special Collector's Edition)), has led the series as DCI Matt Burke. Blythe Duff (DS Jackie Reid) and Colin McCredie (DS Stuart Fraser) remain from the earlier cast, playing cops as hardened by Glasgow life as the criminals they pursue. John Michie (To Walk With Lions) has joined them, playing DS Robbie Ross.
This is the world's longest running police drama; it celebrated its 25th onscreen year in the U.K. in 2008, while still consistently ranking in the top 10 dramas in that country. Set 1, now released here, runs approximately 398 minutes. It consists of seven contemporary episodes, the complete 19th season of the series that aired in the U.K. in 2002. The bonus features of the set include a documentary that certainly fascinated me,at least, "Taggart's Scotland," about its locations. There are also, praises be, subtitles, thank you Acorn: that Glasgow accent is a killer, though it's delightful to listen to it in its localized particularity, so long as you don't have to struggle to comprehend it. The series was created by Glenn Chandler, who succeeded in giving us a show as gritty as the city in which it takes place, pitting a hard-bitten team of detectives against some of the hardened natives of the city.
Initially, as the series opened on broadcast television, you saw a montage of Glasgow street scenes, and heard a biting "This Town is so Mean," sung, in regard to Glasgow, of course, by the magnificent Glasgow-born blues singer Maggie Bell. The montage remains, updated, with views of, for example, the fairly new, odd looking cultural center that natives call "the armadillo," that is sited by the River Clyde. An instrumental take of the song also remains, but without Bell's vocal; this is unfortunate, as she contributed greatly to the show's mood.
At any rate, after the montage came one of the very best police procedural series ever made for television. One of the great strengths of this series, still, is the Glasgow flavoring, available in almost every scene: we learn a lot about Glasgow high and low. As the crazed mystery fan that I am, I not too long ago stayed in a Clyde-side hotel, within walking distance of the armadillo; and the series shows this landscape exactly as I saw it.
"Taggart" must be considered a landmark; a precursor to the current Scottish school of "tartan noir:" the sheer bloodthirsty, dark violence, the unsentimental humor of this series has seldom been matched, and never bettered. Glasgow is a city centered on a dark, cold, scary, industrialized river; the city has some of the meanest streets in the world, and it produces some hard, hard people.
Mark Mc Manus, who played Inspector Jim Taggart in the old days, brought a great deal to a part that must have been strongly-written on the page: he added a tightly-wound Glasgow note all his own, and an irascible, angry charm. He somehow conveyed a feeling that, as a Glaswegian, he took local crime as an offense to himself, and his city. I had quite a crush on him, but unfortunately McManus died of a heart attack, rather young, overwhelmed by a series of personal losses. In the contemporary series, the actor Clark, playing DCI Burke, seems to play his character as always over-the-top angry; it doesn't take anything to set him off. The current series also bows to contemporary taste by making each story arc only one episode long, rather than three, as the earlier stories were. They have therefore lost a lot of the complexity, subtlety - and subversive humor - that were hallmarks of the earlier series.
The episodes are: Hard Man, Fade to Black, Blood Money, New Life, Bad Blood, Halfway House, and An Eye for an Eye. Now, mind you, they do still constitute a strong British crime drama; one of the stronger to be found.


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The world\'s longest continually running police drama
Meet detectives Burke, Ross, Reid, and Fraser--a team of Glasgow cops as hard as the criminals they chase and as gritty as the city they call home. Matthew Burke (Alex Norton, Patriot Games) is their leader, a chief inspector who has seen it all before and fully expects to see it all again. Robbie Ross (John Michie, To Walk with Lions) often finds himself on the receiving end of Burke\'s sarcasm, though the hardworking Jackie Reid (Blythe Duff) and fresh-faced Stuart Fraser (Colin McCredie) do not escape either. Together, the formidable foursome takes on everything that the mean streets of Glasgow throw its way.
Edgy mysteries, intriguing characters, and a dark sense of humor give the series a universal appeal even while reveling in its seamy Scottish setting. "Compelling… a mad cocktail of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, and old Vincent Price movies" --The Sunday Times (U.K.).
DVD BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE Taggart\'s Scotland: About the locations.

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