Question for British SF members: good detective series?

J

JBR

Senior Member
Location
Southern Canada mtn. valley, tad west of Rockies
In this household, we've very much enjoyed Vera, Shetland, Lynley, and Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, among others. What detective series would you recommend for us? (We have two wifi-TV program providers that include BBC series, new and vintage.) Thanks for any tips or descriptions.
 

I'm not a Brit, but Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot. Well, Hercule is Agatha Christie's character, of course. I like the Poirot portrayed by David Suchet (all will become clear...).

Favorite Miss Marples, Joan Hickson, Margaret Rutherford, Geraldine McEwan, Julia McKenzie.

Like Midsommer Murders, too.
 

Georgiagranny said:
I'm not a Brit, but Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot. Well, Hercule is Agatha Christie's character, of course. I like the Poirot portrayed by David Suchet (all will become clear...).

Favorite Miss Marples, Joan Hickson, Margaret Rutherford, Geraldine McEwan, Julia McKenzie.

Like Midsommer Murders, too.
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Yes. I didn't mention it, but we've watched the Miss Marples with both Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie as Jane Marple . We've enjoyed David Suchet as Poirot, particularly the two or three extended stories, each being about 90 minutes as I recall.
 
Georgiagranny said:
I'm not a Brit, but Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot. Well, Hercule is Agatha Christie's character, of course. I like the Poirot portrayed by David Suchet (all will become clear...).

Favorite Miss Marples, Joan Hickson, Margaret Rutherford, Geraldine McEwan, Julia McKenzie.

Like Midsommer Murders, too.
Click to expand...
Hercule Poirot is my all time favourite ( David Suchet) .. his portrayal is immaculate in every respect... Mon Ami..:D

Geraldine McEwan is the most like Missjane Marple from Christie's Books ( I've read every one.. including the Poirot books and also Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes)...
 
I read that Agatha Christie books are considered cozy mysteries and I've never read one.

I also had to Google how to pronounce Poirot. This character has their own Wikipedia page.
 
@hollydolly Wow! We had all the Agatha Christie books...every last one of them! Before we moved from Michigan to Kentucky, we donated them all to the library (DH was the library director). I'd give an arm and a leg to have them all back. OTOH, altogether, including the Agatha Christie books, we donated about 1000 books...I'd have to move to have room for them all.

Poirot and the little grey cells...

I'm hard pressed to say which of the actresses who played Miss Marple I liked best. Wait. No. I liked them all best!
Liked Sherlock Holmes, too. Loved the TV series with Jeremy Brett. 221B Baker Street. His landlady was Mrs. Hudson.
 
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JBR said:
In this household, we've very much enjoyed Vera, Shetland, Lynley, and Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, among others. What detective series would you recommend for us? (We have two wifi-TV program providers that include BBC series, new and vintage.) Thanks for any tips or descriptions.
Click to expand...
I've been watching British television for over 50 years. I watch on PBS every Saturday & Sunday nights, Midsomer Murders, Death in Paradise (that replaced Shakespeare & Hathaway), Sister Boniface Mysteries (that replaced Father Brown), Professor T. They also air Inspector Poirot, but I don't watch it. Don't care for it. In my collection, I have a lot of British television series both comedies and dramas. The dramas I have are: Rosemary and Thyme, The Coroner, Doc Martin, & Murder in Suburbia. Sunday nights, I watch a Canadian show called Murdoch Mysteries. It's a period piece like Father Brown. In the past, PBS has also aired 2 great Australian dramas, both period pieces. The Doctor Blake Mysteries, and one I loved so much that I bought it, Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries.
 
All of the above..

I just binge watched for the second time a three episode drama called Maryland on our PBS channel
A tale of two sisters who uncover their deceased mothers's other life on The Isle of Man and how it affects them
Just terrific acting !

The Irish Ballykissangel, Heatbeat, which I have watched forever, are both good with some drama and fun
Also love our Canadian show..,,,Hudson and Rex.....good ole Rex always gets his man:p

I used to get a lot of British DVDs from my local library but not any more.
They covered all of their disks with some type security coating and my player cannot play them anymore😭
 
I've just skimmed down the replies, so apologies if I'm repeating what's been said. I'd recommend (if you've never seen them)

1. Morse (a classic: John Thaw could not be more different from his 1970s character of Regan in The Sweeney)

2. Frost - showing the true versatility of David Jason

3. The Beiderbecke Affair -- starring James Bolam and Barbara Flynn. Bit of a curveball, this one. Not strictly a detective series although there is some police stuff in it. Quintessentially English, I'd say. Well worth seeking this one out.
 
JBR, have you considered getting Acorn or BritBox? I’d like to but can’t justify the time or cost since I have NF and Prime.
 
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JBR I know some have already been mentioned ... but I'll go ahead and list mine anyway.
My pick for enjoyment .... :)
Plus my non enjoyment pick .... :(


Detective series with a touch of comedy:
A Touch of Frost
The Last Detective
Heartbeat

Great characters and enjoyable:
Poirot
Grantchester
Foyle's War
Waking the Dead


Mild, wet, and boring = dull as dishwater:
Midsomer Murders - lousy acting by both Nettles and Dudgeon. Those two blokes must be the most boring men/detectives on the planet. The dog has more personality.
Miss Marple - doesn't grip me although I like the actresses who've played Miss Marple

Vera
Too repetative, although I liked her character, I find it irrating.

Dalziel and Pascoe
Chalk and cheese characters - Dalziel's very blunt and rude - (non-woke) with Pascoe being the very opposite.


'Meaty', 'Cut and Thrust' type plus 'Non-Woke'...Cream of the crops for me:
Rebus (Ken Stott brilliant as Rebus)
Endeavour/Morse/Lewis
The Sweeney

Plus Life on Mars.... totally different - great characters ie Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt portraying it like usually was in those days (apart from the sci-fi bit). Didn't enjoy the sequel Ashes to Ashes as much though.
 
Well, I'm reminded of a few more we've watched, but I've also got some new ideas. The Beiderbecke Affair, Frost, Hudson & Rex, The Coroner, Murder in Suburbia, Dr Blake. Thanks to everyone who has suggested ones they liked. Yes, Jules we've got BritBox... just haven't know which ones to start watching next.

I thought Rosemary & Thyme was kind of fun, and there always was a whodunnit aspect. But by the third episode I watched, I did have to wonder about these expert garden-designer/plant-nurturers going to work and inevitably finding a corpse (usually two in sequence), and never saying with distress & exasperation, "Blimey! What the f*ck?? another dead body!" I mean, I've heard of job-related stress & occupational hazards, but...
 
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Hackney said:
I've just skimmed down the replies, so apologies if I'm repeating what's been said. I'd recommend (if you've never seen them)

1. Morse (a classic: John Thaw could not be more different from his 1970s character of Regan in The Sweeney)

2. Frost - showing the true versatility of David Jason

3. The Beiderbecke Affair -- starring James Bolam and Barbara Flynn. Bit of a curveball, this one. Not strictly a detective series although there is some police stuff in it. Quintessentially English, I'd say. Well worth seeking this one out.
Click to expand...

^ correction: #2 should of course be A Touch of Frost. ..
 
One limited series I really enjoyed is titled "Dickensian", which is a prequel utilizing Charles Dickens' well-known major and minor characters. They're followed at a specific earlier phase of all of their lives, somewhat prior to the plots Dickens actually wrote them into. We watched it beginning to end, on Netflix I believe. I'd watch it again, but Netflix Canada no longer offers it.
 

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