Anyone else like mysteries on DVD?
 

Talking about the shows (mostly British it seems) that usually show up on the PBS Mystery series (although I just had to include Monk ;)). If there is enough interest I figure we can go through and figure out which ones are complete, which ones still have some to be released, if anyone hears of release news post it here, etc...

To get things started though a poll is probably the easiest ;)

BTW Midsomer Murders set#4 and Poirot #10 are due out 5 Oct. AFAIK this means only 2 other Poirots have to be released then all will be out. The only series that I'm pretty sure is complete is Cadfael.

I love mystery ! My favorites are Prime Suspect and Cracker. Both of which were shown through PBS Mystery in Philadelphia in the mid-late 90's.

Poirot while well acted is too much like Angela Lansbury's -Murder she wrote. They are both insufferable busy bodies whose particular character tics annoy me to no end.

While I love Jeremy Brett's Holmes, I am forever smitten with Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce's interpretations. THe MCI sets released this year are undoubtedly, the jewels of my collection.

I've yet to see the rest of the shows listed but I'm sure I'll get around to it. I really like the actor who plays Cadafeal. (Can't think of his name at the moment)

Derek Jacobi!!! One of the great actors! He also played Claudius in the best TV series of all time. I love the Cadfael mysteries. And the books are some of the best ever written, but the best series I would give to 'Prime Suspect', mainly because of the brilliant performance of Helen Mirren, and the realistic nature of the stories. The Brits have it over us any day.

Definitely Monk. The only other one I've seen is Nero Wolfe, and I didn't like it. Oh, and I saw the first Prime Suspect, and enjoyed it. Helen Mirren is amazingly talented.

Rob

I second Cracker and want to add Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, the first series of which was released recently.

How about Columbo? (Does it count as a mystery if we know who did it and how right from the beginning?)

Actually I don't think I've seen a Columbo eps yet. For me I have to say my fav is Foyle's War. For those not familiar w/ it it's set in the early days of WW2. Alot of the plots revolve around the day to day crime that continues even in a situation like that. What I really enjoy about it is not only do you have the "primary" mystery (which isn't always a murder IIRC) but there are usually a couple of other little mysteries (sometimes red herrings sometimes just something completely coincidental) that are solved as well. Additionally they have intermixed a good deal of character development for the primary characters and how the war is effecting each of them and their families/situations. Highly recommended.

Apologies for forgetting about Cracker and Prime Suspect, both are enjoyable but I never felt the urge to collect them for some reason. Second Sight is the same way (about the detective losing his eyesight). For those that like the older series Rumpole is another one that comes to mind ("she who must be obeyed" ;)) and I believe all of those are already out on DVD.

The final six episodes of Poirot will be available at B&M in Dec. The title is Poirot Red which is actually the first six presented on Mystery PBS. Of the four new titles on A and E this weekend, only 1, Death on the Nile has a DVD release date in Oct. Other mysteries which should be considered are the 8 Campion titles and 7 Lord Peter Wimsey;s, and the harder to find but still available Inspector Cribb, Maigret and Marlowe.
Best
Greg

Poirot is a fantastic series. David Suchet is truly a master-actor. You should check them out some time!

I love Poirot too. After seeing David Suchet in the role, there can be no other Poirot!

But I chose Foyle's War in the poll.... had to give some love to that series, since it's so good :)

Oddly, I really don't care much for Cadfael (even though I've loved Derek Jacobi in other things I've seen him in - I, Claudius is probably my single favorite show, ever!). It just feels bland. Watchable, but not memorable.

Another British mystery series I've recently fallen in love with is "A Touch Of Frost". I purchased the entire series from amazon.uk and watched all ten seasons in about a month and a half. Next to Prime Suspect's Helen Mirren & Cracker's Robbie Coltrane I have found yet another warm spot in my heart for "Frost's" David Jason. I can't recommend this series enough!

I really like Prime Suspect and Cracker (got the complete R2 sets from Amazon.co.uk for $35-40 each last year). In particular, I appreciate the realistic portrayal of flawed but sympathetic characters and the direct treatment of themes like sexism, addiction, etc., that are typically romaticized or ignored entirely in American series. Based on this, would I like Foyle's War? I almost bought it during DDD's recent sale, but upon reading some reviews, was turned off the history/war aspect. Still, if it's a good show, I'll pick it up during the next sale. So, recommended?

Someone named "Fartface" extolling the comparative sophistication of British entertainment. Classic! :lol:

That's a tough call IMHO... It's set in the 40s so you're aren't going to get the overt topics like sexism since everything is stylized for the time. There was one that dealt a little w/ the sequestering of Germans in Britian at the time, and some of the backlash Italians faced but they didn't really do much w/ either thread. The flaws in the main characters aren't anywhere near what they are in Cracker/Prime Suspect, so again it might be a little more romanticized than what "real life" would have been. They do deal w/ some of the topics of the day though; looting bombed sites, the fear everyone had thinking the island would be invaded, the conflicts between trying to support the war effor and uphold the law, etc. In and of itself though I still think it's a great series and worth atleast a rental (Netflix has them if you are member).

Yes, what about Columbo and Banacek?

I haven't seen either Prime Suspect or Cracker, so I can't comment on the comparison directly, but from what you said you enjoyed about them, yes, I think you would like Foyle's War a lot. It's a fairly understated show, in that it doesn't shove its themes or characters in your face, but I would certainly not consider it to be romanticized at all. The history and war aspect provides the setting and some of the plot elements, but the real center of all the stories is people, what they do, and why they do it.

I voted for "Other" since my tastes lean toward the older B movie series and classic TV. I have the MPI releases of the Rathbone/Bruce Holmes series and MGM's Chanthology and they are all fantastic. Warners is releasing the remaining Thin Man films and the Mrs. Marple films over the next year or so.

Only Fox, who for some incomprehensible reason won't release their Charlie Chan films, isn't with the program yet. The Peter Lorre Mr. Moto films also deserve a legitimate release.

From TV, I'm not sure if I would call the "Avengers" a mystery series per se, I enjoy those DVDs. Monk is a great show as well. I don't think there's much chance that all 271 episodes of my personal favorite, Perry Mason, will get released, but it would be nice to finally see unedited episodes of that show.