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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 12:39 AM
Original message
British mysteries that haven't been on PBS
Here are some that used to run on BBC America or that I've found on Netflix:

Jonathan Creek: (Alan Davies) is a nebbishy guy who designs elaborate stunts for magicians. A true crime writer named Maddie (Caroline Quentin) contacts him for help in solving an impossible crime, and a hilariously squabbling partnership is born. The first three years are the best, after which Caroline Quentin left.

The Last Detective: Peter Davison's DC Davies is called "the last detective" because his superiors consider him "the last detective they'd ever assign to a case." Despite his bumbling manner and confused home life, he is actually quite capable.

Kavanagh QC: Inspector Morse fans will enjoy seeing the late John Thaw in a different role, that of a barrister, married with two problematic teenage children. The cases are always interesting and ambiguous, with a lot of depth and characterization, and the courtroom scenes show differences between the British and American legal systems.

New Tricks: A woman police detective (Amanda Redman) who botched a hostage rescue is assigned to form a cold case squad with three eccentric and annoying retired cops. This is one of the newest series on the list, and it expertly combines police procedural plots with eccentric humor.

Blue Murder: Caroline Quentin plays a homicide detective who is also a divorced mother.

Midsomer Murders: Midsomer must be the most dangerous part of Britain, because there's a murder in one of its villages every week. These clever and often bizarre updatings of the English village mystery (with Love Boat-like casts of has-been and will-be celebrities) star John Nettles as DCI Tom Barnaby.

Messiah: Like the movie Seven, this series can be on the gruesome side, as the cops try to catch some really kinky sociopaths.

Cracker: This was remade for U.S. television, but the British original, starring Robby Coltrane is much edgier. Cracker is a police psychologist who seems to be in desperate need of psychological counseling himself, and the harsh social commentary only adds to the plots.

Life on Mars: The U.S. remake, with its overly literal final episode, was cut short before its time. You may enjoy seeing the original, which is two seasons long, and comparing it with the U.S. version. John Simm (the Master on the new Doctor Who) plays Sam Tyler, the Manchester cop who may have traveled back in time, and Philip Glenister plays his hilariously hard-boiled and bigoted boss. I have not yet seen the sequel, Ashes to Ashes.

Waking the Dead: Think Cold Case with quirkier characters and the emphasis on investigations instead of reenactments.

Taggart: This long-running Scottish police procedural has survived the death of Mark McManus, the actor who played the title character, to become the longest-running crime show on British television. I enjoy the Scottish setting, even if the accents are hard for this American ear to decipher at times.

Lovejoy: Ian McShane (of Deadwood fame) plays Lovejoy, a hapless antique dealer who genuinely appreciates and knows the antiques he deals in but can't resist a little scam now and then.

A Touch of Frost: Jack Frost (David Jason) is an older police detective, almost always melancholy, often out of luck, constantly in conflict with his superiors. But he gets the job done.

Two of my favorites from the days when A&E was actually artful and entertaining have not been released on DVD in the U.S. but are available from Amazon UK. They are:

Dalziel and Pascoe: Based on Reginald Hill's novels, this is about a grouchy but amusing Yorkshire police superintendent (Warren Clarke) and his younger partner (Colin Buchanan). The series can't capture Hill's writing, but it's good fun anyway.

Silent Witness: Samantha Ryan (Amanda Burton) is a medical examiner from Northern Ireland, and her family's involvement in the troubles there add interest to this crime drama.
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BrklynLiberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 12:41 AM
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1. THANK YOU!!!
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WCGreen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 12:44 AM
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2. Misdsomer Murders were on the Biography Channel for years...
Also Cracker, Lovejoy and A touch of Frost have all been on US cable.

Midsommer Murders were always fun, I really enjoyed Cracker both the UK and USA versions and I only saw a fewLovejoy's but they were very interesting.

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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 12:47 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. Yes, Midsomer Murders was on both A&E and Biography, but
it's still being broadcast in the UK (on ITV), and the box set that was just released contains episodes that have never been shown on U.S. TV.

Unfortunately, none of the programs listed are currently on U.S. cable. Midsomer Murders was the last to disappear about two years ago.
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demigoddess Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-15-09 06:04 PM
Response to Reply #3
25. Exactly what I have been screaming about lately. I found out that while the shows
HAVE BEEN on PBS in the US they have only shown SOME of the years that the show was produced. So we get tons of reruns on some of the shows or they just stop showing them. I want to see some of these shows and have seen others. Usually they are better and a lot less violent than what is on our channels.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 12:53 AM
Response to Original message
4. Oops, forgot one!
George Gently: If you enjoy Mad Men, you may enjoy this series, which is recent but takes place in the early 1960s.
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xchrom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 02:00 AM
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5. kick
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aquart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 03:42 AM
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6. Dalziel and Pascoe was on PBS. Likewise a Touch of Frost
And I'm pretty sure there's no other way I could have seen Lovejoy all those years ago. Or Cracker.

Life on Mars and its sister series, Ashes to Ashes, are available free online at Surf the Channel.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 08:26 AM
Response to Reply #6
9. Those series were on A&E for most people, although
SOME PBS stations may have played them. They were never a national PBS option. I've heard that some PBS stations are currently running New Tricks, although that's certainly not happening here in the Twin Cities.
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pennylane100 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 04:17 AM
Response to Original message
7. you can get a few of then in netflix.
New tricks is ny favorite, but they only have the first three series.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 08:27 AM
Response to Reply #7
11. That's what I said
:-)
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NC_Nurse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 05:46 AM
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8. Wire in the Blood
most excellent. Robson Green is great in it. He plays a psychology professor who works with the police tracking killers.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 08:27 AM
Response to Reply #8
10. I believe that one was actually on PBS for a couple of seasons
or else on BBC America.

The 6th season has just been released (or will be released) on Netflix.
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NC_Nurse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-13-09 02:43 PM
Response to Reply #10
20. Yes, we have it. It's really good. Robson Green is great and the plots are very
intense. I love Midsomer Murders too, much lighter, but a lot of fun.
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DKRC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-22-09 09:06 PM
Response to Reply #8
27. Love Robson Green in everything I've seen
Just discovered WITB on Netflix a little while ago, so we're only 4 eps into the series.

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msongs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 09:21 AM
Response to Original message
12. kavanaugh was on PBS - I love the follow up to Inspector Morse with the sidekick now the star nt
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 09:27 AM
Response to Reply #12
14. It may have been on individual PBS stations,
but I don't recall it ever having been a nationally broadcast show like Poirot or Rumpole of the Bailey.

A similar situation occurs with the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Twin Cities Public TV carries two episodes a week (although they're about six years behind the BBC), but many others do not.
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MaineDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 09:24 AM
Response to Original message
13. I loved The Last Detective
I got it from Netflix, too. Very good. I got very annoyed with his co-workers, though.

I also loved the original Life on Mars. Ashes to Ashes was good, too.

I love most of the British mysteries and I'm glad Netflix has so many of them.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 09:28 AM
Response to Reply #13
15. Especially since everyone else seems to have gotten rid of them
:-(

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mackerel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 02:10 PM
Response to Reply #15
16. New Tricks is on PBS
Here on Friday nights at 10:30pm
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 02:31 PM
Response to Reply #16
18. That's your local station, though
It's one of the optional programs. Twin Cities Public TV has EastEnders on in that time slot.
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mackerel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 02:12 PM
Response to Original message
17. Cracker is unavailable on Netflix. I've got it save though
waiting for the day to see ole Robbie.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-12-09 02:32 PM
Response to Reply #17
19. How odd--Series 1 and 3 are unavailable, while Series 2 and the new sequel
are available.

Curious are the ways of Netflix.
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MaineDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-13-09 05:35 PM
Response to Original message
21. Has the second series of "Inspector Lewis" been on in the US yet?
I know I'e seen a few from the first season. I just added Season 2 to my queue on Netflix.

Thanks for the reminder of all these great shows. I've already gone through the Inspector Lynley series.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-13-09 08:19 PM
Response to Reply #21
22. It's currently on my PBS station
with one more episode to go, I think.
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mackerel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-14-09 01:45 AM
Response to Reply #22
23. They're playing it here as well. I didn't care
much for season one but Lewis has grown on me.
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MaineDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-14-09 07:11 PM
Response to Reply #22
24. Ahh, I missed that.
Thanks.

The first disc has a long wait on Netflix.
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MaineDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-23-09 05:10 PM
Response to Reply #22
28. I've seen the first two episodes via Netflix
Excellent!
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DKRC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-22-09 09:02 PM
Response to Original message
26. 11th Hour with Patrick Stewart


It follows the adventures of Professor Ian Hood (played by Patrick Stewart), Special Advisor to the government's Joint Sciences Committee, who troubleshoots threats stemming from or targeting "scientific endeavour". He is joined by Rachel Young (played by Ashley Jensen), a Special Branch operative who acts primarily as his bodyguard, as Hood has made powerful enemies through his work.

Episode Synopsis on IMDb

__________________________

There are only the 4 episodes, but we enjoyed them. Available from Netflix. :thumbsup:
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htuttle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Oct-25-09 08:10 PM
Response to Original message
29. Second Sight
Clive Owen as a detective losing his sight. I think the series was his first big break.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Oct-28-09 01:29 PM
Response to Reply #29
30. That was on PBS, too
Next up in my queue is City of Vice, which is supposed to be about the early days (as in 19th century) of policing in London.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-30-09 02:50 PM
Response to Original message
31. New entry for the list:
City of Vice: This takes place in 1757, when Henry Fielding (yes, THAT Henry Fielding, the author of Tom Jones) is a magistrate in London, which is more or less controlled by street gangs who go around at night robbing and raping anyone who doesn't have private bodyguards. They even stage home invasions.

Fielding proposes a police force, but the local government types (who can afford private bodyguards) keep going on and on about how a professional police force is the first step to tyranny. Still, they give him a small budget, and he hires the first police force, known as the Bow Street Runners.

I like historical fiction, and the social attitudes of the era are interesting, especially the attitudes on sexual matters.

Two things might discourage some viewers:

1. The whole series is shot in natural light, i.e. the light that the characters would have actually had in the 18th century, so a lot of the indoor scenes are very dark, illuminated only by candles.

2. There are no closed captions, and sometimes the criminals are hard to understand.

On the whole, though, this miniseries of five episodes is a fascinating look at an era at once very different from and yet somewhat similar to our own.
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