Moody Murder Mysteries

[Derfel Cadarn]

The rural town of Midsomer has a mortality rate that makes Sunnydale look safe!

[Datepalm]

Endeavour is growing on me now that i'm not watching it while falling asleep and it's doing a little more characterization. And the roofs of Oxford aren't quite cliffs or desert, but they'll do.

[Derfel Cadarn]

One problem with Endeavour for those unfamiliar with Morse is that he's initially alone. The later episodes show him as more accepted. The pattern throughout the whole franchise is basically family man plus tortured artist. They reverse the roles but that's essentially it - mismatched buddy cops.

[AncalagonTheBlack]

Endeavour is growing on me now that i'm not watching it while falling asleep and it's doing a little more characterization. And the roofs of Oxford aren't quite cliffs or desert, but they'll do.

Good to know,i personally liked it a lot. :)

I think next you should def. try Single Handed (2007 - 2010).

You may also want to check out Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Some pretty good recommendations here :

http://timbarron.net/entertainment/british_crime_tv_series.html

http://timbarron.net/entertainment/british_crime_movies.html

[Datepalm]

One problem with Endeavour for those unfamiliar with Morse is that he's initially alone. The later episodes show him as more accepted. The pattern throughout the whole franchise is basically family man plus tortured artist. They reverse the roles but that's essentially it - mismatched buddy cops.

Oh, interesting - i'm totally unfamiliar with Morse, and I figured there might be a bit of "the early years" context i'm missing. Still, it's got its moment. The second (or third?) episode where Morse falls asleep on Thursday's couch did a lot to pique my interest in both of them as characters, rather than just the mystery. (Moreso than any amount of hints about fridged girlfriends.)

ETA - Lol, there's a Mad Men reference.

[Derfel Cadarn]

Just finished the second season - damn cliffhangers!

Nice to have a reference to McNutt, who was mentioned in the Inspector Morse series as his mentor.

Another detective show is the David Suchet Poirot series. It recently finished, having succeeded in adapting all of the Agatha Christie Poirot novels. The quality isn't always consistent, not unexpected as the production ran on and off from 1989 to 2013. I've still to watch the last half-dozen episodes.

"You bloody little Frenchman!"

Poirot: "I am a bloody little Belgian!"

[Datepalm]

Me too. What the hell, cliffhanger!

[Veltigar]

Bah, I have to wait until they air the second season of Endeavour across the Channel :( Which network actually broadcasts Endeavour in the UK?

[Derfel Cadarn]

ITV broadcast it

[Datepalm]

Gently is fun! (Mystery in the first episode at least was a little obvious though.) I like the sidekick a lot - Gently shows up judging him six ways to sunday - his methods, his marriage, his shoes, his desire to not spend the rest of his life on a moor (where is this set, anyway?) and he totally calls him on it. You go, ambivalent character who's name I never quite caught!

[Veltigar]

Gently is fun! (Mystery in the first episode at least was a little obvious though.) I like the sidekick a lot - Gently shows up judging him six ways to sunday - his methods, his marriage, his shoes, his desire to not spend the rest of his life on a moor (where is this set, anyway?) and he totally calls him on it. You go, ambivalent character who's name I never quite caught!

John Bacchus. It's set in Northumberland and County Durham ;)

[Theda Baratheon]

Just watched the first part of Quirke. Was pretty good.

[Datepalm]

I'm still on Gently - it takes me at least three sessions to get through an episode (90 minutes is just too long for me) but I'm enjoying it. John is the best!

[Veltigar]

I'm still on Gently - it takes me at least three sessions to get through an episode (90 minutes is just too long for me) but I'm enjoying it. John is the best!

He would make a good Marwyn or Randyll Tarly if they ever introduce the character on GoT.

[Zorral]

I wish there have been more Gentlys. It was a terrific series -- the time period, the location, the two principal actors, the writing.

I wish there were more Single Handed too (though that has got to be in contention for the worst title ever).

Endeavour is fairly meh, to me. Morse never grabbed me either. But I loved Lewis -- and no small reason was his second, the played by Lawrence Fox.

Midsomer now -- was there ever anything like that?

Looking forward to Broadchurch -- at some point netflix ought to be sending me the dvds.

[Veltigar]

Midsomer was great in the first few seasons. After that it begins to go downhill. It's never truly terrible (and sometimes they still have great episodes like the one with James Cosmo as a guitar player), but it's never really great either. And some of the things they do just irks me beyond measure (hinting at supernatural things).

[James Arryn]

To add a few...many of my favourites have been mentioned:

Prime Suspect...Helen Mirren setting the standard. Just a fucking classic.

Cracker...Robbie Coltrane is brilliant as brilliantly fucked up brilliant criminal psychologist.

Silent Witness...tone of show changes over episodes, but solid throughout.

Whitechapel, although IMO it lost some quality in later series, great atmospheric/creepy feel.

Waking the Dead....not amazing, but solid ensemble cast, hot and cold scripts.

DCI Banks, very good initial run, haven't seen later ones.

The Last Detective...well done, based on pretty good novels.

Case Histories...another Tartan Noire, great lead actor, well written.

Wire In The Blood...creepy, a little over the top at times, but often very good.

Old show called Wycliffe, pretty good/moody. Set in Cornwall.

A few shorter runs:

Falcon, set in Seville. If you liked Zen, you're like these.

The actor from Gently was great in a couple of P.D. James Dalgliesh versions: Death in Holy Orders and the Murder Rooms. There is an earlier series with a great lead and a slew of later-name actors, but it's pretty dated for my tastes.

From about the same era, maybe not quite as dated but lead not as strong: An Unsuitable Job For A a a Woman.

My gf and I just marathoned The Fall, first season. Excellently done.

Without Motive...pretty good, lead's meh IMO.

There's a Manchester series about 2 female detectives which is much better than it first seems. Their boss is probably best performance, but all are solid. A bit iffy on how every case revolves around their personal lives, but worth a look. Can't remember name, but ____ & ______.

All for now, will remember more later.

[Derfel Cadarn]

The Manchester one is probably Scott and Bailey. It tried to be more realistic in its depiction of police procedure. Never seen it.

I quite liked season 1 of Case Histories but found season 2 meh.

[Seli]

Of that list I know and like Silent Witness, as well as Waking the Death and they tend to be solid. But they seem to miss the moody quirk that Datepalm was looking for.

[Datepalm]

Finished all the George Gentlys - oh, the joys of unemployment. The first few were a bit dry, but it picked up a lot in seasons 3-4. The mysteries themselves were better and the characters too. I think...Quirke now.