Foyle's War

I've never been a huge fan of the murder mystery genre of television shows.  It seems they are either skewed to the elderly demographic (Murder She Wrote, Matlock, Agatha Christy for example) or so self-consciously quirky and quippy that they become blindingly irritating and absurd (Bones for example).  Also, the way they hold back information that the hero suddenly reveals at the end when he/she solves the mystery and the endless red herrings set up to distract us make me feel manipulated and cheated.  To a degree, this isn't entirely their fault, as it wouldn't be much of a mystery if the culprit was obvious from the get-go.  However, that element and the fact that once they do catch the perp he or she immediately feels compelled to confess everything is utter contrivance.  Apparently these ne'er do wells did not do well in civics class and are not aware of something called the 5th Amendment.  I guess that makes sense.  They're ne're do wells.  But, for these reason I've never really been able to get into this particular type of show.

However, I have found an exception, and while it does fall into some of those same traps, which, again are at least partially unavoidable given the genre, it manages to do so in a more accptable way.  The show is Foyle's War, a British series aired on PBS that my wife and I started watching thanks to the magic of Netflix Watch Instantly.

Foyle's War stars Michael Kitchen as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle--or as he always introduces himself, "My name is Foyle.  I'm a police officer."  It's 1940's war-time England and Foyle, too old for the draft and too valuable to the war-depleted police service to be transferred into some civilian war-time capacity, he man's the home front solving murders, sabotage, and the like.  He is assisted by his young female driver, the spunky and easger Samantha (Sam) Stewart of the MTCs and a serious wounded veteran of the botched British campaign in Norway, Sergeant Milner, who at times struggles with life back on the home front.

What makes the show unique is the backdrop of the war.  As a period piece it feels authentic and gives you an idea of what life was like on the British home front.  The war overshadowed everything, even murder investigations and more then once Foyle, though a supporter of the war effort and parent of an RAF flyer, finds himself at odds with some aspect of that very effort.  Whether it's arresting someone who may be a valuable war time official, or releasing a person of interest in a crime because it would benefit the cause, Foyle is faced with tough decisions.  He's a man of principal and takes his job very seriously, but he is not without compassion and humanity and is not adverse to being pragmatic. Kitchen plays the character superbly.  His quiet and unassuming manner belie an unflappable determination and most underestimate him at first meeting.  He can be cheeky and brilliantly British; understated and deadpan.  And like all good television gumshoes, he always gets his man.  At least so far, I've only watched the first three episodes.

The episodes are long, almost feature length at around an hour and a half, which allows plenty of time for the stories to develope and give the characters some depth.  It's not hip or clever and is a bit Masterpiece Theater-ish, but as a well acted whodunit with an interesting and original backdrop it works and is worth checking out.