Wycliffe

Wycliffe is a gritty,tense detective show set in Cornwall.The main character Charles Wycliffe is an old fashioned,grumpy detective dedicated to his profession. He is joined by a beer loving,maverick and an ambitious modern woman looking to climb the ladder as best she can. Wycliffe relies solely on conventional means to solve his cases and usually stays within the realm of the law to catch the culprits. At times his work can stray into his home life.He can be relaxing at home with his wife and daughter when he gets an urgent call. The stunning scenery of Cornwall is used to great effect.It's a real joy to see Wycliffe speeding around the tight,winding roads in the pursuit of gathering evidence or tracking down a suspect. He also appears to be quite fond of the classic detective garment of a long trench coat

Wycliffe uses a dull knife of plodding detectery to pry these mysteries out of the gray sea and apparently endless you've-seen-one-you've-seen-them-all moorish landscapes. In almost every one the perpetrator and plot ending are revealed long before the hour is up. Revealed to the audience, that is. Wycliffe and his team take a bit longer. These are the bog-standard fare for older British detective series -- not much originality, not much emotion except the occasional bark of the boss when he is discommoded, lots of old ratty hotels and fusty pubs with less-than-winsome barmaids. A lot of the scenes consist of a couple of the detectives nursing beers in a bar in the evening, fussing about which direction the case should take next. They never agree. I'm watching almost all the episodes because I've already watched every other British mystery series a half dozen times. This is one of the least of these, my brethren.

That is not to be critical of non British crime series.

No plot spoilers.

This is a 1990s detective series set in Cornwall ,which is a poor rural area in the South West of England.

The setting is important to the series,the landscape of moors and rocky coastlines are like a character in the episodes.

The plots seem realistic with references to problems with drugs,poverty and holiday homes.

The cast is great,the 3 leads are excellent.

I do wonder what happened to Helen Masters who is just wonderful.

Since Wycliffe was made there have been similar series set in rural Wales.

As a Scot it surprises me that Scottish crime series are never set in the Highlands

If you decide to track down Wycliffe you might find it a bit slow and the smaller parts are not well cast but this was a proper regional production in the days before ITV became a monolith.

Must say watching episodes of Wycliffe recently I found them very enjoyable. The much-respected Penguin TV Companion only gives 2 stars out of 4 for the series – I believe it to be better than that. I think Wycliffe may not be as punchy as Morse or quirky as Frost, but the stories and settings are interesting and the supporting actors in each episode give strong performances. The acting talent in Britain shows great depth.

I think that Jack Shepherd's performance as Wycliffe is considered by some to be too dour and laconic, but that's the way the character presents. There are plenty of other crime shows with more flamboyant and outgoing characters available for viewing. It's the difference between many of the main characters that makes them attractive or not, depending on individual taste. I like his personality and the way Shepherd portrays him.

The supporting characters played by actors Jimmy Yuill and Helen Masters as the two inspectors are great foils for Jack Shepherd's Wycliffe and add balance to the show. There are times when these two are at odds with each other's methods, but respect and a level of affection remains between them and is done realistically without the histrionics some other shows seem to think add colour to the narrative. And although office politics are a source of excellent humour in Frost, in Wycliffe it is portrayed realistically and in a way that enhances the story and has the ring of truth.

Maybe it's not as high profile as some others, but it is worth watching just the same.

"Wycliffe" is a windswept and rain-sodden Police drama. It is set in Cornwall, the most westerly county in England. Standard dress for plain-clothes detectives appears to be a scruffy grey polo-neck sweater and waterproofs.

The series centres around Detective-Superintendent Wycliffe, whose family life occasionally intrudes into the plots, and two subordinates: a woman Detective Inspector who has been pushed too fast into a senior rank, and a disillusioned male colleague.

Even looking piratical, the Police appear to be intruders into a comparatively isolated community. Some of the office politics which occasionally feature, deal with Wycliffe's aversion to the latest fashionable management trends from London being foisted onto his force.

"Wycliffe" is well worth watching the series for the scenery alone, and hearing the slow local accents.