Alleyn Mysteries

We are avid consumers of BBC mysteries, and the Alleyn Mysteries are one our favorites. The acting from the lead players is subtle and involving (and far better than anything on American TV) and the usual variety of excellent British actors appear throughout the series. The stories are well written, the dialogue is convincing, the character development is enjoyable, and the directors respect the intelligence of the viewer. Highlights are the nuanced development of the relationship between Alleyn and his love interest Agatha Troy, and the delightful exchanges between the aristocratic Alleyn and his middle class next-in-command, Inspector Fox. The only disappointment is the limited number of these shows.

Having read the two previous comments, both of which read as though they had been written by two citizens of Superman's Bizarro World (where everything is exactly the opposite of how it is in real life), I felt I had to come to this fine series' defense. Taking the accusations one by one:

Ngaio Marsh was indeed a brilliant writer; her detective stories have in fact made a great TV series, and this is it. Patrick Malahide is a gifted actor, it's true, and he was perfectly cast as Roderick Alleyn, precisely because he makes of him so much more than "a stereotype toff." I agree that Marsh's Alleyn remains elusive as a personality throughout the series of novels; and Malahide, sensing this essential quality of Marsh's hero, allows a cloud of reticence to hover around his Alleyn to exquisitely ambiguous and subtle effect. Troy, played with equal finesse and discretion by Belinda Lang, is, in fact, portrayed as "an individualist with her own career as a painter" -- in fact, one episode (Final Curtain) features her prominently, on her own, noting many crucial clues while fulfilling a portrait commission! (Needless to say, she never says "You never have time for me!" or anything of the sort.) The adaptations are extremely clever and elegant, managing to retain much of the loveliness of Marsh's unparalleled drawing-room conversation while keeping within the time limits set by a 98- minute format. Period detail is not "ladled on," at all. On the contrary, the art direction, cinematography (a nearly subliminal sepia filter tints the series) and set decoration are, as we've come to expect of these British productions, impeccable and always convincing. The comparison of Marsh's stories -- and this production of them -- with those of P. D. James is useless: Marsh's readership and tone were entirely unlike those of James, and their books are apples and oranges. It's childish to rank one over the other. The pace is leisurely -- not "slow and badly done." The "interplay of characters" is extraordinarily full and complex throughout the series -- but it is subtle, discreet and low-key, all evidently the sort of virtues which threaten to put some critics and their wives to sleep.

In short, if you enjoy civilized old-school British mystery of the very best sort, you can't do much better than Malahide and Lang in The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries. I for one can't wait for the second DVD set.

I stumbled onto Inspectgor Alleyn on SBS Australia a few years ago. The series has never been broadcast on commercial TV. I waited impatiently for them to be released on DVD and hope that there is a Series 3 to be released.

The casts are excellent with the cream of British theatre and television have been wonderful. The scenery is wonderful.

There is something "peaceful" with the presentation of the series in that you just would love to live in some of the locations and buildings.

Patrick is excellent as Inspector Alleyn as is Inspector Fox. The two actors feed off each other with ease. It is a pleasure to watch the series repeatedly.

It has always been the British who produce such excellent series. There is something about products based in the early 1920-1950s that are special.

Malahide is an excellent Alleyn. I think the restraint, classiness, and beauty of these productions are unparalleled. I wish there were more of them. The actor playing Fox is a little scary at first but he grows on you. I wish that he had been bearded, though, as in the books.

Lang as Troy is wonderful. She's not as young as I imagined, but that does not detract from the attractiveness of the character at all.

The sets and settings are beautiful. The conversations well-transferred from the books to the screen.

I just love this series. I think anyone who loves the books will love them. Even though certain things are changed from the books (like the introduction of Troy in A Man Lay Dead) they are so well done it doesn't spoil the stories a bit. Every bit of it from beginning to end is believable.

After watching the eight episodes made with Patrick Malahide, I began re-reading Ngaio Marsh's books. I discovered her as a teenager, probably around the time this series aired, but never had an inclination to read them again. And after watching this series I know why. Marsh's description of Alleyn was so nebulous- basically tall, dark, thin, and handsome with a fastidious face in one instance or a monkish one in the other. He's a dapper silhouette, complete with hat and an excellently cut suit, but still a shadowy figure. Troy and Fox were easy to visualize, in fact apart from Belinda Lang's longer hair and William Simons' lack of a mustache, they are exactly as I pictured them, but Alleyn remained elusive. After seeing Malahide as Alleyn, it's so much easier to read the books because Malahide gives Alleyn a face and voice. I must admit I wasn't thrilled with Simon Williams' performance of Alleyn in the first episode. At times he had the "Handsome Alleyn" look, but that's about all.

The episodes take liberties with some of Marsh's plots (Troy wasn't in A Man Lay Dead, subplots are added or changed), but overall very well done and worth a watch (or two or three). Of course, this is not your more current type of entertainment where the scenes shift constantly to keep up with an audience that has an attention span of 30 seconds. Characters and plots develop at a more leisurely pace, rather like a train ride through the English countryside, but never to the point where one feels the writers were padding the script to fill the time slot. Malahide, Simons, and Lang have wonderful chemistry in their scenes together, and the supporting actors are top notch.