Inspecteur Gently

There are two massive reasons to like and admire this series.

1. The characters. The solid, thoughtful Inspector Gently is perfectly matched against his hot-headed subordinate Bacchus. I love both these personalities, and the way their peculiar, very 1960s outlooks interlock. Bacchus in particular is a really great creation, because he's likable in spite of his obvious faults.

2. The fact that it's ABOUT something. These are not just mindless whodunit puzzles. Each episode of the show has a strong point to make. In fact, multiple points. About how attitudes have evolved, during and since the 1960s. About human nature. About the law, and policing. This is a show that works as a police procedural, but also works extremely well as drama.

Apart from those two strengths, the show has atmosphere, a unique style, great dialog, and seething emotional confrontations. It's thoughtful, yet never slow. In fact, it's good on every conceivable level, including many that are rarely present in mere TV entertainment.

In short, this is one of the best cop shows ever to come out of the UK. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

I love British crime shows, and I've watched a lot over the years. Compared to american shows they depend not so much on action, but more on characters, with even the small parts played by character actors of which Britain seems to have an abundance.

Of all the shows I remember, two seem to rise above the rest : "Inspector Gently" and "Foyle's War". Both are period pieces, Gently set in the 60s, and Foyle during WW2.

The setting here is perfect 60s style. The cars, the mini skirts, the Ronson lighters and the amount of cigarettes smoked by the characters.

I originally rated Foyle a 10 and Gently a 9, but after recently having watched them both again, it seemed to me that Gently deserved a 10 as well.

Shaw and Ingleby makes a perfect duo, with their incompatible characters, that against all odds seem to find the exactly right mix.

Highly recommended if you can tolerate slow burn and sometimes controversial topics.

This is a high quality, well written series which contains excellent acting and believable plots (well, more believable than "Midsomer Murders" for example). The episodes can be viewed as standard "whodunnits" but also spectacularly reveal the massive changes in law, attitudes and culture in the UK over the past 45 years or so.

My only gripe is that, despite the great attention that is paid to period detail, the writers always make the mistake (not restricted to this series) of scripting the words "against you" in the caution used by a police officer when making an arrest. The UK police caution in such circumstances before 1995 was: "You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so but anything you do say may be given in evidence." The words "used against you" were only ever used in USA. To have used these words in UK could have prejudiced the case.

/refers to seasons 1-7/ Yes, like most British crime series, Inspector George Gently is not just solving crimes, it gives a broad overview of vices and virtues, ups and downs around the place the events take place. True, the stuff and solutions are not of equal interest and wittiness, but they seem realistic, not artificially constructed. Unlike some other series, as for private moments, the one in question focuses on the ones of George Gently and John Bacchus (performed masterfully by Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby, respectively), providing additional background for their thoughts and deeds, but still not filling the screen-time in vain. The only "minus" from me goes to the fact that the main characters remain rather static, their principle do not "open" even after decisive changes in the society; on the other hand, however, it was pleasant to follow the environment characteristic to that era, yet constant smoking jangled my nerves quite a lot :) Thus, a meaty creation, to be recommended to watch in sequence, but not mandatory - there are enough references to necessary moments happened before. I took my time to watch all seasons, and I am contented, although each episode is around 1.5 hours...

It's an outstanding Police series set in the northeast in the mid 60's when murderers are still sent to the gallows. Martin Shaw plays Detective Chief Inspector George Gently and Ex Metropolitan Police officer and Lee Ingleby plays a cocky young Detective Sergeant Bacchus. Bacchus is occasionally described as a nasty piece of work and he often is. He's George's bulldog and George is not afraid to set him lose. In 60's terms, George would not be classed as corrupt but he's not adverse to giving a bit of a slap when necessary. He's keen to get the right person locked up. Martin Shaw is worlds away from the smug hypocritical Judge Deed and all the better for it. From my own experience I can say that the series is quite realistic and I have no hesitation in recommending it. I look forward to further episodes