Maigret

Reat mystery series set in Paris before the guillotine was reitred. It's compelling fun to see Maigret slice through the layers of lies he's told to nail the villain. The theme music is fabulous and it sets the mood. You really feel. As if you were back in '50s Paris.

This has a Colomboesque feel; the interest is in seeing how he garners the evidence to obtain the conviction.

I have seen two of these and am will binge the rest. I lok forward to seeing him mount oleaginous malefactors on the skewer of evidence and send them to the guillotine for their misdeeds.

Regrettably, not nearly enough of these were made.

We used to watch this in French in high school! I absolutely loved the days when we'd walk in and be told we got to watch Maigret. They're kinda old, but way interesting, and we almost never knew what was going to happen. The episodes aren't predictable, which makes it all the more interesting. I hate when you know what's going to happen before it does, but I don't recall an instance where that was the case. It's totally worth checking out if you like a good mystery. And they really are great for French classes. I don't think we watched them in French with English subtitles like we did with other movies, but he's a French detective and there are a lot of French words and sites that are helpful to the students. We also used to write summaries of the stories entirely in French, so if you're a teacher, it's a great combination of comprehension and writing. If you decide you like these, or are looking for something similar, try watching Poirot. It's a series based on the stories by Agatha Christie. Same type of thing, but I'm partial to Maigret myself!

In 1992/1993 I was busy trying to make a career and did not see much of this series.I have seen some repeats but was delighted to buy the dvd boxed set.

It seems I had seen hardly any of the series. People are critical of this saying it is a British version of a French tale,fair comment but it is a well written and well cast and watching makes me want to win the lottery and move to Paris. There are 12 episodes and of course some are weaker than others but the acting is always good even in the small parts and it looks great.

Budapest plays Paris. I like the recent,Rowan Atkinson version of Maigret but this version is bigger budget and a better view of Maigret and his team in a more sinful Paris.

The plots assume than viewers would be willing to invest some effort into some complicated stories but this is less true nowadays

This is a splendid series which I have recently obtained on DVD. Memories of when I first watched it seventeen years ago have come flooding back. But so did the irritation over one particular episode - Series 1 Ep 4. Maigret returns to his home village on All Souls Day (2nd November) a day when a priest is allowed to offer three Masses. Here the priest for a requiem Mass is dressed not in black vestments (appropriate for Masses of the dead in the 1950's) but in green vestments and not vestments for a priest but those of a deacon. When so much authenticity is captured in a production it was a pity that woeful ignorance of simple ecclesiastical matters was allowed to have such free rein. If those concerned in production are unsure about church customs then it is usually easy to find out for certain. But, all in all, a great series - delightful to watch and I give it 8 out of 10.

Filmed I think in Budapest, it has the shabby, faded look of the 50s. Writing, directing and acting are all top-notch. Many respected thespians pass through: Peter Blythe, Edward Petherbridge, Betty Marsden, Toyah Wilcox, Anne Todd - yes, that Anne Todd. Like the Simenon novels, the episodes are thick with atmosphere and explore the seedy realities of life. The characters are not nice middle class people who appreciate classical music and whose children go to good schools. They are a spendthrift playboy in a mouldy chateaux, or a stripper with - not a heart of gold but a few moments of tenderness. They are dentist's assistants, schoolboys, mendacious antique dealers, toyboys, prostitutes. See it if you can. xxxx