The Ruth Rendell Mysteries

Wow,I am amazed at how bad this series is I bought a dvd of this and was bored to death

This is supposed to be a murder series,but there is no urgency,no thrill, just old English people plodding along with their customs and traditions

I'm sure George baker is a decent actor, but he's miscast In this role, it would have suited someone tougher and smarter, not this old guy that was regularly seen taking naps and mumbling

The direction is terrible They show entire scenes that have nothing to do with the murder just to drag the time out

There was a long drawn out dinner party scene in which nothing remotely interesting happend, this went on for ages

I haven't never seen this on another TV series,it's shocking and an insult to viewers.

Terribly slow. No action. Boring. Very few supporting actors. Waste of time.

We read the reviews and thought it would be a great series. The first story was carried over 4 episodes. Could have been done in an hour and still not with it! After the first episode, we were stunned and underwhelmed. However, we continued to watch (and FF where possible) to get to the merciful conclusion of the storyline. The worst "police" we've seen in any series. No focus. No passion except when they overacted. We read that Ruth Rendell based Wexford on herself. Passionless (except when overacting), no real ability to reason or solve crimes - so how was she able to write if she's like her character??? We will not waste our time on the remaining 44 episodes.

Why no cast list for this very popular TV programme of the 90's. It should really have been called ' Wexford ' The star, Detective Chief Inspector Reg Wexford is played by George Baker a very experienced and accomplished UK actor. The programme is set in rural England, probably Hampshire. Wexford is a good old fashioned reliable solid British Policeman. We are not talking here about gruesome murders or car chases. We are talking about traditional detection methods and a Policemen who has integrity and the trust of the public. In truth Baker looks that he is old enough to retire for the whole of the series. He is assisted by a younger Inspector Burden ( Christopher Ravenscroft)and his attractive wife played by Diane Keen.

I love a good British mystery, especially of the pre-2000 variety. Hence I was excited when YouTube suggested I watch a few episodes of Ruth Rendell.

But boy, what a disappointment. What could be a reasonably entertaining (and even then, hardly more than that) 30-minute story gets shamelessly dragged out into four (4) episodes of 50 minutes each. Someone's getting married? Great; let's show the church; the guests arriving; the brides sashaying down the isle; the ceremony; the 'Just Married'; the couple driving off on their honeymoon. Etc. Etc. Never mind that it serves no purpose in the story whatsoever.

I can see how a lonely old person in the 1980s, with a total of two programs on their black-and-white telly, might give it a go. But for today's viewer, this show is the definition of boring.