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

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.

A thoughtful series that uses the scenery of Cornwall with great effect. Jack Shephard has acted many roles in British cinema, the first role that made me notice him was in the hammer horror, Dracula. Wykliffe gave him an opportunity to show his range of acting skills and demonstrate hi well honed jazz skills. Jimmy Yuill and Helen Masters perform well together and spark off one another with good effect. Jimmy Yuill in particular has gone on to act in other TV dramas that has shown his range of skills. The slow moving tempo of the series and the way it takes its time to develop characters makes Wykliffe one of the best police drama series. It is eminently watchable.

Despite the occasional slow tempo, Wycliffe is a wonderful detective series. It is gritty and tense, but there is something somewhat charming about it as well. The series is beautifully photographed, and the scenery is exquisite. The music, especially the main theme, is lovely and has a pleasant Cornish lilt to it. The series is well scripted and well constructed in terms of story lines as well, with the writing focused, thoughtful and sensitive and the story lines having their fair moments of grit and tension. And the acting is great, Jack Shepherd is superb as Wycliffe, who is quite old fashioned and conventional, and Helen Masters and Jimmy Yuill are also great as well developed supporting characters. Overall, a fine detective series, perhaps not the best out there, but it is very atmospheric thanks to the scenery and main theme music. 9/10 Bethany Cox

"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.