The German Woman

This is an excellent period crime drama in the style of Agatha Christie but with more bite. Michael Kitchen is superb as D.S.Christopher Foyle, and the supporting cast are all strong, including a surprisingly quiet but highly effective performance by Robert Hardy. The first in a series of four, this murder story with its background of tensions and suspicions in a small village shortly after the outbreak of the first World War has a satisfying array of characters, a good plot, and allows you a small glimpse of Foyle the man as well as Foyle the detective. Michael Kitchen is an actor who doesn't need words to tell you what he's thinking, and I hope that his performance, and the series itself, gets the recognition it undoubtedly deserves. It's a delight to watch.

One of 6 episodes produced, the only drama series i have not missed an episode of in the last decade. Michael Kitchen heads an excellent cast with strong support from the other regulars characters all developed brilliantly over the series(such as his enthusiastic driver, with a a clergyman father's old values overthrown by his daughter's enthusiasms and benefit to the police). What distinguishes this episode and those that followed is the viewer is unable to understand fully the motive for the main murder let alone whodunnit. Its educational in that it focuses on the seriouis side of those at home during the war - no Dad's Army here, and the main detective's natural assumptive way in dealing with people is so refreshing, no mannered acting, just intelligent and to the point. Such lines as "No, you're still lying like you did when we last met, what's it to be " are great. Hopefully more to come.

ITV had tried several times to find a replacement for Inspector Morse, when it brought us Foyle's War it managed to do just that. The German Woman sets the precedent for a wonderful series, it was beautifully written, superbly acted, fantastically produced, interesting, and simply captivating.

Foyle's War often makes you think of how the War affected different groups of people. We all have ideas of what life was like for everyday Brits, but for Germans living in the UK, life must have been unbearable, the episode manages to show both sides of the argument, and weave the natural fears into the plot. The writing is so incredibly rich, there is so much going on, so much detail, it's impressive when you think of how much is going on, the introduction of Foyle, the story of his son, Samantha's character and story, Milner's story and the actual crime and corruption surrounding the main players.

It is no wonder is lasted so long, and developed such a loyal following. What an immaculate start to a superb series.

I think, on my third viewing of this series, that I can marshal my thoughts appropriately. Not enough credit, in my opinion, goes to the Casting Directors of successful series. Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks and Anthony Howell were perfect as the lead characters throughout this series. In this episode (as throughout the series) we are presented with reality in 1940s Britain. When Foyle and his son catch a large fish and are able to say happily "That's a main course!" it's because others would be eating only on official rations (that they had not caught). American viewers might not pick up on that small cultural quirk - people were suffering even then. My mother told me how she sheltered down in the tube tunnels as the bombs fell - during her ninetieth birthday party she wore a jacket she had crocheted in the tube to take her mind off the bombs falling. Life was hard, then, and this series captures the spirit of the age

This really just gets better all the time. The character development of the main protagonists is gently, but effectively carried out, with Michael Kitchen's performance as the quietly calm Superintendent simply outstanding. His ability to convey the full range of emotions, without ever having to resort to shouting or histrionics could be used a Masterclass. Anthony Howell as Det Sgt Paul Milner gives an equally outstanding performance, particularly as he is reduced to a minor character in the first two evidently introductory episodes. Now that the series seems to be hitting its stride, he has progressed from shell-shocked self pity to a nicely judged desperation when faced by his unsympathetic wife. These two main characters are both likeable and plausible and have the ability to gain our sympathies to the extent that the odd plot weakness (notably the final denouement of week 3) can be overlooked. I want to know what happens to them so I do hope there will be a further series.