Customer Reviews

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection

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Now in a DVD boxed set containing all four seasons of one of the best British mystery series to every come out of the BBC production facilities, "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates" stars the brilliant British actress Patricia Routledge as a 60-something housewife-turned-detective. Her cases range from missing persons to homicides, all of which she tackles with the aid of Geoffrey (her young apprentice in the detective business) and the occasional assistance of her husband Robert. This boxed set not only contains all of the episodes in each of the four seasons of this popular series broadcast over PBS as part of their "Mystery!" programming, it also features a feature-length bonus program (Missing Persons) that served as the pilot episode, as well as an interview with Patricia Routledge, production notes, photo galleries, and cast filmographies. The thirteen discs comprising this enthusiastically recommended and unfailingly entertaining boxed set has a combined running time of 24 hours and 15 minutes.

"Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection, "(1997) a lighthearted comic/mystery television series produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation, comes to us starring Patricia Routledge, beloved by many for her iconic turn as Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced as "bouquet,"you trailer trash) in Keeping Up Appearances: The Full Bouquet. That's the ever-popular 1990's comedy television series, also made by the BBC. The box set is a wonderful cornucopia, bringing us all 27 episodes of the show, plus the pilot, "Missing Persons," written and produced by David Cook, based on his novel of the same name: the series is based on these characters he created. (The set also includes some episodes not previous seen in the Public Broadcasting System telecast). In addition, the series co-stars Dominic Monaghan as Hetty's young sidekick Geoffrey Shawcross; this was his breakout role, before he became a star in The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Theatrical Editions).

Routledge, a long-term star of stage and screen, who was voted the United Kingdom's all-time favorite television actress in a BBC poll, stars as the 60-something Hetty, who christens herself as a private investigator - without prior police experience, or indeed, any sleuthing experience. Yet she's able to solve mysteries, armed with the local Lancashire no-nonsense attitude, a smart mind, common sense, and plenty of moxie. She's assisted by Derek Benfield (Rumpole of the Bailey: The Complete Series Megaset,) as her supportive husband Robert, by John Graham-Davies as DCI Adams, and, eventually, by Suzanne Maddock as Geoff's girlfriend Janet Frazer. She's frustratingly impeded by Robert's foolish brother Frank (Frank Mills). The series is set, and filmed, in Lancashire in the North of England: you might say it does for Lancs. what Angela Lansbury's Jessica Fletcher did for New England's Cabot Cove. And, of course, what the American television hit did for women mystery fans of a certain age. And, praises be, and here comes the DePue subtitles report; as the series is chock full of delightful local accents and idiom, there are -unadvertised--closed captions, thank you, Acorn.

The production was filmed on site in the area of Bolton, Greater Manchester. There are trips to Darwen, Blackburn, and the Ribble Valley, and even, in "Blood Relations," the last episode, one to Yorkshire: Hetty tartly informs her husband that no passport is required. Scenes at the Women's Refuge in the "Woman of the Year" episode were made at Chaigley Manor, near Chipping. And the hotel scenes in "Daughter of the Regiment," in which Hetty and Geoff hilariously pretend to be Australian, were filmed in the "The Swan and Royal," on Castle Street in Chitheroe; a bit further up the hill from where Woolworth once was. (You can see the town landmark, the library clock, at several points during the episode).

Routledge, of course, is a bit older and heavier than she was in "Appearances" days; and this is a more serious part. But the humor is still there; you can catch many facial expressions that resemble Hyacinth's, particularly when Hetty takes the phone: pay attention in "Child's Play." In "Safe as Houses," Hetty gives us an old vaudeville song and soft-shoe to "Burlington Bertie." In the "Lost Chords" episode, we get to explore "Northern Food for Northern Folk," as one character says. We hear Hetty sing "Cuckoo" in "Daughter of the Regiment." In "A Minor Operation," Hetty admits that she was once on the stage, kicking up her heels in black fishnet stockings. And she uncorks a nice soprano to give us a hymn in "Blood Relations."

Hetty is noticeably younger, and gray-haired, in "Missing Persons," the pilot, made six years before the series. It's also noticeable that all the major male parts have been recast from the pilot to the series: it was filmed six years later, after all. And Hetty's hanging out with a flavorful bunch of people, much lower on the social scale than is usual for the later series: think Onslow and Daisy, rather than Violet and Bruce. "Missing Persons" is quite interesting on its own terms, giving us a close, insightful look at people not ordinarily seen on TV: they're much older than usual: and we get, in addition, a moving look at heartfelt life-long friendship and love among them.


Listen, this series is definitely the next-best thing to more "Keeping Up Appearances." Plus, you get so much for your money: your life can be a Hetty/Hyacinth festival for weeks.

Patricia Rutledge is a British jewel. The quality of the picture was good but the only complaint I have is that it si very difficult to remove the discs from the package. As I viewed each disc, I put it in another container. Whether she is doing comedy or serious parts, this lady is worth the price of admission

I adored Ms Routledge in her role as Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances. She was so good, I assumed she had always been a comedic actress. Therefore, imagine my surprise when I came across a pilot of a mystery series with Ms Routledge in the lead role. Clearly, I had to investigate further. The pilot, "Missing Persons" was filmed in 1990 (just before "Keeping Up Appearances", which ran 1990 thru 1995). To put it bluntly, it was not very good, and unsurprisingly, was not picked up for development. Thankfully, some clever soul eventually recognized the material's potential and after "Keeping Up Appearances" ended, the new series went full steam. "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates" is based on a novel "Missing Persons" by David Cook. The author used a real life character, his own mother, as an inspiration for Hetty. Hetty is a working class housewife who late in life discovers an affinity for intuitive thinking and an appreciation for earning her own wage. Supported by her retired husband and a wayward youth they accept into their humble home (pre-Lord-of-the-Rings Dominic Monaghan), Hetty embarks on a series of small and big adventures. Her clients come from a word of mouth, yellow pages, or, when there is extra money left, from small print ads in the local paper. Hetty is smart, resourceful and unrelenting. Ands keeps the viewer glued to the TV.

I strongly advise that you view the pilot for historical purposes only. Then, promptly forget it and move on to the series. Enjoy!

Very different from a Poirot, Lewis, frost etc. in terms of how she ends up solving/wrapping up mysteries. Some of it appears as luck and others make you go back and watch the episode to catch what elements made her conclude the way she did, which is fun because you do catch things that you missed! Hetty is, also, more of a character that ordinary people can connect with. Plus, the relationship that the main three characters, Hetty, Jeffery and Robert, have a lot of good chemistry and silly moments. I find this series a nice and pleasant one to enjoy with family.

I purchased Hetty Wainthropp Investigates-The Complete Collection sight unseen. I had been a big fan of Patricia Routledge from "Keeping Up Appearances" and loving English mysteries as I do decided to take a chance. I am very glad I did. These shows have a slight edge to them as far as the crime aspect goes, but are still enough on the tame side to be suitable for family viewing. The characters get a chance to develop over the series and there is a nice sense of family along with humor and of course the mysteries themselves. Nothing here to cause any brain drain solving them, but satisfying and many times heartwarming.

The main cast is pretty top notch and it was great seeing Derek Benfield again (playing Hetty's husband Robert) who I enjoyed very much in the early Rumpole of the Bailey episodes. Dominic Monaghan is also well cast as Hetty's young assistant and protege Geoffrey. Hard to believe it is the same fellow from "Lost" and the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Suzanne Maddock who plays Geoffrey's pal and girlfriend Janet is a nice addition in the third series. She went on to appear in 97 episodes of the British police classic "The Bill".

The packaging is nice, but the discs are seated a bit too firmly in their holders and require a bit of a twist and pull action to get them out without snapping them in half. This is typical of many Acorn video releases. The quality of the encode is very good, I had no glitches on any of the episodes so far. They do however appear to be taken from broadcast quality video tape and not directly from the original film it was shot on. Still, more than watchable and a very catchy theme song as well.

I have been watching 2 episodes a night since I got the set and am sad to say I only have 4 more to go. Of course, that's the beauty of owning the DVD set. You can go back at any time and watch it all over again. IN the case of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, you can be sure I will end up doing just that.

This complete collection includes the 1st episode where Hetty gets her start as a private eye. It is interesting to see how the series progresses. The first few episodes are much darker. If you are a fan of Hetty Wainthropp and the marvelous Patricia Routledge you will love this collection.

I found the collection very enjoyable except for the movie ¨missing persons¨ It was terrible. I hope they continue the series it did not have a proper ending.

If you love patricia routledge, you'll love this series. However, the pilot show was not my favorite. It resembled nothing like the later series, thank goodness. All in all we loved the shows. They are ones you can watch over and over.

I took the chance of purchasing this entire series based on the reviews without having ever seen an episode. I am so glad I did, it is an excellent collection! My mother loves this series and rated it as the top 5 of US or British mystery series. It is not just for the older crowd as I found the episodes to have unique plots with interesting twists and overall appeal for any age group. Kind of refreshing to watch a female sleuth!

Hetty, the main character, refuses to take retirement and sit around the house, so she starts her own detective agency. She teams up with a teenage/college age man she meets in the grocery store and together they unravel the many mysteries that are brought to their agency. I found the episodes to have unique plots and not the run of the mill someone-got-murdered for every episode. The series appears to be set in the 70s/early 80s timeframe.

If you like this series, also check out the Rosemary and Thyme series which is as good or better than this series. Both are highly recommended!