Customer Reviews

Inspector Lynley Mysteries - Set 4

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This series has been steadily improving since its debut double-episode five or so years ago, and after the cliffhanger ending of Season 3 I was very eager to get my hands on Season 4. But as impressive as it has been up to this point, I was still not prepared!

As an avid fan of the British murder mystery genre, I have never seen a series improve so much in just one season, and I was a staunch fan before. Everything about Season 4 is extraordinary. The stories, the interaction of the characters which has made the show such a joy to follow, the magnificent acting of Parker and Small, the stunning scenery, even the cinematography has become more edgy and artistic. The series has reached entirely new and unprecedented heights. I would say it is now in a completely different league. Wow is an understatement!

I must nit-pick, though - what a shame that this perfection is not presented as well as it could be. Letterbox is a poor substitute for anamorphic widescreen, and it deserves better. Also some extras would be more than welcome. However, for the price, what you will get is certainly more than worth the money.

Despite the shortcomings of the set, the series itself is without flaw, comparable in quality (almost) to Foyle's War, and far superior to Midsomer, Frost, and all the rest of the greats in the canon.

If you are new to the series, I believe you will be enchanted on the merits of this season alone, but if you have been following it since its rather humble beginnings, you will be amazed. Season 4 is less "gritty" and more aesthetic than previous seasons, and has developed beyond the confines of E. George's (reputedly very gritty) novels into an entity all its own. Extremly well done.

And now - after a cliffhanger even more stunning than the last one - I eagerly await Season 5. I can't WAIT to see what they do next!!

Philip Larkin wrote that there are two kinds of people: "book Bond" lovers and "film Bond" lovers, and that these two warring camps of James Bond fans can't get along because they admire completely different Bonds. I think fans of Elizabeth George's Insector Linley books may feel the same about this cracking BBC series, but I wouldn't know. I'm too enamored of these disparate characters, whose warts are becoming particularly prominent as their partership deepens.

Kudos to the screenwriters, who muscled up George's books, and drew out the underlying Havers/Lynley Non-Romance, the dead-ended pratfalls of which are beginning to take their toll on them--and others. Lynley in particular needs a holiday, but he won't take one because--well, because that's how he deals. Bad move.

Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small make this could-have-been-wretched series so much their own it's breathtaking. They play it absolutely straight. Fans have watched Tom Lynley cope with Barbara's snarkey, jealous, defensive jabs, and now they'll watch Barbara come into her own as Tom turns brittle after his baby's death. It's all very melodramatic, but having been with them since the beginning, we are rooting for them more than I'd care to admit,even if Tom has to spend some time in the pokey. Oops!

Fans can rejoice: #4 is as good--if better--than #1-3. And as for #5: well, surely at some point, Tom and Barb will split a pint, turn on a bar or two of the fire, put their feet up, and talk. But if they do, this wonderful, atmospheric series will be over.

The "Inspector Lynley Mysteries" series is currently one of my favorites in this genre (murder/mysteries) I own all of the seasons including, of course, this season four. It truly has gotten better and better with each consecutive season. Season, four, to me is the very best so far. The primary reason for the aforesaid feeling is that Inspector Lynley's sidekick, Barbara Havers as played by Sharon Small is maturing into a wonderfully astute detective. I've always admired the character of Havers with her "salt of the earth" wisdom and common sense; however, in season four, she really has come into her own--very wise, very knowledgeable and physically very beautiful. In other words, she holds her own with the character of Inspector Lynley as played marvelously by Nathaniel Parker; plus she has become an indispensable partner to him and perhaps a future love interest (Thank god, that dreary wife that he's so in love with has sort of disappeared). In the episode `The Seed of Cunning" Havers proves her worth. That episode is "nail biting" good!

Yes there is the preverbal "cliff hanger". Lynley, this time is the one in trouble!

I loved Season four of this series--it is sooooooo good!

The Lynley series is satisfyingly "safe" yet interesting. The stories are good enough. The production values and acting are excellent.
The formula is based on the class differences as they express themselves in England. Lynley is from an extravagantly wealthy family. He is the top dog and bosses around his equally bright partner, Havers. Havers is below middle class. They are both hard workers with tragic flaws around opposite sex relationships as well as taking risks in their jobs. Yet, because Lynley is an upper class male bossing around a lower class intuitive female [Havers] it appears that they have a working relationship that substitutes, poorly, for marriage. The working relationship is similar to the detective & sargent in the Morse series.
Most the stories often take place surrounded by wealth, like the Colombo & Morse series'.
Plots are fluffy, safe, & self-aware. My wife and I like to watch it before we go to sleep. It's interesting enough to keep us up and tame enough to be our "nightcap".
The tone is similar to the Morse Mystery series...and is much darker than American mysteries like Colombo, Rockford, and Murder She Wrote.

Inspector Lynley Mysteries Series 4 is comprised entirely of films that are not based on books or written by Elizabeth George. These four new mysteries pick up after Series 3's cliffhanger, in which Detective Sergeant Havers was shot. She's back on duty, and Lynley is estranged from his wife Helen. I've never liked the films' interpretation of Helen, so I was pleased to find her absent from this series. Lynley is becoming increasingly angst-ridden, and Havers departs more and more from the character of the books. But these mysteries are entertaining. "Seed of Cunning" is the most suspenseful Lynley film I've seen so far. Each mystery is 85 minutes long, and this series ends with a cliffhanger too. PBS calls this Season 5, and WGBH Boston calls it Series 4, so don't be confused.

"In Divine Proportions" finds Detective Sergeant Havers (Sharon Small) recovered from her gun shot injuries and Detective Inspector Lynley (Nathaniel Parker) anxious over his wife's departure following her miscarriage. Interior designer Samantha Walthew (Louise Hickson) is shot to death on a property in her home village that she and her husband were planning on developing. The property's former owner, Philip Turner (Richard Armitage), had taken up with her. A belligerent old neighbor, Mr. Harris (Roderick Smith), doesn't hide his disdain for the Walthews. But the name of Ron Verger, a local man who disappeared some 15 years ago, keeps turning up in the investigation, and his departure seems to still weigh heavy on the mind of his son Billy (Burn Gorman) and Samantha's old acquaintances. There are a lot of emotionally overburdened characters in this one. It's quite the village melodrama.

"In the Guise of Death" takes Lynley back to Cornwall and his family estate. While Lynley is visiting his family, horse trainer Stephen Fenner (Doug Rollins) is found hanged in the stables on a neighboring estate. The ambitious officer assigned to the case, DS Tremayne (Adrian Bower), welcomes DI Lynley's input. Lady Asherton (Gabrielle Drake) has invited Havers to stay with the family while she's on leave, so both Lynley and Havers are on hand to assist with the investigation. But they disagree over the direction of the case. Havers thinks the motive for murder came from the equine world and suspects fellow horse trainer Lawrence Chilcott (Nick Dunning). Lynley thinks the assailant is connected to the smuggling operation of boat repairman Lachlan (Doug Allen) that used Fenner's land. This mystery is entertaining and not too far-fetched, the second-best of this season.

Back in London for "The Seed of Cunning", the body of Eric Ramsey (James Pearse), a doorkeeper to the House of Lords, is found floating in the Thames. Lynley's aristocratic background prove both an advantage and a curse when he and Havers go poking around in the House of Lords and a nearby social club. Deep in debt from gambling, Ramsey had a falling out with straight-arrow Committee Clerk Geoffrey Crammond (Clive Merrison) over the disappearance of some important papers. Lynley's supercilious old rival from Oxford, Simon Featherstonehaugh (Roger Allam), has a seat in the House. And Letitia Gane (Claudie Blakely), lobbyist for an American defense firm, seems to turn up around every corner. Meanwhile, Havers is making an improbable attempt at a social life. The political intrigue may not be to everyone's taste, but this mystery builds suspense very effectively.

One page from a priceless 7th century Koran is found on the frozen body of Latif Ansari in "Word of God". Ansari was an illegal Jordanian immigrant whose forged passport leads Lynley and Havers to an uneasy collaboration with Immigration police. The precious page is authenticated by Islamic scholar Elias Blackwell (Mark Benton), who helps Lynley pose as a collector trying to purchase black market art from antiquities dealer Dimitri Zavos (Joseph Long). The dead man's wife Narima (Maggy Sharif) may unwittingly hold the key to finding the Golden Koran that everyone seeks. But the trail also leads to a clinic where Latif was on a kidney transplant list. Frustrated by Helen's absence and his powerlessness on recent cases, Lynley is anxious, impatient, and about to snap.

Newly released and now available for fans and enthusiastically recommended for community library DVD collections, "The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 4" is a boxed set of 4 DVDs which continue the adventures of one of Britains most sophisticatedly presented investigators, Inspector Lynley (Nathanial Parker) and his assistant, Detective Sergeant Havers (Sharon Small) who unravel particularly convoluted mysteries based on the stories of acclaimed mystery author Elizabeth George. The four new mysteries comprising this outstandingly produced boxed set include: In Divine Proportion; In the Guise of Death; The Seed of Cunning; and The Word of God. These riveting `whodunnits" are packed with memorable characters, fascinating plot twists, and surprise endings. The DVD format allows the inclusion of such features as scene selection, closed captions, and even access to the Mystery! Website. The earlier three Inspector Lynley boxed sets in this outstanding series are still available on the WGBH website for anyone needing to complete their collections.

This is an excellent series. Well presented the English do the best drama and mystery stories very easy to watch.

Great author's, Elizabeth George, book turned into a great series. Sharon Small and Nathaniel Hawthorne work well together.

For fans of Lynley (or Havers) this is a must. For those who are yet to be converted to Lynley the enjoyment for the viewer is not just crimesolving but the way the two stars interact to provide interest at a romantic (will they, won't they) level. Thoroughly recommended

This season might as well have been subtitled 'Lynley: brooding and nasty'. For the most part, his character is completely unlikeable. Havers, again, carries the show. Though, again, she's not the Havers I'd have pictured from the book. With each series she gets prettier and far more likeable, and it's obvious she's the one with the real knack for investigation.

The mysteries themselves are still wonderful, with good plots and decent twists that keep you guessing. Very much worth watching, especially if you can filter out a lot of Lynley.