Customer Reviews

Da Vinci's Inquest - Season 3

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone looking at this Da Vinci DVD set shouldn't hesitate to buy it. It's one of the finest shows ever produced, period. This is for those folks worried about reviews of the earlier season sets put out by Acorn, where some have claimed that their Da Vinci sets are censored or edited versions. THIS IS NOT TRUE! I have rented the earlier, Canadian DVD release of Da Vinci Season 1, and I own the Acorn releases of Season 1 and 2. They are not censored or edited in any way! I'd hate to see misinformation like that lead to people not buying these sets, thereby putting future releases in jeopardy. I'd love to see Amazon remove those misinformed reviews of the earlier season sets, but since I doubt that will happen (they have better things to do, I'm sure), I hope this will quell peoples fears. Go ahead and buy these sets, you won't be disappointed.

Chris Haddock's rivetting series just gets better and better. This has
been the best character driven series on TV. The stories are intelligent, compelling and realistic. The production values are superb

Auteur Chris Haddock's brilliant and anguished love letter to Vancouver's crime-ridden Downtown and East End continues as his alter ego Dominic DaVinci, based on real-life Vancouver coroner/crusader Larry Campbell, continues his quest to "speak for the dead" -- find justice for people who are victimes of crime, yes, but also the indifference of society. Season three introduces the wonderful Kim Hawthorne as detective Rose Williams, who joins the investigative team (not without some tension), and amps up Irish actor Gerard Plunkett's role as Da Vinci's sometime ally/sometime obstacle chief coroner Bob Kelley. Again, it's hard to think of a better ensemble cast on any TV show, led by the world-class performance of Nicholas Campbell as Dominic. Don't miss it!

Addendum to original review: 1/2/10 - KONG is running DaVinci's Inquest on Saturday nights in Washington State.
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ACORN HAS BROUGHT "INTELLIGENCE" OUT ON DVD - BOTH SEASONS. SO WHY NOT DAVINCI'S INQUEST AND DAVINCI THE MAYOR?
CBC is rebroadcasting both series and the audience is still there. Chris Haddock has a following and ACORN continues to fail to respond to that.
You've read all the rave reviews about this series. And they're right - it does get better and better.
CBC should bring back anything produced by Chris Haddock - and why not bring DaVinci back?
And furthermore - why not put "The Quality of Life" on DVD as a movie?
It was a great show, ran one night, and those who love DaVinci will love "Quality....", if they missed that one opportunity to view it. Are you listening, ACORN? Chris Haddock's shows have a following and you wouldn't be putting the 2nd part of "Intelligence" out on DVD right now if you didn't realize that. I find it ridiculous that you don't just put out a pack of all the DaVinci's Inquest shows and another of DaVinci the Mayor. Putting one season out every year is balmy!

I just finished season 3 and I feel that it tried to break the mold set by seasons 1 & 2. (Both seasons 1 & 2 were bookended by two-part serial killer episodes.) I detected a hint of an attempt to make the show more "hip" by some producers by sexing up the transitions between plotlines and between commercial breaks. Thankfully that bit of stylized goofiness was tamped down by episode 4. Personal lives get more attention. Most of the mysteries aren't solved or solved ambigously. There are two great episodes that center on traffic fatalities. Another outstanding one happens in "real time" as Da Vinci tries to score dope for an addict/suspect. Can't wait for all seasons to be available. I find it also entertaining to catch Battlestar Galactica cast members guesting. This is the show that was doing it better and more "real" 10 years before the CSI's, the SVU's, and (good lord) the Dexter's.
P.S. to Acorn or Haddock or whoever is deciding the release dates of this thing... Do I really have to wait another 5 years to get to "City Hall" and "Quality of Life?" C'mon people... Up it to two-a-year at least.

13 great stories, most with no clear cut ending, that stimulate the imagination and leave one thinking about, "what happens now?" What happened to the greiving father who still does not believe that his daughter died accidentally or what happened to that two year old boy once he reached five did his mother kill him too in some "accident" or was she the wretched victim of bad luck that she claims?

In any case the writing is excellent and the acting, particularly from those actors playing the survivors of their loved one's accidental or intentional death is both breath taking and painful to witness.

The series as with the previous 2 is five-star wonderful. I am only hungry for the next series to be released as soon as possible

I could not put down these dvd's until I watched all of them, practically immediately upon receiving them. There was actually one program that I had not seen before. This series is absolutely the top-notch program on TV anywhere. I am hoping that we do not have to wait too long before the rest of the seasons are put on DVD.

what a fantastic show. i cannot wait until all seven seasons along with da vinci's city hall, and the telefilm quality of life are released so i can get 'em all! top notch all around character driven stories that don't wallow in violence and gore like some other police shows......consistently well written, directed, scored, acted, etc. what a fantastic show! i cannot say enough. the acorn media releases are top notch! FIVE HUNDRED STARS!!!!

Excellent stories, well acted and set in beautiful Vancouver, B.C. Lots of political intrigue both inside the police and coroner service and in the broader civic context. Lots of social crusading too as a subtext but nothing off putting. Similar to the British, great character actors with memorable faces consistent with the roles they play. If the Canadians can do it so well why can't we? Nicholas Campbell does a wonderful job in the title role. Alex Diakun the actor who plays Chick Savoy the coroner's investigator is stellar.

Maybe I've become a bit jaded after having lived through the Golden Age of television in the 1950's, so I am not easily swayed by extravagant blurbs critics are so fond of tossing about. "Da Vinci's Inquest" is a superb exception. This Canadian import ought to be the gold standard for police procedurals everywhere. There is nary a shoot out,a car chase or a fist fight to be seen. The characters are complex, flawed and thorougly believable, especially Nicholas Campbell, Ian Tracey and Donnelly Rhodes, all of whom bring a kind of convincing gravitas to their roles. The show assiduously avoids stereotypes. There are no super cops. And there are no cheap, contrived plot contrivances. Sometimes complex legal and ethical considerations remain ambiguously unresolved in storylines that demand close attention and repeated viewings. Those ADD inclined need not tune in.

In short, it puts its American counterparts to shame. If you have the patience to give this show a chance, you'll see why it deserved every one of the thirty-five Gemini Awards it won in Canada.