British tv police detective shows?

[KIR]

That there were Blacks and Asians in England in the 18t century I have no doubt, but I do doubt that any were in positions of authority or wealth. In those days it was actually illegal for a person of the lower class to dress like a "gentleman", and if he did so, he could be arrested for "impersonating a gentleman". If that type of social rigidity existed for actual English citizens, I cannot imagine any circumstances in which an African Black person or Asian from China or elsewhere would be in any position other than possibly a servant.

During the late 1700's non-whites were enlisted in both English Army and Navy, though they did not rise to the rank of officers, some became the equivalent of sergeants or petty officers. In London, some had jobs as 'lettrists' keeping records as they had been taught by their former masters, and pharmacists. The first African-American to become a doctor in England was in 1837! You may not imagine it, but it happened!

 

[vito]

During the late 1700's non-whites were enlisted in both English Army and Navy, though they did not rise to the rank of officers, some became the equivalent of sergeants or petty officers. In London, some had jobs as 'lettrists' keeping records as they had been taught by their former masters, and pharmacists. The first African-American to become a doctor in England was in 1837! You may not imagine it, but it happened!

I would be that that first Black doctor in 1837 did not treat White patients, and even if he became prosperous, did not get to socialize with the White aristocracy. Hollywood knows that this was the reality of those times, but their desire to offer more roles to minority members, and to show their "woke" credentials for doing so, overrides any attempt at historical realism. As I stated earlier, all of these forms of entertainment are of course, pretending, but when the unreality is pushed into your face it is hard to stay with the fictional narrative. It would be as if a Western were made, and the gunslinger arrives in town in the late 1870's but instead of riding a horse he's on a Harley. That's what I think when I see a Black person playing a role that in reality would never have been a Black person.

 

[KIR]

As for Brit police shows, may I offer a suggestion...Martin Clunes who played a curmudgeon doctor on Doc Martin was in a series called Manhunter. It is a little bit like a documentary, but a good show. Check it out.

 

[sfhogman]

The Foyle's War series gets my vote. Not quite mysteries, but a great view of crime in Old Blighty during the Second War. Great cast, excellent cinematography.

 

[MaxMan]

Does Shakespear and Hathaway Count?

 

[Bob Wright]

Over and over in these shows the detective goes alone to some abandoned warehouse or the like looking for the vicious killer. Often the detective is a woman. This all always rings as fantasy to me. I can't believe the female detectives in the UK are so dumb as to alone and unarmed after a dangerous male criminal.

If you ever watch one of the shows from New Zealand, they also go unarmed but they do carry pepper spray and a baton. But I need to use the closed captions to understand what they are saying in their strange version of English.

Ha! I wish some American TV shows had closed captions! Even Wheel of Fortune has contestants at times who are hard to understand!

Bob Wright

 

[MaxMan]

Ha! I wish some American TV shows had closed captions! Even Wheel of Fortune has contestants at times who are hard to understand!

Bob Wright

CC ed garble does not help. Sometimes it's great. But too many marbles in the mouth and Cc can not help. Or you get a really weird estimate if what was said.

 

[wheelgun1958]

I would be that that first Black doctor in 1837 did not treat White patients, and even if he became prosperous, did not get to socialize with the White aristocracy. Hollywood knows that this was the reality of those times, but their desire to offer more roles to minority members, and to show their "woke" credentials for doing so, overrides any attempt at historical realism. As I stated earlier, all of these forms of entertainment are of course, pretending, but when the unreality is pushed into your face it is hard to stay with the fictional narrative. It would be as if a Western were made, and the gunslinger arrives in town in the late 1870's but instead of riding a horse he's on a Harley. That's what I think when I see a Black person playing a role that in reality would never have been a Black person.

The new sheriff is near?

 

[BearBiologist]

I got into some Iceland and Norwegian detective series for a while. Quite good! One took place in a town where it is illegal to die (Bodies won't decompose because of the permanent cold so terminally ill people are transported to hospices further South!)

 

[blume357]

Wife and I were watching George Gently for a while... somewhere in about series 5 he get's framed by some evil crime lord for all kinds of stuff and then discoveres retired cop "Kevin Whatley". remember Louise from Morse is evil ... in the end Gently takes about 4 guns off of people and confronts Whatley... they actually have a shoot out in a big church and even though Gently is shot up he still manages to kill Whatley after he has shot Gently's duffus partner...

lately we've been watching both some French Cop shows and a German one... all in original language with sub titles.... getting to do some reading... man, those French and German cops love to pull out their pistols ..... the only issue is they then let the bad person with a gun stand around waving it all over the place before they finally shoot them... but it is TV.

 

[ProfessorWes]

Midsomer Murders and Murdoch Mysteries are good British detective shows, and I've mentioned my love of Luther and Prime Suspect in the other thread. I also liked the updated Sherlock Holmes series with Benedict Cumberbatch.

The show I'd like to see brought to the big screen, or at least television, is Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins novels. The title character is a CoE priest who specializes in "Deliverance" - that is, exorcism - and finds herself up to her neck in all kinds of trouble as a result, from villains both supernatural and corporeal. I'm just not sure how well Rickman's atmospherics - for the most part, his novels are set in the mystic, haunted and moody Welsh/English border country - and characterization would translate to TV. For that matter, Rickman has several standalone, and standout, horror novels in a similar setting - Curfew and December come to mind - that have been begging for a movie to be made of them for years.

 

[Rock185]

I've enjoyed the occasional BBC cop and detective shows. Story lines are routinely quite good. They have to be, since they can't routinely show shootouts, explosions, etc.

FWIW, I was once assigned to show a visiting British police officer around our unit. In talking with him, he indicated he had never fired a gun, and wouldn't want to carry one. He said he'd be afraid somebody would take it away from him and hurt him with it. I asked, do you just tell suspects to "come along for an inquiry" and they do? He replied they mostly did. It's just a different cultural mindset. I suspect he thought of us US cops, with all our scary guns, as cowboys