What can I say? I know that I have mentioned (more than once!) E. F. Benson's charming series about Lucia… and her nemesis, Mapp. Yes, "nemesis" sounds rather harsh, but "rival" might be too gentle a word! These two women vie for the highest social ranking of the village, and all of that is done with outward smiles and nods of the head. Although the series is not a cozy mystery, it is about as cozy a series of books or television shows as you will ever find.
From the category archives:
BBC
Hmmmm…. I don't know if I should admit this… but my family doesn't watch any mystery shows together from the three major networks here in the States. (Three of us, however, do have a show or two that we follow individually…) Instead, we "import" them… mostly from Great Britain. We do watch crime shows that are made right here in the States like…. Forensic Files, Masterminds, L.A. Confidential, North Mission Road, and we used to love City Confidential so much that we have seen all of them. (Please write me via the "comment button" below if City Confidential is still being made. I thought that both Paul Winfield and Keith David did great jobs as narrators, and I also thought that the writers showed a very good grasp of both the crimes and the cities in which the crimes occurred.)
If you can get over the obviously British accents coming out of the French characters, then you will surely enjoy the Maigret Collection, a 1990s mystery series that (again) comes to us from the British (Granada Television). Michael Gambon is excellent as Chief Inspector Jules Maigret. He seems to never be in a hurry. He carefully thinks out his cases, and does not rush to judgement. Inspector Maigret has a very psychological approach when it comes to solving crimes, which his underlings (and superiors!) may not fully appreciate… until he solves his crimes.
Read more on Michael Gambon's Maigret May Not Be French, but He's Très Magnifique……
I have to confess that I absolutely love British comedies. Hyacinth telling Richard to watch out for the pedestrians (two blocks away, no less!) is just as funny to me the first time I see it as it is the tenth. I can watch Keeping Up Appearances over and over, and never get tired of that show. (More on that series later…)
Everybody who hasn't seen I, Claudius, raise your hand. Perhaps it would be easier to ask for those who haven't seen I, Claudius to raise their hands in disbelief that they have missed one of the best (in my opinion) miniseries EVER. My family ranks this miniseries right up there with Upstairs, Downstairs… Both shows come to us from Great Britain, but have no similarities in the content area. They do, however, have one thing in common………….. They are both phenomenal. Oh, and another thing they have in common…. if you haven't seen them, you will probably regret it. (I have to admit that the later seasons of Upstairs, Downstairs weren't on par with the earlier seasons….)
Read more on I, Claudius….I Simply Can't Believe This is from the 70s!!!…
The House of Cards Trilogy is one of the finest BBC productions set in "modern days" that I can think of. Although the trilogy started in 1990, it doesn't seem at all dated to me. There are, of course, concrete things like the use of cassette recorders and the absence of today's ever-present cell phones that double as cameras, but, for me, those types of props don't make a story line outdated/obsolete.
My husband and I just finished watching the House of Eliott DVDs, and I'm not quite sure how I feel. As with most series that we watch, I miss the shows when they are over, as they seem to almost become a part of our lives for the brief time that we watch them. After devoting an hour every day for , let's see……… 34 episodes, I feel like I am "addicted" to finding out what the characters are going to do next. When the show is over, I am left thinking about the characters and wondering what they are up to NOW! I missed the series when it first aired on the A & E network, and can't imagine how I did that!
Read more on House of Eliott……Definitely Cozy, Though Not a Mystery…
