Inspector Lynley - Set 1 | 
| Director: Richard Laxton; Kim Flitcroft
Actor: Samantha Baker; Cherie Lunghi; Nathaniel Parker; Sharon Small; Tim Pigott-smith; James Hillier (ii); June Watson; Shaun Prendergast; Elizabeth Kelly; Joanna Brookes; Richard Syms; Will Knightley; Selina Cadell; Sophie Ward; Katie Blake; Richard Lintern; Lucy Scott; David Ellington; Sarah Easton; Fred Ridgeway
Studio: WGBH BOSTON
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.95
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Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 15458
Format: Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Letterboxed, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number Of Discs: 4
Running Time: 360 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.5 x 1.1
MPN: WGBD36949D
ISBN: 1593751214
UPC: 783421369498
EAN: 9781593751210
ASIN: B0000WN12W
Theatrical Release Date: September 7, 2003
Release Date: November 25, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item. CD, DVD, Book, VHS more than 400 000 titles to choose from. ALL days Low Price !
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Studio: Wgbh Wholesale Release Date: 11/25/2003 Run time: 240 minutes
Amazon.com
As Diana Rigg, the host of Mystery!, the venerable PBS series which premiered these films, observes, Inspector Lynley gives his partner, Barbara Havers, class, while she gives him nothing but grief. That's not quite the case, although by the final episode in this four-part series, they can be heard bantering like David and Maddie from Moonlighting. And what is that tentatively wistful look on Havers' face while Lynley regards his relationship with an unrequited love? The Inspector Lynley Mysteries reunites author Elizabeth George's mismatched partners first introduced onscreen in A Great Deliverance. Nathaniel Parker (Eddie Murphy's ghostly host in The Haunted Mansion) stars as Lynley, Oxford-educated detective, and eighth earl of Asherton. Sharon Small costars as Havers, a working class cop. Their class differences and personal prejudices are well delineated in "Well Schooled in Murder," set at a posh boarding school where a young student has been slain, and "For the Sake of Elena," which investigates the death of a Cambridge Universty professor's deaf daughter. The other two cases are more intriguingly personal, as Lynley is reunited with lifelong friend Helen Clyde. In "Payment in Blood," she is one of a cast of suspects when a playwright is slaughtered. In "Missing Joseph," she returns as a profiler, who assists Lynley in the case of a poisoned vicar. We also see the softer side of Havers as she deals with her increasingly senile mother. While fans of George's books may regret the abridgements necessary to bring each episode in at 90 minutes, mystery buffs will enjoy the contemporary spin on classic genre conventions, and Lynley and Havers' prickly relationship, which is at the heart of the series. --Donald Liebenson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
A rare occurrence of the film version trumping the book December 31, 2008
Smeddley
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read one of Elizabeth George's books (For the Sake of Elena) and it happens to be one in the first set of Lynley episodes. I was not overly impressed with the book, to be honest, and was a bit wary about watching the show. But all of the issues I had with the books were neatly and wonderfully resolved with the magic of television.
I never had a problem with the storyline or plot of the book - the mysteries are good and solid and translate well into television. My issues were with the writing (descriptive, not dialogue) and mostly with the character of Havers. I think you're supposed to like her in the books, or at least not hate her, but the mental image the descriptions brought to my mind were revolting. She just seems completely unlikeable and annoying, and I really could not understand her interactions with a lot of the other characters. Even her physical description was hard for me to wrap my head around.
In the series, though, the questions about her appearance are put to rest and she seems a lot less irritating. The character on the show is a little offbeat and prickly, but in a likable way. Perhaps if I've kept reading the books I would have eventually come to like her character, but from the first episode of the show I enjoyed her and Lynley and their interactions.
I still probably won't read any more of the books, but will definitely be checking out the rest of the series. Anyone who likes British police/detective shows (Midsomer Murders, Hamish MacBeth, Murder in Suburbia, Foyle's War, etc) should check this one out.
Code of Silence December 1, 2008
Bentley (USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"We live by codes, Lynley thought. We call them our morals, our standards, our values, our ethics, as if they were part of our genetic make up. But they are only behaviours that we have learned from our society, and there are times to act in defiance of them, to fly in the face of their conventions because it is right to do so."
- Inspector Lynley (Well Schooled in Murder)
The setting of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley mysteries is England and this story is set at a private boys school called Bredgar Chambers School. The code of silence may be reminiscent of the military; but it is alive and well at this boys school where a murder of a 13 year old boy takes place. Why was a boy from a working class family murdered and who was culpable is the case that Inspector Thomas (Tommy) Lynley of Scotland Yard is called by his former boyhood friend to solve. Lynley is played by Nathanial Parker; and is a rather posh inspector who is also an earl. His sidekick is played by Sharon Small (Sergeant Havers) and she is from a diametrically opposed background from a working class family. She is not terribly good with authority and has a bit of a chip on her shoulder.
Some of the same actors from The History Boys are cast in some of the roles and the acting is very well done.
Though only boys, there is the grim undercurrent of rules being broken and bad behavior being covered up leading to the ultimate cover up - a murder of a 13 year old boy.
The cover ups unravel and more than one death occurs in the sinister image conscious environment of this upper class English boarding school; possibly more concerned with its image, reputation and funding versus uncovering the cause of death of one of its students; who as it turned out marched to a different drummer and followed his principles and conscience; because these were his standards and his personal codes.
Interesting character study of Lynley created by American mystery writer Elizabeth George.
Recommended B+
Bentley 2008
 a delicate character study November 19, 2008
Anne Hancock (ellensburg, was)
This series has great writing. However, a lot of the plot is what Hitchcock would call the "maguffin" -- the 'whatever' on which to hang the script.
The real center of this series is the contrast of class. The two central characters have an unexpressed love for each other which subtly supercedes and cancels out any other relationships that they try to form. It is not a love of bump and grind, but rather a deep respect, a reaching out past class distinctions, and a primary need to see each other every day. Occasionally one will reach out to the other, only to be gently rebuffed. The excellent writing allows them barriers which they tentatively reach across.
Inspector Lynley set 1 November 16, 2008
M. Roe
I thought that Inspector Lynley was truly a masterpiece when the series was shown on Masterpiece Theater of PBS. And I am again happily validated of that opinion in watching this series again. Truly great acting, great plots and intelligent viewing! This series is better than any of the detective shows currently on TV!
Inspector Lynley Series - First Set October 19, 2008
S. Powers
I knew ahead of ordering this DVD that I would enjoy it immensely because I had already viewed the four mysteries (Well-Schooled in Murder, Payment in Blood, For the Sake of Elena, Missing Joseph) on our local PBS station. Also I have read many of the Elizabeth George novels on which this series is based. Of course, there are some changes from the story line and characters contained in the novels. However, I believe Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small do an excellent portrayal of their characters. (Obviously, it doesn't hurt either that Nathaniel Parker is rather a "hunk".) I now have the complete set of DVDs and am sincerely hoping that the BBC decides to continue the series in the near future. Their decision to cancel so abruptly didn't give the writers time to "tie up loose ends" which was very disappointing to the fans. In the meantime I will be reading all the new Elizabeth George novels as they are published.
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