Foyle's War

[dschneck]

I know a lot of you have followed this TV series, but others may not know about it. Foyle's War is a British miniseries that takes place during World War II. It is about a Detective Chief Superintendent (DCS) in Hastings, Christopher Foyle, as he pursues criminals and solves crimes. Aside from being a decent crime drama, it also provides a unique look at life in England during the war. In one episode, for example, while Foyle is trying to solve a murder, he stumbles on to a group of wealthy English who have taken over a large hotel in the country. The group has been in contact with the Germans and offered the hotel for them to use as a southern headquarters, once they have invaded. Another episode deals with the affects of rationing ... the black market, considered a war-crime, the perps face death by hanging. The characters are perfectly defined and include a female driver from the Transport Corps who otherwise would have been rejected for duty, a former RAF pilot who lost a leg in a crash, and, of course Foyle, who was rejected for military service because he was "too valuable," a code for being too old for the military.

 

I got the first couple of episodes from Netflix (they have only the first season) and had intended to watch these alone since my wife is not really interested in World War II. But, we both watched these and, to my surprise, she got hooked. So, if your spouse doesn't really get too involved in your World War II hobby, but likes to watch crime drama movies, then this may be a way to provide some cross-over.

 

I ended up buying the first six seasons in a boxed set and have ordered the seventh season. Each episode as about 100 minutes and appears to be a re-edited version of the original TV series, which may have been 30 minute shows. Every now and then PBS will air an episode and apparently aired the first season at one time. Some clips exist on YouTube but the last I checked there were no full episodes. Foyle's War is still in production and airs on British TV.

[Welshman]

Hi dschneck

 

 

I and my wife watched them when they first came out, and we really enjoyed them.

 

Welshman

[38Driver]

Most definitely a great show. My wife and I loved every last episode. Great stories.

[gwb123]

My wife and I worked through the World War II episodes of Foyle's War.

 

The show is excellent, with great production values. As a period piece, I could not find a single fault with it.

 

However, that does not mean it was easy to watch.

 

The overall message of Foyle's War is that WWII was very rough on the British people on the homefront, and with some, brought out some less than stellar behavior.

 

This runs very counter to image that is often portrayed of keeping the stiff upper lip and carrying on during the war years. There was murder, looting of bombed houses, hoarding, price gouging, theft and misuse of government supplies, ration cheating, black marketing, attempts to aid and abet the enemy and a host of other crimes that added to the overall misery.

 

Somehow they managed to catch all of this in the show's 22 wartime episodes.

 

Christopher Foyle is a police detective who would rather retire. He is added by Paul Milner, who left to join the Army, but returned after his leg is shattered. Samantha Stewart is Foyle's driver, who by associating with the detective eventually becomes a shrewd observer of many of the cases.

 

This is not your typical "always get your man" police drama. In more than one case, the culprit escapes justice, at least temporarily because they are "vital to the war effort".

 

The Americans show up as well... and not always with their best behavior.

 

The show was so popular in England that they brought the cast back for six more episodes showing the recovery of England and the spy games of the early Cold War years.

 

We found we had to pace ourselves watching it. While historically accurate and very engaging for the mysteries portrayed, they also reflect the absolute dreariness of England during the war. But I still recommend to help give another view life in Britain during this period.

 

Available on Netflix's DVD service.

 

 

Photo: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2237007/Foyles-War-Filming-continues-new-series--years-axed.html

 

[m1ashooter]

My wife and I have become hooked on many Brit TV Series. They are just better done then we produce in the states. I too am I big fan of the series.