Crime series

Rebus is the title of the detective drama TV series based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin set in and around Edinburgh. The series was produced by STV Productions (previously known as "SMG Productions") for the ITV Network.

Four seasons have been aired; series 1 starred John Hannah and was made for STV by his own production company, Clerkenwell Films. A new cast featuring Ken Stott as DI John Rebus was introduced for the second and subsequent series (which went into production in 2005, made in-house by STV). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus_%28TV_series%29

Wire in the Blood is a British crime drama television series, created and produced by Coastal Productions for the ITV network, that ran from 2002 to 2008. The series is based on characters created by Val McDermid, including a university clinical psychologist, Dr. Anthony "Tony" Valentine Hill (Robson Green), who is able to tap into his own dark side to get inside the heads of serial killers. Working with detectives, Hill takes on tough and seemingly impenetrable cases in an attempt to track down the killers before they strike again. The series is set in the fictional town of Bradfield, which is assumed to lie within West Yorkshire. It follows the Major Incident Team (MIT) of Bradfield Metropolitan Police's CID and the assistance provided to the detectives by clinical psychologist and serial offender profiler Dr. Tony Hill. All of the main episodes revolve around a serial killer whom Hill helps to track down by means of a profile, based on the killer's actions.

From Series 1 to 3, the MIT is headed by Detective Inspector (Chief Inspector from Series 2) Carol Jordan. The two develop a close relationship, which is further explored in McDermid's novels, in which Jordan is always head of the MIT. In the first episode of Series 4, Jordan is replaced - without real explanation - by Detective Inspector Alex Fielding, who (despite being initially hesitant to accept Tony's support) eventually develops an equally close relationship.

A constant theme is Carol’s, and later Alex's, struggle with their senior officers, who are often less trusting of Tony's eccentric methods and far-fetched theories than Carol and Alex. There is also a romantic storyline showing a growing development in Tony’s relationships with both Carol and later Alex. Whilst starting as friendships, both detectives begin to develop romantic feelings for Tony, although these feelings never develop into a relationship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_in_the_Blood

Murder in Suburbia was a British detective drama that ran for two series in 2004 and 2005. The series focused on various murders in the fictional suburban England town of Middleford; filming took place in North West London, including Northwood. The crimes are solved by two female police detectives, Inspector Kate Ashurst and Sergeant Emma Scribbins, aka "Ash and Scribbs". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_in_Suburbia

Whitechapel is a British television drama series produced by Carnival Films, in which detectives in London's Whitechapel district deal with murders which replicate historical crimes. The first series was first broadcast in the UK on 2 February 2009 and depicted the search for a modern copycat killer replicating the murders of Jack the Ripper.

A second series was commissioned by ITV in September 2009 with the focus on the Kray twins. The first episode of this second series was broadcast on 11 October 2010.

A third series was commissioned by ITV in March 2011, which was extended to six episodes as three two-part stories.

The first and second series were cablecast in the United States on six consecutive Wednesday evenings beginning 26 October 2011 on the BBC America cable network. The third began airing in the U.S. on Wednesday evening 28 March 2012, also on BBC America.

On September 24, 2012, ITV renewed Whitechapel for a fourth series consisting of 6 episodes, slated to premiere in 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitechapel_%28TV_series%29

Thorne is a television drama series which debuted on Sky1 in the UK on 10 October 2010. It stars David Morrissey who plays the title role of Detective Inspector Tom Thorne created by crime writer Mark Billingham. The supporting cast includes Aidan Gillen, Eddie Marsan and Natascha McElhone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorne_%28TV_series%29

Thorne is a television drama series which debuted on Sky1 in the UK on 10 October 2010. It stars David Morrissey who plays the title role of Detective Inspector Tom Thorne created by crime writer Mark Billingham. The supporting cast includes Aidan Gillen, Eddie Marsan and Natascha McElhone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorne_%28TV_series%29

Above Suspicion is a British TV series based on Lynda La Plante's novels Above Suspicion, The Red Dahlia, Deadly Intent and Silent Scream. It stars Kelly Reilly and Ciarán Hinds, and features the career of La Plante's latest heroine DC Anna Travis.

The first series, Above Suspicion, was shown on the fourth and fifth of January 2009; the second series, Above Suspicion: The Red Dahlia, was shown on the fourth, fifth and sixth of January 2010. The third series, Above Suspicion: Deadly Intent, was shown on the third, fourth and fifth of January 2011. The fourth series, Above Suspicion – Silent Scream was shown on the ninth, sixteenth and twenty-third of January 2012; in a break from the previous broadcasts, which were broadcast on consecutive days, this latest tale was serialised weekly.

ITV cancelled Above Suspicion on May 28, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Above_Suspicion_%28TV_drama%29

Above Suspicion is a British TV series based on Lynda La Plante's novels Above Suspicion, The Red Dahlia, Deadly Intent and Silent Scream. It stars Kelly Reilly and Ciarán Hinds, and features the career of La Plante's latest heroine DC Anna Travis.

The first series, Above Suspicion, was shown on the fourth and fifth of January 2009; the second series, Above Suspicion: The Red Dahlia, was shown on the fourth, fifth and sixth of January 2010. The third series, Above Suspicion: Deadly Intent, was shown on the third, fourth and fifth of January 2011. The fourth series, Above Suspicion – Silent Scream was shown on the ninth, sixteenth and twenty-third of January 2012; in a break from the previous broadcasts, which were broadcast on consecutive days, this latest tale was serialised weekly.

ITV cancelled Above Suspicion on May 28, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Above_Suspicion_%28TV_drama%29

Above Suspicion is a British TV series based on Lynda La Plante's novels Above Suspicion, The Red Dahlia, Deadly Intent and Silent Scream. It stars Kelly Reilly and Ciarán Hinds, and features the career of La Plante's latest heroine DC Anna Travis.

The first series, Above Suspicion, was shown on the fourth and fifth of January 2009; the second series, Above Suspicion: The Red Dahlia, was shown on the fourth, fifth and sixth of January 2010. The third series, Above Suspicion: Deadly Intent, was shown on the third, fourth and fifth of January 2011. The fourth series, Above Suspicion – Silent Scream was shown on the ninth, sixteenth and twenty-third of January 2012; in a break from the previous broadcasts, which were broadcast on consecutive days, this latest tale was serialised weekly.

ITV cancelled Above Suspicion on May 28, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Above_Suspicion_%28TV_drama%29

Above Suspicion is a British TV series based on Lynda La Plante's novels Above Suspicion, The Red Dahlia, Deadly Intent and Silent Scream. It stars Kelly Reilly and Ciarán Hinds, and features the career of La Plante's latest heroine DC Anna Travis.

The first series, Above Suspicion, was shown on the fourth and fifth of January 2009; the second series, Above Suspicion: The Red Dahlia, was shown on the fourth, fifth and sixth of January 2010. The third series, Above Suspicion: Deadly Intent, was shown on the third, fourth and fifth of January 2011. The fourth series, Above Suspicion – Silent Scream was shown on the ninth, sixteenth and twenty-third of January 2012; in a break from the previous broadcasts, which were broadcast on consecutive days, this latest tale was serialised weekly.

ITV cancelled Above Suspicion on May 28, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Above_Suspicion_%28TV_drama%29

Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The current lead character is DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) who works for Causton CID. Dudgeon's character is the younger cousin of former lead character Tom Barnaby (John Nettles). Dudgeon joined the show in 2011 following Nettles' departure. The stories revolve around the Barnabys' efforts to solve the numerous murders that take place in the fictional English county of Midsomer. The Barnabys have had a few Sergeants throughout the run of the show: DS Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey), DS Dan Scott (John Hopkins) and DS Ben Jones (Jason Hughes). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsomer_Murders

Dalziel and Pascoe is a popular British television crime drama based on the Dalziel and Pascoe books by Reginald Hill, which was first broadcast in March 1996. It is set in Yorkshire, and is about two detectives. After Recalled to Life (4.2), only one of the subsequent episodes, the two-part Dialogues of the Dead, (7.5) is based directly on an original Hill book (while several of his later Dalziel and Pascoe books were not made into shows). It was produced by BBC Birmingham and screened on BBC One and ran for twelve series. The story looks at the cases of two detectives. Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel (pron.: /diːˈɛl/) (Warren Clarke) is described by the actor who portrays him as 'a perfect pig', who is politically incorrect and often insensitive. He likes to do things in the old-fashioned way.

Detective Inspector Peter Pascoe (Colin Buchanan) is his opposite. Pascoe is university educated and becomes divorced from his wife Ellie in series 5, because he cared more for his work than for her. His wife and daughter then moved to the United States. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalziel_and_Pascoe_%28BBC_TV_series%29

DCI Banks is a British crime drama series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the ITV network. The series is based on Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels and stars Stephen Tompkinson as Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. Filming on a two-part pilot based on the novel Aftermath was completed in July 2010, with scenes filmed on location in Leeds. DCI Banks: Aftermath aired on ITV, STV & UTV 27 September and 4 October 2010. The two episodes drew a strong average of 6.55 million viewers, twice becoming the fifth most-watched programme on the ITV network that week. Viewer ratings for the pilot were strong enough to persuade ITV to commission a series of six episodes — three two-part dramas adapted from three Robinson novels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DCI_Banks

The series is set in the fictional South-Midlands town of Denton, and is marked by a gritty tone. It is believed that Denton is in Oxfordshire, with many references to Reading, Oxford, and in particular, Swindon, especially in the earlier episodes, as the M4 and A417 are often seen, and the map of Swindon was seen in the control room, although a map of Reading was used occasionally. The programme is produced by ITV in Leeds, and most of the outdoor locations are shot in West Yorkshire. Several scenes are filmed in and around the city and district of Wakefield and neighbouring small towns of Pontefract and Castleford, West Yorkshire. The role of Frost was notable in changing the public perception of David Jason from a predominantly comic actor to a dramatic actor.

At a press conference in London on September 15, 2008, David Jason announced that he would be quitting the role of DI Jack Frost. Jason's main reason for quitting the role was that he is now the oldest detective on television and he felt that it was 'natural' to retire as Frost. Sir David said: "You wouldn't want me to play Frost in a wheelchair, would you?" "Frost is getting a little long in the tooth. I still enjoy doing it and it's a great part but I just think he's got to retire. It'll be a sad day." The saxophone solo heard during the show's theme music was performed by Barbara Thompson.

Several episodes have direct allusions to "Star Trek". Dr McCoy's catchphrase "I'm a doctor not a ..." is heard in several episodes, turned into "I'm a police surgeon, not a ..." or "I'm a pathologist, not a ...". Frost himself states that "the only place with more warp factors than Denton is Starship Enterprise", in response to a remark by Mullett about warped minds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Touch_of_Frost

The programme is set during and after the Second World War in Hastings, England, where Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen) attempts to catch criminals who are taking advantage of the confusion the war has created. He is assisted by his driver Samantha "Sam" Stewart (Honeysuckle Weeks) and Detective Sergeant Paul Milner (Anthony Howell).

Foyle, a widower, is quiet, methodical, very sagacious, and scrupulously honest, yet he is frequently underestimated by his foes. Many of his cases concern profiteering, the black market, and murder. Foyle often comes up against high-ranking officials in the British military or intelligence services who would prefer that he mind his own business, but he is tenacious in seeking justice.

The stories are largely self-contained. There are some running strands, mainly involving the career of Foyle's son Andrew (played by Julian Ovenden), a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force, or Foyle's continuing relationships with cameo characters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foyle%27s_War

Inspector George Gently (simply called George Gently for the pilot and first series) is a British television series produced by Company Pictures for BBC One, set in the 1960s and based on the Inspector Gently novels by Alan Hunter. The series features Martin Shaw as the eponymous inspector, Lee Ingleby as Detective Sergeant John Bacchus and Simon Hubbard as PC Taylor at the police station front desk. It moved the setting of the stories to Northumberland and County Durham from the Norfolk portrayed in the books. In January 2010 it was announced that the BBC had secured funding from the North East Content Fund to produce further episodes of the detective drama. Series 4 was filmed from early to mid 2011 and shown that autumn. On March 26, 2012 the BBC announced that 4 new feature-length episodes were being produced to air later the same year. That series ended on a dramatic cliffhanger, with the fate of both leading characters uncertain. However in September 2012, the lead writer confirmed that a 6th series consisting of 4 episodes had been commissioned. Following the murder of his wife by notorious gangster Joe Webster, Inspector George Gently is pondering retirement. When he hears about a murder in Northumberland that sounds like Webster's handiwork, he delays his retirement to take on this one last case. Paired with local detective DS John Bacchus, he must track down Webster, while at the same time trying to deal with his headstrong young assistant and keep him on the straight and narrow. Adapted from the novel Gently Go Man, published in 1961. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_George_Gently

nspector Morse is a British detective drama television series based on a series of novels by Colin Dexter. It starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. The series comprises 33 two-hour episodes (100 minutes excluding commercials) — 20 more episodes than there are novels — produced between 1987 and 2000. Dexter made uncredited cameo appearances in all but three of the episodes.

The series was first shown on Britain's ITV network, was made by Zenith Productions for Central Independent Television. Later, it was produced by Carlton UK Productions between 1995 and 1996. Towards the series end, it was made by Carlton and WGBH.

Every episode involved a new murder investigation featuring several guest stars, and showed a complete story. Writer Anthony Minghella scripted three including the first, The Dead of Jericho, which was filmed in the summer of 1986, and aired on January 6, 1987 featuring Gemma Jones, Patrick Troughton and James Laurenson. Its other writers included Julian Mitchell (10 episodes), Daniel Boyle (5) and Alma Cullen (4 episodes), and its directors included John Madden (4 episodes), Herbert Wise (3), Peter Hammond (3), Adrian Shergold (3) and Danny Boyle (2 episodes) The series remains popular and is frequently repeated on ITV and ITV3 in Britain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Morse_%28TV_series%29

Cadfael is the name given to the TV series of The Cadfael Chronicles adaptations produced by British television company ITV Central between 1994 and 1998. The series was broadcast on the ITV network in the UK, and starred Sir Derek Jacobi as the medieval detective. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadfael_%28TV_series%29

Silent Witness is a British crime thriller series, produced for the BBC, focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, and still airing as of the present day, the series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squad detective based in Nottingham. He later went on to create the hit series New Tricks, with writer Roy Mitchell. The original series was based on Professor Helen Witwell, a forensic pathologist based in Sheffield, whom McCrery had known while serving as a police officer. The programme originally followed the activities of a female pathologist, Professor Sam Ryan, played by Amanda Burton. However, Ryan's character departed early in the eighth series in 2004. There had been a succession of regular supporting characters, changing almost every series, but Dr Leo Dalton (William Gaminara) and Dr Harry Cunningham (Tom Ward), who were introduced in the sixth series in 2002, remained in the series and continued as lead characters following Ryan's departure, with Dalton replacing her as professor. A new character, Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox), was introduced to the team in the eighth series in 2004. While working as a forensic anthropologist, she appropriates facilities and software in the pathology department to analyse an Iron Age find, with the belated, bemused and begrudging approval of Dalton. Dr Alexander is able to assist in a set of cases being investigated by the team, as it turns out she had "worked in forensic pathology in Johannesburg for six months" and is Home Office certified to practise. She is of such assistance that she overcomes Leo's reluctance and, with Harry's support, is offered and accepts a position on the team. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Witness

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a series of BBC television programmes about Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton (Nathaniel Parker) of Scotland Yard and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers (Sharon Small). In addition to the tensions involved in solving murder cases, the series thrives on the characters' clashes regarding personality, gender, and class, since Lynley is an earl (a peer of the realm), while Havers comes from a working-class background.

All episodes from the first two series and two from the third are based on novels by the American author Elizabeth George, though the author's plots and characters are often significantly altered. Later episodes are original stories for television based on her characters. The first broadcast was on 12 March 2001. The theme music is by Debbie Wiseman.

In August 2007, the BBC announced its intention to make no more episodes of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. Fans of the series mounted a campaign to save the series with a petition and contacts to the BBC.

In the first episode, Lynley drove a Peugeot 607; in subsequent early episodes, he drove a Jensen Interceptor, and in later episodes a Bristol 410. Despite the frequently recurring remark in PBS Mystery! presenter Diana Rigg's introductions to the series that Lynley "is the one with the Bentley", he never drove a Bentley on TV. (He does, however, in the George novels.)

Exterior shots were filmed at the Bircham Dyson Bell solicitors offices on Broadway, central London. In the pilot episode the character of Helen was played by Emma Fielding. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inspector_Lynley_Mysteries

Waking the Dead is a British television police procedural crime drama series produced by the BBC featuring a fictional Cold Case Unit comprising CID police officers, a psychological profiler and a forensic scientist. A pilot episode aired in September 2000 and there have been a total of nine series since. Each story is split into two hour-long episodes, shown on consecutive nights on BBC One. A third series episode won an International Emmy Award in 2004. The programme was also shown on BBC America in the United States - though these screenings are edited to allow for advertising breaks - as well as UKTV (Australia and New Zealand) and ABC1 (Australia). The show aired its final episode on 11 April 2011. A spin-off show, titled The Body Farm, revolving around forensic scientist Eve Lockhart (Tara Fitzgerald) was announced by the BBC in January 2011. The programme followed the work of a special police team who investigate "cold cases", usually murders that took place a number of years ago and were never solved. The team uses evidence which has just come to light, as well as contemporary technology to examine previous evidence. Trevor Eve portrays the workaholic and often eccentric Peter Boyd on whom plotlines are often centred. As the series has progressed, storylines have focused on the personal lives of the characters as well as the criminal investigations (for example, Boyd's temper control in "Anger Management"). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waking_the_Dead_%28TV_series%29

Cracker is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The series is centered on a criminal psychologist (or "cracker"), Dr Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane. Set in Manchester, it consists of three series which were originally aired from 1993 to 1995. A 100-minute special set in Hong Kong followed in 1996, and another two-hour story in 2006. Fitz is a classic antihero, alcoholic, a chain smoker, obese, sedentary, addicted to gambling, manic, foul-mouthed and sarcastic, and yet cerebral and brilliant. He is a genius in his speciality: criminal psychology. As Fitz confesses in "Brotherly Love": "I drink too much, I smoke too much, I gamble too much. I am too much."

Each case spanned several episodes and cliffhangers were quite often used, but it was not until the end of the second series that a cliffhanger was employed to tie off the series. Some of the plotlines in the cases took as their starting point real events such as the Hillsborough disaster, while others were purely fictional with only tangential ties to actual events.

Several different psychotic types were explored during the run of the show with increasingly complex psychological motivations that, as the series entered the middle of the second series, began to expand beyond the criminals being investigated to the regular cast members. As the series moved forward the storylines became as much about the interactions of the regulars as it was about the crimes. In many later episodes, in fact, the crimes often became background to intense, provocative explorations of the police officers' reactions to the crimes they investigated. To emphasise how fine a line the police (and Fitz) walk in their close association with criminals, all three series featured several stories in which the police themselves commit criminal acts or become victims of crime. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_%28UK_TV_series%29

Murderland is a three part British television series created by David Pirie and directed by Catherine Morshead. The series also marks a return to ITV for Robbie Coltrane. The series was filmed in June 2009 and the first episode was transmitted on Monday, 19 October 2009. Murderland poses the question of tragedy and curiosity - can one move on from horrible and unexplained events that one experiences as a child, and grow up to make a new life? Or will peace come only once the truth is known? Murderland tells of the mystery surrounding a traumatic murder, as seen from the perspective of the three primary characters. Carrie, the daughter of the murdered woman, Douglas Hain, the detective in charge of the investigation, and Sally the murder victim all have their story to tell. Haunted by her mother’s murder when she was a child, Carrie seeks to uncover the truth so that she can move on with her life. As the investigation unfolds, Carrie’s yearning to discover who murdered her mother grows more intense, bringing her closer to the detective working the case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murderland