BBC Series: Foyle's War

We finished episode 2 of Foyle's War last night - I believe there are about 10 episodes total. It takes place in southern England during World War II, but it's the story of a detective fighting crime (murders really) in this small town, using WWII as a backdrop. The 2 episodes both had war-related issues, one about interning Germans, and the 2nd about a group of pro-Nazi supporters. The acting and the production values are top notch, as to be expected from BBC. The main character, Foyle, is disappointed that he cannot go into the armed forces, but is forced to stay behind and be a detective instead. But he perseveres - and because he doesn't drive, is given a driver, Samantha, to drive him around to all the crime scenes and suspect interviews. She is Robin to his Batman - she's a wonderful character who, although he tells her over and over again not to pry into the cases, takes an active part. Instead of being annoyed, Foyle recognizes her as almost a partner. She's really my favorite character.

He has another assistant, a fellow (name?) who has lost a foot in the war, and has gotten a prosthetic but has to use a crutch. This fellow is having trouble at home, though, with his wife Jane who cannot see past the injury. Jane even asks him to leave the prosthetic out of the bedroom and never let her see it - she's pretty cruel and in denial. That was a big part of the story in Episode 2. He's allowing it to affect his self-esteem, so he shows a lot of angst - well, that's relative, since it is British - they don't show a lot of emotion in this series, but he frowns and sometimes brings his eyebrows together, which is more than many others do...!!

The murder solving is reminiscent of Murder She Wrote or Agatha Christy - we get introduced to several suspects, and learn why each one of them could have done it, then Foyle finds the one and tells us all how and why it was done. Still, it's fun to try to figure out which one had the motive and how they pulled it off. 4 stars.