The Inspector Lynley Mysteries – Set 3
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: D Telefilms: B-
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries hits
its third season and Sgt. Barbara Havers (Sharon Small) has been demoted, but
in the tradition of the same clichéd scene that played itself out in James
Cameron’s Aliens (1986) and was cut from Jonathan Demme’s The Silence
Of The Lambs (1991), this is just a bad plot device that will not stop the
heroine in the long run.
Inspector Lynley himself (Nathaniel Parker) is not happy
about this, a big change from the friction that has marked their relationship
for so long since the pilot. This makes
for half-hearted filler, then the murders go on again to be investigated as
usual. The titles are as follows:
1) In
Pursuit Of The Proper Sinner
2) A
Traitor To Memory
3) A Cry
For Justice (Jenny Agutter guest stars)
4) If
Wishes Were Horses
This remarkably still does not oversimplify their
relationship or makes the show watered down because of the cliché, but it hurts
the tone of the show and is one of those cases where the viewer can say “that
will not stop her” and be right. In any
mystery show, the audience should never be smarter than the characters and this
is the first time the show falls for that.
It also prevents The Inspector Lynley Mysteries of being more of
a key genre work than had been hoped for, so it will have to settle for minor
classic status.
The 16 X 9/1.78 X 1 image is finally anamorphically
enhanced, but the improvement is not enough to raise its otherwise color consistent
look. It is still the best the show has
looked by default on DVD to date, so better late than never. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has Pro Logic
surrounds in all cases, sounding clearer and cleaner as the shows go on. There are no extras as there were on the
second set, which is a shame and a disappointment. We again recommend all the shows to date, but with the
stipulation that one watches them in the original broadcast order. Otherwise, you cheat yourself out of some
great British television.
- Nicholas Sheffo
