Good Television Mystery Series

[The Soloist]

The Sinner is excellent. It has nothing to do with religion btw. Each season is about a killer and the obsessive retired detective who tries to catch him. It has a twisted Colombo vibe. The last season left me slightly brain damaged!

 

[Umbran]

Person of Interest is amazing.

Person of Interest is awesome, but it only starts as mystery, and eventually converts itself into a scifi/spy thriller.

I also have some issues of separating art and artist for someone on the show, but that's my problem.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Before I got into mysteries myself, my Dad loved The Cadfael Chronicles. I’ve never watched them myself, but since my tastes in mysteries strongly resemble his, I’d probably dig it.

The Cadfael Chronicles - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[jian]

Person of Interest is awesome, but it only starts as mystery, and eventually converts itself into a scifi/spy thriller.

I also have some issues of separating art and artist for someone on the show, but that's my problem.

Yeah, Jim Caviezel is an idiot. He’s a major reason I’ve never gone back to the show.

 

[Umbran]

Yeah, Jim Caviezel is an idiot. He’s a major reason I’ve never gone back to the show.

I was lucky, in that I'd seen and enjoyed the whole thing before I learned that.

And, I won't say it is a reason for anyone else to not enjoy it. It would just make a re-watch kind of weird for me right now.

 

[James Gasik]

Deeper than I would have liked. I would sum it up as sophisticated A-Team.

So...Leverage?

 

[Umbran]

So...Leverage?

As a fan of both Person of Interest and Leverage... no. PoI is a much more seriously themed, written, and acted show than Leverage.

Note: I am a fan of Leverage in significant part because it is less serious and grim.

 

[James Gasik]

As a fan of both Person of Interest and Leverage... no. PoI is a much more seriously themed, written, and acted show than Leverage.

Note: I am a fan of Leverage in significant part because it is less serious and grim.

Got it, thanks. I've only seen Leverage, so I wasn't sure how it compared. Someone told me that Hustle was basically Leverage once, and when I tried Hustle, it didn't capture my interest.

 

[Umbran]

Got it, thanks. I've only seen Leverage, so I wasn't sure how it compared. Someone told me that Hustle was basically Leverage once, and when I tried Hustle, it didn't capture my interest.

From what I've been told Hustle was probably a pretty solid inspiration for Leverage, but not having seen the British show I cannot comment on the differences.

Leverage is, over all, light and positive TV. Person of Interest... isn't.

 

[jian]

Older mystery shows:

Well, there are the classics, aren’t there? They’ve mostly been mentioned already. I have a weakness for Columbo and Murder She Wrote.

The UK has a rich crop of those based on classic detective fiction, such as:

- Miss Marple (1980s): Starring Joan Hickson, Agatha Christie’s own choice for the part. Superlative and much better than the 00s remakes (with Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie)

- Sherlock Holmes (1980s): Jeremy Brett is the definitive original Victorian Holmes. However, if we’re looking at all Holmes adaptations ever, Elementary is my personal favourite. Sherlock is terrible.

- Poirot (1990s-2010s): David Suchet is the definitive Poirot. Nuff said.

- Lord Peter Wimsey (Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night, 1980s): For my money, the best version of Dorothy L Sayers’ detective is Edward Petherbridge when paired with Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane. Absolutely perfect.

- Campion (1980s): Peter “5th Doctor” Davison as Margery Allingham’s sleuth. Decent.

- The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (1990s): Diana Rigg as Gladys Mitchell’s shrewd investigator. Also excellent.

I haven’t been a big fan of anything else turned out in the UK in recent years, though both the Magpie and Mayflower Murders were fine.