Martin Shaw is the star of George Gently, a British police procedural television show. In season 1 we find out why Commander Gently has left Scotland Yard and is now working in a somewhat out-of-the-way British town. He’s quite accomplished, and some wonder why he is stationed in this town.
One of the fun things about this series is that most of the shows are set during the 1960s, and they seem to enjoy showing the “free love”, psychedelic hippie/Twiggie era. Yes, that means we are treated to the shortest miniskirts, brightest blue eyeshadow (worn on the eyelid all the way up to the eyebrow), ratted hair styles, and flower-power hippies. A time when calling police officers “Pig” was not at all out of the norm. A time of young people having a considerable anti-establishment sentiment. Gently and his subordinates have to solve mysteries during this time frame, before DNA and the internet.
Commander Gently is aided by his sergeant John Bacchus, played by Lee Ingleby. Bacchus has the fortune (or perhaps not!) of being newly married to Gently’s boss’s daughter. As such, he drives a flashy sports car, and thinks himself quite “the man.”
Perhaps the reason these George Gently episodes have such a “1960s feel” is because they are based on the mystery series written by Alan Hunter (George Gently Omnibus), who started writing his Gently series in 1955. The shows had a feeling of authenticity, with sets that look like one would expect from the 1960s, and the mysteries are interesting. The characters are well-developed, with their own back-drop stories. It’s a little strange to see just about every character smoking cigarettes (non stop!), but that’s probably something that would have happened back then.
When we first saw these shows, they were being aired on our PBS station. This was a show that we looked forward to watching every week that it was on. We have since then discovered that it is available on Netflix in disc format, Netflix stream, and Acorn.
P.S. While my husband and I enjoyed George Gently, we stopped watching it during the fifth season. Perhaps we only needed to take a breather from it, but more likely, it had become a bit convoluted at the point when George became targeted by a mobster.
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Debra says
I love that series as well. Although I didn’t stop at the point you did, I wish it had gone on longer. I have to agree with you about the cigarette smoking. I had forgotten how prevalent it was then (in my childhood, both of my parents and 3 out of 4 of my grandparents smoked constantly!) Good series! intriguing mysteries that are definitely not what I consider cozy, but well worth watching.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Debra, when it seemed like the whole police force wanted to see George put in jail, a detective with such a good record for putting culprits in jail, then we just decided we had had enough. Maybe we stopped too soon…
Chris says
Danna and Debra,
Just adding a thank-you for the heads-up on George Gently, which we will look forward to seeing on our local PBS channel? Anyway, I hope it will be shown there.
Sincerely,
Chris
P.S. Do you recall the other Adam Dalgliesh series? It starred another actor whose name I can’t remember, but he was also good, as was the series.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Chris, I don’t remember the exact name of the series, I believe there were different names (A Certain Justice, Original Sin, Unnatural Causes, ETC.) However, you can find the different series’ names if you look up the actor, Roy Marsden.
Mary says
I love this series!! I think I’m watching the final season right now. The word on the street is that Martin Shaw wasn’t keen on doing another season, but Lee Ingleby was. So glad you featured this wonderful show!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mary, since you enjoy this series so much, you might want to watch Martin Shaw’s portrayal of Inspector Dalgliesh. (I am sorry they only made two of those shows.)
Susan* says
Martin Shaw is also very well known in his native Britain, for a late ’70’s / early ’80’s action show called ‘The Professionals’. Which also starred Lewis Collins and Gordon Jackson. (Of ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ fame.)
I have heard that it never really made the trip across the pond to America, but it’s worth looking out for, if you can find it.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, thanks for the info on The Professionals.
LI says
Hi I just love all British TV and just got Acorn TV through my Roku player and it is 24/7 British shows. I am really enjoying it!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
LI, I think it’s a sign of the channels future, since you can now buy it on Amazon!
emma says
I’m giving my husband the new series for Christmas. WE really have enjoyed each one.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Emma, sounds like a nice idea for a Christmas gift.