Mystery!
Encyclopedia
Mystery! is an episodic television series that debuted in 1980 in the USA. It airs on PBS
and is produced by WGBH
. The show has brought a large number of detective series and television movies—most of them British productions from the BBC
or the ITV
companies and usually adapted from mystery fiction literary sources—to air on American television. In 2002, they added an American-produced series based on the novels of Tony Hillerman
to their roster.
Mystery! is noted for its animated opening and closing title sequence
s based on the cartoons of Edward Gorey
and animated by Eugene Federenko, Derek Lamb
, and Janet Perlman
, with music by Normand Roger
. For the Hillerman episodes, the American flag was worked into this opening title sequence.
One of Mystery!' s early successes was Rumpole of the Bailey
. Other noted successes include The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett
in the title role, Inspector Morse
with John Thaw
, Brother Cadfael starring Derek Jacobi
, and Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren
. The last one proved so popular that the series was moved to Masterpiece Theatre
for higher ratings. Agatha Christie
has been well represented with several seasons' worth of stories featuring Hercule Poirot
starring David Suchet
as well as two versions of Miss Marple
's mysteries. The 1980s and 1990s saw Joan Hickson
in the title role in Miss Marple
while 2005 and 2006 featured Geraldine McEwan
as the small-town sleuth in Marple
. Beginning in 2009 (with episodes filmed in 2008), Julia McKenzie
has taken over the role of Miss Marple
.
, in particular a series of programs adapted from the Lord Peter Wimsey
mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers
. Then in 1979, Henry Becton, General Manager of Boston PBS station WGBH, received a phone call from Herb Schmertz, head of corporate communications for Mobil Corporation, with an unsolicited offer to put together a series that was nothing but British mysteries. Mobil, as the sole underwriter of WGBH's enormously successful Masterpiece Theatre ever since its inception in 1971, had enjoyed tremendous public relations benefits from that association. Mobil had still more money to invest in prestigious television programs and was looking for new outlets. After airing on Thursday night for most of its history, it moved to Sunday nights, at which time it alternated seasonally with episodes of Masterpiece Theatre
through 2007.
. After the first season he was replaced by Vincent Price
, who hosted the series from 1981 to 1989. When his failing health forced Price to relinquish this role, he was replaced by Diana Rigg
. She had the unique opportunity of introducing mysteries in which she was the star when the series Mother Love
and later The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
were aired. Beginning in 2004, shows began airing without a host.
This version is hosted by Alan Cumming
.
's Navaho Tribal Police stories featuring Joe Leaphorn
and Jim Chee
:
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
and is produced by WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
. The show has brought a large number of detective series and television movies—most of them British productions from the BBC
BBC television drama
BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom...
or the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
companies and usually adapted from mystery fiction literary sources—to air on American television. In 2002, they added an American-produced series based on the novels of Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman was an award-winning American author of detective novels and non-fiction works best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels...
to their roster.
Mystery! is noted for its animated opening and closing title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
s based on the cartoons of Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...
and animated by Eugene Federenko, Derek Lamb
Derek Lamb
Derek Lamb was an animation filmmaker and producer. While serving as Executive Producer of the National Film Board of Canada's English Animation Studio from 1976 to 1982, he produced the Oscar-winner Special Delivery, directed by John Weldon and Eunice Macaulay, and produced and scripted Eugene...
, and Janet Perlman
Janet Perlman
Janet Laurie Perlman is a Canadian animator and children's book author and illustrator whose work includes the short film The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 54th Academy Awards and received a Parents' Choice Award....
, with music by Normand Roger
Normand Roger
Normand Roger is a Canadian composer, sound editor and sound designer. He is particularly known for his work as a composer of soundtracks for animated films, having composed more than 200 such works since 1970...
. For the Hillerman episodes, the American flag was worked into this opening title sequence.
One of Mystery!
Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
. Other noted successes include The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:...
in the title role, Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
with John Thaw
John Thaw
John Edward Thaw, CBE was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.-Early life:Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton,...
, Brother Cadfael starring Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
, and Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
. The last one proved so popular that the series was moved to Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
for higher ratings. Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
has been well represented with several seasons' worth of stories featuring Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
starring David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
as well as two versions of Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
's mysteries. The 1980s and 1990s saw Joan Hickson
Joan Hickson
Joan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...
in the title role in Miss Marple
Miss Marple (TV series)
Miss Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It starred Joan Hickson in the title role, and aired from 1984 to 1992. All twelve original Miss Marple Christie novels have been dramatised. The screenplays were written by T. R...
while 2005 and 2006 featured Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan is an English actor with a diverse history in theatre, film, and television. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple.-Background:...
as the small-town sleuth in Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
. Beginning in 2009 (with episodes filmed in 2008), Julia McKenzie
Julia McKenzie
Julia McKenzie is an English actress, singer, and theatre director. She is best-known for her performance in Fresh Fields, but to current television audiences, she is best known for her role as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple...
has taken over the role of Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
.
Inception and broadcast
The seeds for the creation of Mystery! were a result of the success of Masterpiece TheatreMasterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
, in particular a series of programs adapted from the Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
. Then in 1979, Henry Becton, General Manager of Boston PBS station WGBH, received a phone call from Herb Schmertz, head of corporate communications for Mobil Corporation, with an unsolicited offer to put together a series that was nothing but British mysteries. Mobil, as the sole underwriter of WGBH's enormously successful Masterpiece Theatre ever since its inception in 1971, had enjoyed tremendous public relations benefits from that association. Mobil had still more money to invest in prestigious television programs and was looking for new outlets. After airing on Thursday night for most of its history, it moved to Sunday nights, at which time it alternated seasonally with episodes of Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
through 2007.
Hosts
The first host of the show was film critic Gene ShalitGene Shalit
Gene Shalit is a film and book critic. He has filled these roles on NBC's The Today Show since January 15, 1973. He is known for his frequent use of puns, his oversized handlebar moustache, and for wearing colorful bowties.-Career:...
. After the first season he was replaced by Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
, who hosted the series from 1981 to 1989. When his failing health forced Price to relinquish this role, he was replaced by Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
. She had the unique opportunity of introducing mysteries in which she was the star when the series Mother Love
Mother Love (TV series)
Mother Love is a British television drama that first aired in 1989. It was adapted by Andrew Davies from Laura Black's novel concerning a mother's obsessive love for her son, vengeful hatred of his father, her ex-husband, and the effect on her daughter-in-law and grandchildren...
and later The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
The Mrs Bradley Mysteries is a British television drama series, produced in-house by the BBC for broadcast on the BBC One channel, based on the character created by detective writer Gladys Mitchell...
were aired. Beginning in 2004, shows began airing without a host.
2008 format change
In 2008, the series was absorbed into Masterpiece (the former Masterpiece Theatre) and airs under the banner Masterpiece Mystery! In addition, its theme music was changed. It now carries the signature based on its sister program's former theme. Portions of the Edward Gorey opening titles are incorporated into the new opening.This version is hosted by Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
.
Mystery! in popular culture
- Mystery! was parodied by Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
s "Mysterious Theatre" sketches in the early 1990s, hosted by Vincent Twice (whose name was always said twice), a pastichePasticheA pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
of Vincent Price. - The 1990s Mystery! opening was parodied on a 1998 episode of fellow WGBH program ArthurArthur (TV series)Arthur is an American/Canadian animated educational television series for children, created by Cookie Jar Group and WGBH for the Public Broadcasting Service...
entitled "Binky Rules."
List of series presented on Mystery!
- The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (TV series)The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the name given to the TV series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company Granada Television between 1984 and 1994, although only the first two series bore that title on screen. The series was broadcast on the ITV network in the UK,...
with Jeremy BrettJeremy BrettJeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:...
: 1984–85 (7), 1985–86 (6)- The Return of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett: 1986–87 (7), 1988–89 (6)
- The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett: 1991–92 (6)
- Sherlock Holmes: 1992–93 (1), 1993–94 (2)
- Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett: 1995–96 (6)
- Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes with Ian RichardsonIan RichardsonIan William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor....
: 1999–2000 (2), 2000–01 (2), 2001–02 (4)
- Agatha Christie Stories: 1982–83 (4), 1984–85 (6)
- Agatha Christie's Partners in CrimeAgatha Christie's Partners in CrimeAgatha Christie's Partners in Crime is a 1983 British television series based on the short stories of the same name by Agatha Christie. It was directed by John A. Davis and Tony Wharmby, and starred James Warwick and Francesca Annis in the leading roles of husband and wife sleuths Tommy and...
with James Warwick and Francesca AnnisFrancesca AnnisFrancesca Annis is an English actress, known for her film and television appearances, most recently in the BBC series Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.-Early life and education:...
: 1984–85 (5), 1985–86 (5) - The Secret AdversaryThe Secret AdversaryThe Secret Adversary is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head in January 1922 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the US edition...
with Francesca AnnisFrancesca AnnisFrancesca Annis is an English actress, known for her film and television appearances, most recently in the BBC series Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.-Early life and education:...
and James Warwick: 1986–87 (1) - Miss MarpleMiss Marple (TV series)Miss Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It starred Joan Hickson in the title role, and aired from 1984 to 1992. All twelve original Miss Marple Christie novels have been dramatised. The screenplays were written by T. R...
with Joan HicksonJoan HicksonJoan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...
: 1985–86 (2), 1986–87 (2), 1987–88 (3), 1988–89 (2) - Agatha Christie's Marple with Geraldine McEwanGeraldine McEwanGeraldine McEwan is an English actor with a diverse history in theatre, film, and television. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple.-Background:...
, and Julia McKenzieJulia McKenzieJulia McKenzie is an English actress, singer, and theatre director. She is best-known for her performance in Fresh Fields, but to current television audiences, she is best known for her role as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple...
: 2005 (4), 2006 (4), 2007 (4), 2009 (4), 2010 (3) - Agatha Christie's PoirotAgatha Christie's PoirotAgatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
with David SuchetDavid SuchetDavid Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
: 1989–90 (10), 1990–91 (9), 1991–92 (8), 1992–93 (6), 1993–94 (6), 1994–95 (4), 1995–96 (1), 1996–97 (1), 1998–99 (3), 1999–2000 (1), 2009 (2), 2010 (3)
- Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime
- Brat FarrarBrat FarrarBrat Farrar is a 1949 crime novel by Josephine Tey.-Plot summary:The story centers around the Ashbys, an English country-squire family. Their centuries-old family estate is Latchetts, in the fictional village of Clare near the south coast of England...
with Mark GreenstreetMark GreenstreetMark Greenstreet is a British actor who first came to prominence in the 1985 BBC television serial Brat Farrar. First and foremost a stage actor, Greenstreet played many of the great leading roles from the works of Shakespeare, Chekhov and Ibsen to Orton, Wilde and Coward in the UK and around the...
: 1986–87 (1) - CadfaelCadfaelBrother Cadfael is the fictional main character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey, in western England,...
with Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
: 1994–95 (4), 1996–97 (1), 1998–99 (5), 1999–2000 (5) - CampionCampion (TV series)Campion is a television show made by the BBC, adapting the Albert Campion mystery novels written by Margery Allingham. Two seasons were made, in 1989 and 1990, starring Peter Davison as Campion, Brian Glover as his manservant Magersfontein Lugg and Andrew Burt as his policeman friend Stanislaus...
with Peter DavisonPeter DavisonPeter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
: 1989–90 (4) - Cause Célèbre with Helen MirrenHelen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
: 1988–89 (1) - Chandler and Company: 1995–96 (4)
- Charters and CaldicottCharters and Caldicott (TV series)Charters and Caldicott is a 1985 BBC mystery series featuring the characters Charters and Caldicott from the film The Lady Vanishes. It featured six 50 minute episodes broadcast on BBC1 at 9.25pm on Thursdays from 10 January to 14 February 1985....
: 1985–86 (1) - DalglieshAdam DalglieshAdam Dalgliesh is a fictional character who has been the protagonist of fourteen mystery novels by P. D. James. Dalgliesh first appeared in James's 1962 novel Cover Her Face and has appeared in a number of subsequent novels.-Character:...
with Roy MarsdenRoy MarsdenRoy Marsden is an English actor, who is probably best known for his portrayal of Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations of P. D. James's detective novels.- Education :...
and Martin ShawMartin ShawMartin Shaw is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in shows such as The Professionals, The Chief, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently.-Theatrical background:...
: 1985–86 (1), 1986–87 (2), 1987–88 (1), 1989–90 (1), 1991–92 (1), 1993–94 (1), 1995–96 (1), 1996–97 (1), 1998–99 (1), 1999–2000 (1), 2000–01 (1), 2004 (1), 2005 (1), 2006 (1) - A Dark-Adapted EyeA Dark-Adapted EyeA Dark-Adapted Eye is a psychological thriller novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the nom-de-plume Barbara Vine. The novel won the American Edgar Award...
with Helena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
: 1994–95 (1) - The Dark Angel (TV series) with Peter O'ToolePeter O'ToolePeter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
: 1990–91 (1) - Dead GorgeousDead GorgeousDead Gorgeous is an Australian-British children's television show which premiered on 15 March 2010 in Britain and 5 April 2010 in Australia. It is produced by Burberry Productions and Coolabi Productions with funding from Screen Australia. It was previously known as Dead Normal, however the name...
with Helen McCroryHelen McCroryHelen Elizabeth McCrory is a British actress. She portrayed Cherie Blair in both the 2006 film The Queen and the 2010 film The Special Relationship. She also portrayed Narcissa Malfoy in the final three Harry Potter films....
and Fay RipleyFay RipleyFay Ripley is an English actress and recipe author. Born in Wimbledon, London, Ripley is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama . Her first professional role was in the chorus of a pantomime version of Around the World in 80 Days...
: 2003 (1), 2005 (1) - Deep Secrets with Colin SalmonColin SalmonColin Salmon is a British actor best known for playing the character Charles Robinson in three James Bond films.-Personal life:...
: 1997–98 (1) - Die KinderDie KinderDie Kinder is a 1990 BBC political thriller written by Paula Milne, a six-part series made for television, and starred Miranda Richardson in the lead role as Sidonie Reiger. It also featured Frederic Forrest, Hans Kremer and Derek Fowlds.The story follows Sidonie as she tried to rescue her...
(The Children) with Miranda RichardsonMiranda RichardsonMiranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
: 1990–91 (1) - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with David HemmingsDavid HemmingsDavid Edward Leslie Hemmings was an English film, theatre and television actor as well as a film and television director and producer....
: 1981–82 (1) - Dying Day: 1982–83 (1)
- Father BrownFather BrownFather Brown is a fictional character created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton, who stars in 52 short stories, later compiled in five books. Chesterton based the character on Father John O'Connor , a parish priest in Bradford who was involved in Chesterton's conversion to Catholicism in 1922...
with Kenneth MoreKenneth MoreKenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
: 1982–83 (4) - Forgotten with Paul McGannPaul McGannPaul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role...
: 2001–02 (1) - Foyle's WarFoyle's WarFoyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002...
with Michael KitchenMichael KitchenMichael Kitchen is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as DCS Foyle in the British TV series Foyle's War.-Early life:...
: 2004 (4), 2005 (4) - GallowglassGallowglass (miniseries)Gallowglass is a British television mini-series adaptation of the Ruth Rendell novel of the same name. It is an emotional story of obsessive love, lust and fear.-Plot:...
with Michael SheenMichael SheenMichael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
and Paul RhysPaul RhysPaul Rhys is a British television, film and theatre actor.Rhys was born in Wales and studied at RADA, leaving with the Bancroft Gold Medal in 1987. While there, he obtained his first major screen role, in Absolute Beginners . Since then he has seldom been off the stage and screen...
: 1995–96 (1) - Game, Set, and Match with Ian HolmIan HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
: 1988–89 (1) - Heat of the SunHeat of the SunHeat of the Sun is a police drama set in 1930s Kenya produced by Carlton Productions. Starring Trevor Eve as Superintendent Albert Tyburn, a Scotland Yard officer sent to Nairobi after a shooting, the show focuses on the seedier side of the expatriate community in Kenya...
with Trevor EveTrevor EveTrevor John Eve is a British film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series Shoestring and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC television drama Waking the Dead.-Early life:Eve was born in Sutton Coldfield,...
: 1998–99 (5) - Hetty Wainthropp InvestigatesHetty Wainthropp InvestigatesHetty Wainthropp Investigates is a genteel British crime–comedy drama television series which aired from 1996 to 1998 on BBC One. The series starred Patricia Routledge as the title character , Derek Benfield as her patient husband Robert, Dominic Monaghan as their lodger Geoffrey Shawcross...
with Patricia RoutledgePatricia RoutledgeKatherine Patricia Routledge, CBE is an English character comedy actress and singer. She is best known for her role as character Hyacinth Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances and Hetty Wainthropp in the British television series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates...
: 1997–98 (1), 1998–99 (1), 1999–2000 (6), 2000–01 (16), 2003 (3) - Inspector Alleyn Mysteries with Simon WilliamsSimon Williams (actor)Simon Williams is an English actor known for playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Frequently playing upper-class roles, he is also known for playing Dr...
and Patrick MalahidePatrick MalahidePatrick Malahide is a British actor, who has played many major film and television roles.-Personal life:Malahide, real name Patrick Gerald Duggan, was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Irish immigrants, a cook mother and a school secretary father...
: 1991–92 (1), 1993–94 (3), 1994–95 (2) - Inspector Lewis with Kevin WhatelyKevin WhatelyKevin Whately is an English actor.Whately is known for his starring role as Neville Hope in the British television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, his role as Dr Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice, and as Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas Inspector Morse and...
: 2006 - The Inspector Lynley MysteriesThe Inspector Lynley MysteriesThe Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a series of BBC television programmes about Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton of Scotland Yard and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers...
with Nathaniel ParkerNathaniel ParkerNathaniel Parker is an English actor best known for playing Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley in the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Personal life:...
: 2001–02, 2003, 2004, 2005 (8), 2006 (4) - Inspector MorseInspector Morse (TV series)Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
with John ThawJohn ThawJohn Edward Thaw, CBE was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.-Early life:Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton,...
: 1987–88 (3), 1988–89 (3), 1989–90 (3), 1991–91 (3), 1991–92 (3), 1992–93 (3), 1993–94 (4), 1994–95 (3), 1995–96 (2), 1996–97 (2), 1998–99 (3), 1999–2000 (2), 2000–01 (2), 2001–02 (3), 2004 (2), 2005 (2), 2006 (2) - Into the Blue with John ThawJohn ThawJohn Edward Thaw, CBE was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.-Early life:Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton,...
: 1997–98 (1), 1998–99 (1) - Jericho with Robert LindsayRobert Lindsay (actor)Robert Lindsay is an English actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles of Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, Michael Murray in G.B.H., Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Hornblower and Ben Harper in My Family which has been on television screens since 2000.-Early life:Lindsay was...
: 2006 (4) - Lady Audley's SecretLady Audley's SecretLady Audley's Secret is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862. It was Braddon's most successful and well known novel. Critic John Sutherland described the work as "the most sensationally successful of all the sensation novels." The plot centers on "accidental bigamy" which...
with Lucy Graham: 1999–2000 (1), 2000–01 (1) - The Life and Crimes of William PalmerWilliam Palmer (murderer)William Palmer was an English doctor who was convicted of murder in one of the most notorious cases of the 19th century.-Early life:...
with Keith Allen: 1998–99 (1) - The Limbo Connection: 1982–83 (1)
- Lord Peter Wimsey with Edward PetherbridgeEdward PetherbridgeEdward Petherbridge is a British actor. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in several screen adaptations of Dorothy L...
: 1987–88 (3) - Malice AforethoughtMalice AforethoughtMalice Aforethought is a murder mystery novel written by Anthony Berkeley Cox, using the pen name Francis Iles. It involves a Devon physician who slowly poisons his domineering wife so that he may be with the woman he loves. It is an early and prominent example of the "inverted detective story",...
with Hywel BennettHywel BennettHywel Thomas Bennett is a Welsh film and television actor. Bennett is best known for his recurring title role as James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley from 1979 to 1984 and its sequel The Return of Shelley from 1988 to 1992....
: 1981–82 (1) - Malice Aforethought with Ben MillerBen MillerBennet Evan "Ben" Miller is an English comedian, actor and director. He is perhaps best known as one half of comedy double act Armstrong and Miller, along with Alexander Armstrong. Together the pair wrote and starred in Channel 4 sketch show Armstrong and Miller, and the more recent BBC television...
: 2005 (1), 2006 (1) - The Man From Pru with Jonathan PryceJonathan PryceJonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
: 1990–91 (1) - MaigretMaigretJules Maigret, Maigret to most people, including his wife, is a fictional police detective, actually a commissaire or commissioner of the Paris "Brigade Criminelle" , created by writer Georges Simenon.Seventy-five novels and twenty-eight short stories about Maigret were published between 1931 and...
with Michael GambonMichael GambonSir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
: 1992–93 (6), 1994–95 (6) - Melissa with Peter BarkworthPeter BarkworthPeter Wynn Barkworth was an English actor.-Early life:Peter Barkworth was born at Margate, Kent. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Bramhall in Cheshire and Barkworth was educated at Stockport School. His headmaster wanted him to go to university but Barkworth had set his heart on a career...
: 1982–83 (1) - Miss Morison's Ghosts with Wendy HillerWendy HillerDame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE was an Academy Award-winning English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a no-nonsense actress who literally took...
: 1982–83 (1) - The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries with Diana RiggDiana RiggDame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
: 2003 (4) - Mother LoveMother Love (TV series)Mother Love is a British television drama that first aired in 1989. It was adapted by Andrew Davies from Laura Black's novel concerning a mother's obsessive love for her son, vengeful hatred of his father, her ex-husband, and the effect on her daughter-in-law and grandchildren...
with Diana RiggDiana RiggDame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
: 1990–91 (1) - My Cousin RachelMy Cousin RachelMy Cousin Rachel is a novel by British author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1951. Like the earlier Rebecca, it is a mystery-romance, largely set on a large estate in Cornwall.-Plot overview:...
with Christopher GuardChristopher GuardChristopher Guard is an English actor.Educated at Latymer Upper School, Guard was a member of the National Theatre aged 20. He has appeared in Vienna 1900 , Memoirs of a Survivor and Return to Treasure Island...
and Geraldine ChaplinGeraldine ChaplinGeraldine Leigh Chaplin is an English-American actress and the daughter of Charlie Chaplin.Chaplin first came to prominence for her Golden Globe-nominated role of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago . She received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville...
: 1985–86 (1) - Oliver's TravelsOliver's TravelsOliver's Travels is a five-part television miniseries written by Alan Plater and starring Alan Bates, Sinéad Cusack, Bill Paterson, and Miles Anderson. It first aired in the UK in 1995....
with Alan BatesAlan BatesSir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
: 1996–97 (1), 1998–99 (1) - Praying Mantis with Jonathan PryceJonathan PryceJonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
: 1984–85 (1) - Prime SuspectPrime SuspectPrime Suspect is a British police procedural television drama series directed by Christopher Menaul and starring Helen Mirren and made by Granada Television for the ITV network in the 1990s and 2000s...
with Helen MirrenHelen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
: 1991–92 (1), 1992–93 (1), 1993–94 (1) - Quiet as a NunQuiet as a NunQuiet as a Nun is a thriller novel, written by Antonia Fraser. First published in 1977, it features Fraser's sleuthing heroine Jemima Shore as she revisits the convent where she was schooled following the mysterious death of one of the nuns...
with Maria AitkenMaria AitkenMaria Penelope Katharine Aitken is an English actress, writer, producer and director.Aitken was born in Dublin, the daughter of Sir William Aitken, a Conservative MP, and socialite Penelope Aitken, whose father was John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby. She is a great-niece of newspaper magnate and...
: 1982–83 (1) - The Racing Game with Mike GwilymMike Gwilym-Early life:Born in Neath, Gwilym is the brother of actor Robert Gwilym, son of Arthur Aubrey Remington Gwilym and Renée Mathilde Eugénie Léonce Dupont. His parents were the proprietors of a women's clothing chain in Wales. Mike's Belgian maternal grandfather was the oil industrialist Edmond Jules...
: 1980–81 (3), 1981–82 (3) - RebeccaRebecca (novel)Rebecca is a novel by Daphne du Maurier. When Rebecca was published in 1938, du Maurier became – to her great surprise – one of the most popular authors of the day. Rebecca is considered to be one of her best works...
with Jeremy BrettJeremy BrettJeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:...
and Joanna DavidJoanna DavidJoanna David is a British actress, best known for her television work.She was born in Lancaster, England. Her first major television role was as Elinor Dashwood in the BBC's 1971 dramatisation of Sense and Sensibility followed a year later in War and Peace, in which she played Sonya...
: 1980–81 (1) - Reilly, Ace of SpiesReilly, Ace of SpiesReilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies to ever work for the British. Among his exploits in the early 20th century were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of...
with Sam NeillSam NeillNigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
: 1983–84 - Rumpole of the BaileyRumpole of the BaileyRumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
with Leo McKernLeo McKernReginald "Leo" McKern, AO was an Australian-born British actor who appeared in numerous British and Australian television programmes and movies, and more than 200 stage roles.-Early life:...
: 1980–81 (4), 1981–82 (6), 1987–88 (6), 1989–90 (6), 1992–93 (6), 1994–95 (7)- Rumpole's Return: 1984–85 (6)
- The Sculptress with Caroline GoodallCaroline GoodallCaroline Cruice Goodall is a British actress and screenwriter.-Biography:Goodall was born in London, England to a journalist mother and a publisher father...
: 1997–98, 1998–99 - Second SightSecond Sight (TV series)Second Sight was a British television crime drama written by Paula Milne that aired on BBC One from 2000 to 2001.- Premise :Second Sight is the story of Detective Chief Inspector Ross Tanner , a maverick cop who finds out he has a rare disease and is going blind....
with Clive OwenClive OwenClive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
: 1999–2000 (1), 2000–01 (4), 2001–02 (2) - Sergeant CribbCribbCribb is a television police drama which debuted in 1979 as a 90-minute TV film from Granada Television in the UK...
with Alan DobieAlan DobieAlan Russell Dobie , is a British actor.Dobie was born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England, to George Russell and Sarah Kate Dobie. His father was a mining engineer and his mother's family were farmers. He was married to actress Rachel Roberts from 1955-61 then married Maureen Scott in 1963...
: 1980–81 (3), 1981–82 (5), 1982–83 (5) - Shades of Darkness with John DuttineJohn DuttineJohn Arthur Duttine is an English actor noted for his roles on stage, films and television. He is well known for his role as Sgt George Miller in Heartbeat....
: 1983–84 (7) - She Fell Among Thieves: 1980–81 (1)
- Sherlock with Benedict CumberbatchBenedict CumberbatchBenedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English film, television, and theatre actor. His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking ; William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace ; the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy ; Paul...
and Martin FreemanMartin FreemanMartin John C. Freeman is an English actor. He is known for his roles as John in Love Actually, Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office, Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dr. John Watson in Sherlock and Mr. Madden...
: 2010 (3) - Sweeney ToddSweeney ToddSweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
: 1982–83 (1) - Touching EvilTouching EvilTouching Evil is a British television drama serial, which began airing in 1997. It was produced by United Productions for Anglia Television, and screened on the ITV network. The first series consisted of six fifty-minute episodes. It was created by Paul Abbott, and written by Abbott with Russell T...
with Robson GreenRobson GreenRobson Green is an English actor, singer–songwriter and presenter.-Biography:Robson Golightly Green was born in Hexham, Northumberland, and baptised in Bethel Chapel, , and named in Northeast tradition as first son after family surnames: Robson is his grandmother's maiden surname, while Golightly...
: 1998–99, 1999–2000 (6), 2000–01 (4), 2001–02 (6) - Trial by Fire with Juliet StevensonJuliet StevensonJuliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE is an English actor of stage and screen.- Early life :Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth , a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was in the army and was posted to a new place every...
: 2000–01 - An Unsuitable Job for a WomanAn Unsuitable Job for a WomanAn Unsuitable Job For A Woman is the title of a 1972 detective novel by P. D. James - and also the title of a TV series of four dramas developed from that novel....
with Helen BaxendaleHelen BaxendaleHelen Victoria Baxendale is an English actress of stage and television, possibly best-known for her roles in Cold Feet, Friends and Cardiac Arrest.-Early life:...
: 1999–2000 (4) - Wallander with Kenneth BranaghKenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
: 2008-09, (3) 2009-10 (3) - We, the Accused: 1982–83 (1)
- The Woman in White: 1984–85 (1)
- The Wyvern MysteryThe Wyvern MysteryThe Wyvern Mystery is a 2000 BBC film starring Naomi Watts and Derek Jacobi. The film is based on Sheridan Le Fanu's novel.-Cast:*Naomi Watts as Alice*Derek Jacobi as Squire Fairfield*Jack Davenport as Harry*Iain Glen as Charles...
with Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
: 2000–01 (1) - ZenZen (TV series)Zen is a British television series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the BBC, co-produced with WGBH Boston for its Masterpiece anthology series, Mediaset and ZDF. It stars Rufus Sewell and Caterina Murino and is based on the Aurelio Zen detective novels by Michael Dibdin. The series was filmed on...
with Rufus SewellRufus SewellRufus Frederik Sewell is an English actor. In film, he has appeared in The Woodlanders, Dangerous Beauty, Dark City, A Knight's Tale, The Illusionist, Tristan and Isolde, and Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence. On television, he starred in the 2010 mini-series The Pillars of the Earth...
: 2011 (3)
American Mystery! Specials
The American Mystery! Specials featured three stories set in the United States. They were produced based on Tony HillermanTony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman was an award-winning American author of detective novels and non-fiction works best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels...
's Navaho Tribal Police stories featuring Joe Leaphorn
Joe Leaphorn
Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is a fictional character created by American mystery writer Tony Hillerman, one of two officers of the Navajo Tribal Police that feature in a number of novels. The other officer is Jim Chee.- Profile :...
and Jim Chee
Jim Chee
Jim Chee is one of two Navajo Tribal Police detectives in a series of mystery novels by Tony Hillerman. Unlike his superior Joe Leaphorn, the "Legendary Lieutenant", Chee wants to be a staunch believer in traditional Navajo culture; indeed, he is studying to be a traditional healer at the same...
:
- Skinwalkers with Adam BeachAdam BeachAdam Ruebin Beach is a Canadian Saulteaux actor.He is best known for his roles as Tommy on Walker, Texas Ranger, Kickin' Wing in Joe Dirt, Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes in Flags of Our Fathers, Private Ben Yazzie in Windtalkers, Dr...
and Wes StudiWes StudiWesley "Wes" Studi is a Cherokee actor, who has earned notability for his portrayal of Native Americans in film. He has appeared in well-received Academy Award-winning films, such as Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves, Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans, the award-winning Geronimo: An...
2002 (1) - Coyote Waits 2003 (1)
- A Thief of Time 2004 (1)
Funding
- Corporation for Public BroadcastingCorporation for Public BroadcastingThe Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
(2009–present) - Viewers Like You (1980–present)