Rating: 
Summary: Well done Lord Peter Wimsey
Review: Dorothy L. Sayers writes many non-fiction books however among her best is the Lord Peter Wimsey series. I came to this series sort of though the back door. My first taste was the BBC productions with Petherbridge as Lord Peter that can now be found on DVD ASIN: B000062XDX. So I read all of Dorothy's books containing the relationship of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Now it is time to go through the whole series.Now I watched the one I missed on PBS. The first thing I notices was that Ian Carmichael talks much faster than Petherbridge. And all the people seem older. Of course Peter was supposed to be older when he met Harriet. Campbell a local artist is being obnoxious and makes everybody's life miserable. Let's face it Campbell needs killing. You guessed it; he seems to have had an accident while painting. Lord Peter deduces that the so called accident could only be staged by another painter. Yep there are six suspects and more if it is not a painter. So that leaves "Five Red Herrings" As with all Sayers' stories nothing is simple there are overlapping plots and foolish deeds, as if Peter can not figure them out. On the side we learn a little about Scottish society and see the landscape. They took the time to put just about everything relevant from the book in to this production. There were a few exceptions but not worth bothering about. The production is complete enough that you do not have to read the book. Yet you will want to for the differences and more dialogs. I am glad they finally made a DVD version. However the one I watched was the tape. This item is worth purchasing as you will want to replay it often.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Stuff
Review: Having read the Dorothy L. Sayers books after seeing this series, it is impossible to imagine anyone but Ian Carmichael playing Lord Peter Wimsey.
The production values may not have been the BBC's best, but the characterisations are spot on. Sayer's plots may not be as involving as Agatha Christie's but her development of the cast raise her novels to a much higher level, and this is captured very well in 'The Five Red Herrings'.
Sayer's characters need time to 'breathe', unlike Christie's more shallow creations, and this 'series' gives us the luxury to see Lord Peter and the wonderful Bunter, unravel the crime at a leisurely pace.
Not for the 'video generation' for sure, but for those who like
their classic murder mystery done in the classic English fashion, this VCD is a must.
The bonus of Ian Carmichael's thoughts on the series is a wonderful bonus
Rating:
Summary: Red Herrings Readily Enjoyable
Review: Having recently become enamored with the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L. Sayers, I started noticing the Acorn Media television adaptations lining the local bookshelves, and decided to purchase one. I picked the "Five Red Herring", as it was the book which had been the most fun to read. I was not disappointed with the adaptation. The "Five Red Herrings" is an enjoyable, yet complex story, set in Scotland during a holiday of Wimsey and his man, Bunter. A painter with nearly no friends and mostly nothing but enemies is found by the two holiday-seekers at the foot of a stream, and their enquiries into his death begin. While the novel delved deeply into the five other painters populating the area (the five red herrings, as it were), scoping out their movements and establishing (or crumbling) their alibis, the adaptation trims things down a bit, and makes the story much more crisp and tight. While the book used flashbacks at times, in order to relay certain events, the television version moves everything along in linear time, making it much more easy to follow (I often find too many flashbacks jarring to the flow of a storyline). The plot is revealed in four parts, making for convenient viewing, and the end of one part is especially harrowing. The portrayal of Wimsey by Ian Carmichael is superb. He manages to balance Wimsey's jovial nature with the realization that there is a cunning and highly superior mind at work. In many ways it is reminiscent of Patrick Macnee's John Steed character - often outwardly foppish and foolish, whilst all the time keen and aware. The actor who portrays Bunter (the other lead role) does a very good job, as well, showcasing the servant side while also betraying the very evident hint of insightful talent which can sometimes prove invaluable. The other actors in this production all do a great job, hitting exactly the right notes with each of their characters. The setting used is very nice, with rolling hills and streams and little cottages. Wimsey's vintage car adds yet more to evoking the 1930's mystique. The sets are cozy and convincing, and it is quite obvious that everyone involved with the production had nothing but straightforward respect for the material. True, some things from the book are trimmed-down or left out, but in many ways that makes the adaption work better. Novels are novels, and television is television. Luckily, in the case of the "Five Red Herrings", we have wonderful examples of both.
Rating:
Summary: Five Red Herrings - Nothing Fishy Here!!
Review: I was delighted to see Acorn Media re-release Five Red Herrings. This is one of the best British mysteries ever by the greatest British mystery writer ever (in my opinion). While the DVD version is excellent, the print quality, as other reviewers have said, is not the greatest. BBC, in the mid 70s, used videotape for a lot of their productions instead of film with the result the picture quality suffered. But, this is a small point. The Wimsey series, first broadcast between 1974-77 in America and Canada on PBS Masterpiece Theatre, has been too long unavailable. Ian Carmichael is a perfect Wimsey and the Scottish countryside around Kirkcudbright makes this period piece a real charmer. In most of Sayers novels, the villain rarely gets served up justice by the police as he/she/they do in Agatha Christie. Five Red Herrings is an exception, but suicide or some tragic cicumstance usually settles the score as it does in the other three released Wimsey series (to date). Not the hangman's noose for Dorothy's villains. Wimsey is a remarkable creation, very similar to Wodehouse's Wooster, but Sayers put Wimsey (and Bunter) through the hell of the Great War with the result there is a deeper side to the appearance of the "foppish Lord Peter". Five Red Herrings is a finely crafted story brought to the screen to perfection in this DVD Top marks to Amazon and Acorn and I hope the creme de la creme of the 5 productions, The Nine Tailors, is soon to be released. The Nine Tailors is Sayers' finest work and, I think, the finest mystery novel ever written. The BBC production is outstanding and of five star quality. My recommendation to fellow viewers is to ask Amazon to complete the set and if you think the videos/DVDs are great, the novels are even better. Sayers was a classical scholar of international reputation who translated Dante's Inferno (still in print) and one of the finest writers of the early 20th century and nowhere is this talent better illustrated in The Nine Tailors and the other novels represented by this outstanding BBC series. "I say, well done Bunter!!"
Rating:
Summary: Five Red Herrings - Nothing Fishy Here!!
Review: I was delighted to see Acorn Media re-release Five Red Herrings. This is one of the best British mysteries ever by the greatest British mystery writer ever (in my opinion). While the DVD version is excellent, the print quality, as other reviewers have said, is not the greatest. BBC, in the mid 70s, used videotape for a lot of their productions instead of film with the result the picture quality suffered. But, this is a small point. The Wimsey series, first broadcast between 1974-77 in America and Canada on PBS Masterpiece Theatre, has been too long unavailable. Ian Carmichael is a perfect Wimsey and the Scottish countryside around Kirkcudbright makes this period piece a real charmer. In most of Sayers novels, the villain rarely gets served up justice by the police as he/she/they do in Agatha Christie. Five Red Herrings is an exception, but suicide or some tragic cicumstance usually settles the score as it does in the other three released Wimsey series (to date). Not the hangman's noose for Dorothy's villains. Wimsey is a remarkable creation, very similar to Wodehouse's Wooster, but Sayers put Wimsey (and Bunter) through the hell of the Great War with the result there is a deeper side to the appearance of the "foppish Lord Peter". Five Red Herrings is a finely crafted story brought to the screen to perfection in this DVD Top marks to Amazon and Acorn and I hope the creme de la creme of the 5 productions, The Nine Tailors, is soon to be released. The Nine Tailors is Sayers' finest work and, I think, the finest mystery novel ever written. The BBC production is outstanding and of five star quality. My recommendation to fellow viewers is to ask Amazon to complete the set and if you think the videos/DVDs are great, the novels are even better. Sayers was a classical scholar of international reputation who translated Dante's Inferno (still in print) and one of the finest writers of the early 20th century and nowhere is this talent better illustrated in The Nine Tailors and the other novels represented by this outstanding BBC series. "I say, well done Bunter!!"
Rating:
Summary: A Scottish right
Review: It's terrific to have the Ian Carmichael series of Lord Peter Wimsey novels available on DVD, and I hope the rest of the original series will soon follow those now up. This one is excellent entertainment, and I have no criticism of the adaptation or the acting or the production. My only negative comment is that it would have made the DVD release more friendly if the episodes had been edited together, with credits shown only at the beginning and end of each disc. It's a nuisance to have to navigate around this stuff. The producers of the best "Pride and Prejudice" did this to greatly improved presentation in its most recent release. I hope the Wimsey releases from Acorn will do it in the future.
Rating:
Summary: A Scottish right
Review: It's terrific to have the Ian Carmichael series of Lord Peter Wimsey novels available on DVD, and I hope the rest of the original series will soon follow those now up. This one is excellent entertainment, and I have no criticism of the adaptation or the acting or the production. My only negative comment is that it would have made the DVD release more friendly if the episodes had been edited together, with credits shown only at the beginning and end of each disc. It's a nuisance to have to navigate around this stuff. The producers of the best "Pride and Prejudice" did this to greatly improved presentation in its most recent release. I hope the Wimsey releases from Acorn will do it in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Dorothy Sayers mystery.
Review: Lord Peter Wimsey and his faithful manservant Bunter travel to Scotland for a holiday. On a fishing outing they discover a dead artist who appears to have fallen to his death. Lord Peter suspects foul play and helps the local police sort through clues in a baffling case. The attention to detail in this fine mystery is superb as is the acting. Ian Carmichael is the perfect choice to play Lord Peter. In the DVD version we have a chance to listen to him discuss the making of the Lord Peter mysteries as part of the extra features offered to the viewer.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Dorothy Sayers mystery.
Review: Lord Peter Wimsey and his faithful manservant Bunter travel to Scotland for a holiday. On a fishing outing they discover a dead artist who appears to have fallen to his death. Lord Peter suspects foul play and helps the local police sort through clues in a baffling case. The attention to detail in this fine mystery is superb as is the acting. Ian Carmichael is the perfect choice to play Lord Peter. In the DVD version we have a chance to listen to him discuss the making of the Lord Peter mysteries as part of the extra features offered to the viewer.
Rating:
Summary: Another hit!
Review: My husband and I thoroughly enjoy all of the Peter Wimsey shows. This is another hit! In retrospect, however, I wish we had watched this show before Nine Tailors. My only concern, and the reason why I rated this a 4 instead of a 5, is this interpretation suggests Lord Peter may have an interest in a not quite of age teenager. Since, in the sequence of the stories, Lord Peter is already in love with Harriet, this is not only unlikely, but completely out of character. However, beyond this minor point, it is a very enjoyable story. Definitely a keeper.
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