Rating: 
Summary: Anglophilia won't get you past this morose duo
Review: Perhaps the previous reviewers admire an adherence to Sayers' prose. Can't say--never read the stories, just watched the foppish Ian Carmichael version. Here, both the visual images and character portrayals of Peter and Harriet are very washed-out. Wimsey's wit, eloquence and energy is almost lost in conflictedness and malaise. Bunter is multi-talented, but without a Jeeves-like irony. Parker almost vanishes into the wallpaper. Perhaps you can still enjoy the scenery, or try Campion.
Rating:
Summary: Anglophilia won't get you past this morose duo
Review: Perhaps the previous reviewers admire an adherence to Sayers' prose. Can't say--never read the stories, just watched the foppish Ian Carmichael version. Here, both the visual images and character portrayals of Peter and Harriet are very washed-out. Wimsey's wit, eloquence and energy is almost lost in conflictedness and malaise. Bunter is multi-talented, but without a Jeeves-like irony. Parker almost vanishes into the wallpaper. Perhaps you can still enjoy the scenery, or try Campion.
Rating: 
Summary: Agreed, they're overdue and great, but...
Review: Petherbridge didn't convey the essence of the "book Wimsey" as well as, say, Alan Rickman or Donald Sutherland (a little younger!) might have. E.P.'s acting seemed wooden, and a little TOO precious. However, a welcome addition. My old tapes of the of the shows are just about fried.
I wonder if the producers of the series are aware of the prices we fans would pay for a really detailed and faithful realization of the novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Everything except ¿Busman¿s Honeymoon¿
Review: Strong PoisonThis is the first in a series of television movies based on Dorothy L. Sayers's famous mystery series featuring Harriet Vane and amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. To be can tell it the first of the program that the actors are struggling to find the characters that they play however by the end of the program they are easily identifiable. In the next mystery "Have His Carcass" and they run smooth from the beginning. Then in "Gaudy Night" they are somewhat abbreviated. One of the strengths of the BBC production is that they do not try to dramatize so much that the story that it does not match the book. One of the advantages of this series is that it is long enough that most of the pertinent information is shown. They made an excellent choice when deciding to use Edward Petherbridge as Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane. They match the book character descriptions perfectly. In fact if you see this program before you read the book their images will be in your mind. You may recognize Harriet Walter as the nasty attituded Fanny Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility (1995). In the opening scenes we notice that Harriet is on trial for life accused of murdering her ex boyfriend. Everyone is convinced that she did it except Lord Peter Wimsey. Because he fell in love with her she just had to be innocent. As with all Dorothy Sayers mysteries the harder Peter whimsy fought to prove Harry its innocence, the tighter than use got around her neck. In the mean time Peter Wimsey proposes to Harriet. Watch every scene and listen to every word from the beginning as this movie is peppered with clues. You will have to see the second time to recognize the clues that you missed.
------------------------- Have His Carcass This is the second in a series of television movies based on Dorothy L. Sayers's famous mystery series featuring Harriet Vane and amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.
The characters are now smoother and fuller than they were in "Strong Poison" Which was the first in the series and had no guide to go by. One of the strengths of the BBC production is that they do not try to dramatize so much that the story does not match the book. One of the advantages of this series is that it is long enough that most of the pertinent information is shown. They made an excellent choice when deciding to use Edward Petherbridge as Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane. They match the book character descriptions perfectly. In fact if you see this program before you read the book their images will be in your mind.
You may recognize Edward Petherbridge as France King Lear (1984). And many of the other character actors from The BBC Agatha Christie "Miss Marple" series.
In the opening scenes we notice that Harriet on holiday, recovering from being on trial for murder. She is on the beach and hears something that startles her. Realizing it is getting late she tarts down the beach and finds (you guessed it) a body. Naturally there are only two sets of footprints hers and the deceased. Once again she is mixed up in a mystery and reluctantly with the help of Lord Peter Wimsey attempts to find out if it was murder, suicide or a Bolshevik plot.
Watch every scene and listen to every word from the beginning as this movie is peppered with clues. You will have to see the second time to recognize the clues that you missed.
----------------------------- Gaudy Night This is the third in a series of television movies based on Dorothy L. Sayers's famous mystery series featuring Harriet Vein and amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. The first two programs are "Strong Poison" and "Have His Carcass." One of the strengths of the BBC production is that they do not try to dramatize so much that the story does not match the book. One of the advantages of this series is that it is long enough that most of the pertinent information is shown. They made an excellent choice when deciding to use Edward Petherbridge as Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane. They match the book character descriptions perfectly. In fact if you see this program before you read the book their images will be in your mind. Maybe due to time restraints or different directing, many of the most interesting book characters were left out of "Gaudy Night" A chess board plays a significant part in the book and is also left out of this version. Harriet is invite to her university's gaudy. She soon finds out that it is not an idle indentation. It seems that people are receiving poison pen letters and very nasty pranks. Not wanting the police to be involved they turn to Harriet (knowing of here reputation for solving crimes.) When Harriet receives a letter herself she confides in Lord Peter. Are these innocent pranks or will they lead to some thing more sinister? And who is the culprit?
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Busman's Honeymoon Too bad they could not make this one. They probably could not get the license. It was made many years ago as "Haunted Honeymoon" (1940)
Robert Montgomery as Peter Wimsey
Constance Cummings as Lady Harriet Vane
Rating:
Summary: Well cast, finely balanced
Review: The Harriet Vane chronicles are perhaps the finest in the Peter Whimsey series, with Gaudy Night its crown jewel. But the strength of the books, their powerful internal characterization, is the very thing that poses difficulties for the screenwriter. I dreamed of a film version, but didn't believe anyone would even attempt it. Yet here it is. BBC the Valiant brought the thing off, and they did it with style. Harriet and Peter are perfectly cast. I was particularly impressed with Harriet in the first 20 minutes of Strong Poison. Without a word of dialogue, she held attention; it's easy to see why Peter fell, and fell hard. (And she does look superb in wine red.) Peter is the wise fool, and looks the part. I'll not give away a single moment, but ration your breath- you'll be needing it. Quiet he is, but he'll steal your soul in a pinch. Oh, and Bunter, my Bunter. He doth make the heart merry. For those of you who worry about losing the complicated themes in Gaudy, do not fear, they are all present, on one level or another, and are worked wonderfully. As it's my favorite book of the trio, I do feel the need to comment on several (excusable) flaws- absences of the likes of St. George, chess set, and dog collar were felt, but necessary to the length of the piece. And important words placed in the mouths of the wrong characters were jarring, but justified in the end. Gaudy's starring theme is integrity. The BBC lets it shine. On the whole, they are well worth the investment. As with the books, you can take them by turns for mystery, philosophy, or romance- or for a tasty blend of the three. As your Whimsey takes you.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: The ultimate Peter and Harriet! It's as if Sayers had written the parts with them in mind. I only wish that "Busman's Honeymoon" had been filmed! *Sigh* Someday... but it won't be the same.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful realizations of fantastic books!
Review: They have done the impossible: they have nobly and credibly cast the roles of Harriet Vane (Harriet Walter) and Lord Peter Whimsey (Edward Petherdridge). From this, all else follows. The chemistry between Peter and Harriet is magical. And they are surrounded by a most able and fascinating group of supporting characters. The books are fairly treated, and thoroughly dramatized (though I miss Peter's nephew in Gaudy Night). The books are most loveable, and so are these adaptations. If I have one regret it is that the 4th book in this cycle, Busman's Honeymoon, could not have been undertaken by this same crew. But by all means, do get this set and you will be amply rewarded!
Rating:
Summary: "Except that the girl's innocent."
Review: Things are not going well at Harriet Vane's trial for the murder of her former lover, Philip Boyd - hearing the judge's summation, only the most unrealistic of minds could conclude that she is not guilty as charged. One such mind, however, is that of Lord Peter Wimsey - the same Lord Peter who, normally a beacon of logic, unfailingly unspins the web of every criminal intrigue to which he brings to bear his intellectual powers, but who now, epitome of a bachelor that he has heretofore been, without so much as ever having personally met Harriet, is dead-set on marrying her. So when he tells his old friend (and as readers of Dorothy Sayers's books know, soon-to-be brother in law) Chief Inspector Parker, who was in charge of the investigation, that Parker has made a mistake, the policeman is unsettled; despite the water-tight case he feels he has put together. "Where is the flaw?" he inquires gingerly. "There isn't one," Wimsey retorts. "Except that the girl's innocent." Thus, the scene is set for the first entry in Sayers's Wimsey-Vane canon, whose first three installments are brought to the small screen in this delightful miniseries. (As the movie rights to the fourth and last episode completed by Sayers herself, "Busman's Honeymoon," were sold by the author, the BBC was unable to also include that particular installment; unfortunately so, as their version would undoubtedly have been more faithful than 1940's "Haunted Honeymoon" starring Robert Montgomery and Constance Cummings). So, while Harriet is pining away in prison, dreading a jury verdict which, she feels, can only be delayed, not avoided entirely, and not knowing how to deal with the sudden attentions of a well-known member of nobility, Wimsey busies himself with the search for Boyd's true murderer; whom he eventually finds with the help of his confidante Miss Climpson (whose presence in the jury box, unbeknownst to Harriet, has already proved instrumental in producing a hung jury despite the judge's damning summation) and her assistant, Miss Murchison; both of which ladies, while perfectly honorable, do not shrink from unconvential methods when called for in the pursuit of justice. In the second story, "Have His Carcase," Harriet has gone on a walking tour along the English coast, to regain her peace of mind after her acquittal - only to find, instead, the corpse of a man lying on a beachside rock; and to promptly lose him again when the rock is covered by the tide, leaving only the photographs and personal items she has wisely taken as proof that he was there at all. Lord Peter is summoned to the spot by a reporter Harriet herself has called in an attempt to turn the tables on the inevitability of facing headline-hunting journalists again; and they are soon head over heals in an adventure featuring everything from a lonely rich widow set to marry the deceased, to gigolos at an expensive yet slightly sordid seaside hotel (the dead man having been one of those gigolos himself, although sporting a rather mysterious past), a razor's wanderings, an exercise in code-breaking, and a conspiracy ostensibly involving forces hailing back to imperial Russia - all of this, in the face of a police investigation stubbornly returning a verdict of suicide, and one of the most watertight alibis Lord Peter has to crack in all his career. Lastly, we see Harriet returning to Oxford, invited to her college's "Gaudy Night" celebrations (hence the episode's title), but also commissioned by the dean to look into an increasingly embarrassing series of poison-pen letters and vandalism directed against independent women, and primarily, women in academia. Lord Peter - after a diplomatic mission to continental Europe - comes late to the investigation, but when he does, the solution is found very quickly. And amid the hallowed halls of learned Oxford, also ended is the noble champion's quest for his lady's hand; not entirely in the high-spirited words only a scholar like Sayers could have put into the mouths of her singleminded and unusual couple of sleuths, but faithful to her novel nevertheless. And it is that faithfulness to the books which most distinguishes this miniseries, as well as its superb cinematography, marvelously capturing the settings; from Old Bailey and pre-WWII London to sleepy and somewhat seedy seaside resorts and the timeless grace and high spirits of Oxford University. Unfortunately (particularly so in "Gaudy Night") a number of subplots were dropped, but the essence of Sayers's novels is maintained; and much of the dialogue is taken literally from those. Edward Petherbridge nails Lord Peter's tone and exalted mannerisms, as well as his hidden vulnerabilities, to a tee - fans of Ian Carmichael's more physical, over-the-top interpretation be reminded that Sayers herself, in "Strong Poison," describes Wimsey as of "slight" build, while giving a rather unexpected impression of "controlled power." (Granted, though, that, conceivably having endowed Lord Peter with much of her own preferences in men, Sayers would not have Harriet comment, as she does here, that he is "not much to look at;" in fact, she has her heroine veritably pining over a sleeping Lord Peter's physiognomy during "Gaudy Night"'s famous punting trip.) - Harriet Walter, similarly, shares more than her first name with the stories' female protagonist; she is exactly the Harriet Vane one might image when reading the books (I certainly did). Richard Morant as Lord Peter's faithful manservant Bunter is about a knife's tip too much of a jack-of-all-trades for my tastes - I can well see him "insinuating" himself into a suspect's household at his master's behest or shadowing another suspect all across London, but not necessarily fretting, as he does in "Busman's Honeymoon," over the sake of a case of vintage port, packed in eiderdowns in the back of a car and in danger of being rattled (and rendered undrinkable for months, if not years to come) by Lord Peter's brisk driving habits. Still, overall this is an outstanding production; undoubtedly one of the BBC's finest ever, and long overdue to be revived in this format.
Rating:
Summary: Lord Peter Wimsey and Miss Harriet Vane - Perfection
Review: This is a trilogy of multi-part movies set in 1920s England about a funny and sensitive British lord who sleuths as a hobby, his trusted man Bunter (the more-than-perfect butler), and a female mystery novelist who finds herself imprisoned and on trial for being accused of poisoning her former lover ("Strong Poison"), who finds a foreigner with his throat cut on the British coast while on a walking tour ("Have his Carcase"), and who is asked by her former college warden and dean at her college reunion to investigate filthy and disgusting happenings at the all-women's college ("Gaudy Night.") She also finds herself falling, reluctantly, in love with the one man who reaches out to her, Lord Peter Wimsey, who just can't stop asking her, albeit at "decent intervals," to marry him.
Really a wondeful set of movies. They can seem a little slow and almost dull at first, as they did with us, but now we just love them for their perfect mix of romance and mystery. We usually dedicate about five days running to do what we call a "Harry marathon," and watch several parts from start to finish over a 5-evening movie marathon. Really lots and lots of fun, very watchable over and over. Interesting filming, with the use of film outdoors and videotape indoors. Filmed in 1987, negligible special features, well worth the money.
This movie set has a place of honor in our DVD cabinet, next to the Ian Carmichael "Lord Peter Wimsey," David Suchet as Dame Agatha Christie's "Hercule Poirot," Joan Hickson as Dame Agatha's "Miss Marple," and Jeremy Brett as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" series of movies. Get them all. The Brits have us beat hands down for mystery entertainment!
Rating: 
Summary: Three To Ponder
Review: This is the boxed set of three of the four mystery novels Dorothy Sayers wrote about her sleuth, Lord Peter Whimsey, and Harriet Vane, the mystery writer who eventually became his wife. These are the DVD's of the BBC productions of "Strong Poison," "Have His Carcase," and "Gaudy Night," starring Edward Petherbridge and Harriet Walter. Unfortunately, the BBC was unable to obtain permission to produce the final novel, "Busman's Honeymoon," much to our loss. I have already written reviews of the individual performances separately, and will focus here on matters that affect the entire set. For reference, these performances cover the period from Wimsey's successful efforts to free Harriet from suspicions of murdering her lover to Peter's proposal to her at Oxford several years later. Both of the stars of this series do remarkable work. Petherbridge is almost too perfect for the role, and has managed completely to supplant my own imagined version of Lord Peter completely. My only quibble is that he seems more a man in his fifties rather than the forties I thought was Wimsey's age. Since I am in my fifties myself, I found this quite easy to forgive. As for Walter's depiction of Harriet Vane, she really is exactly as she should be. Richard Morant's approach to Bunter, Lord Peter's man, is more problematic, being well acted, but not quite in character. As far as the lesser characters, the casting is, for the most part, impeccable. The few exceptions to this rule are still more than acceptable. What makes the novels unique for their time is that Sayers wrote them are not simply as mystery stories with a romantic aspect. Instead, Harriet Vane is in almost every way Lord Peter's match, a strong, intelligent, and independent woman who balks at marriage first because she does not wish to succumb to gratitude, and latterly because she does not with for her own depth of character to be subsumed under Lord Peter's. This dilemma is used by the author not simply to entertain, but to expand on the role of women in post World War I Britain. And here lies my major complaint about an otherwise delightful set of entertainments. For whatever reason, the director (Christopher Hodson) decided to overemphasize the romance at the cost of other elements. In the case of "Strong Poison" and "Have His Carcase," this sin only extended to the modification of the endings to create a certain romantic suspense. In "Gaudy Night," unfortunately, Hodson made significant changes from the novel, and left out several elements as well. The result of this 'Hollywoodizing' is that the less familiar one is with the novels, the more enjoyable the performances are. If you are a long time Sayers fan, though, you may find yourself slightly dissatisfied. Purist that I am, I have rated the set at four stars rather than the five that it otherwise richly deserves.
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