Rating: 
Summary: Another great British Dramatic Series
Review: In this particular series the setting is in England during WWII. The sets are perfect. You will feel you are there. Michael Kitchen is excellent as DCS Christopher Foyle. He is very business like even with his son, but you still have to admire his dedication to his job. His cases may or may not be tied somehow to the war, but they are always interesting and fascinating to try to figure out before Foyle. Honeysuckle Weeks as Sam Stewart makes a great driver/sidekick. Her help seems to be mostly subtle but often a life saver.
Fans of drama and mysteries will love it. If you have seen BBC series like Cadfael, Sherlock Holmes, and Midsomer Murders you will want this series as well. I absolutley love British Drama and this is some of the best I have ever seen. Being a fan of WWII movies as well I was in heaven watching this series. I would be surprised if fans of the series Band of Brothers would not enjoy this series as well. The DVD picture and sound quality is first class and the set includes nice extras for a series.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Plot... A Likeable Protagonist
Review: It's rare to find those two things together. They come together beautifully in this series. Various issues facing the British population of 1940 are well illustrated such as the treatment of conscientious objectors, Nazi sympathizers, anti-semitism. Now combine these factors with class distinction, family disputes and the abuse of power and a powerful recipe for a great story emerges. Cheers to actor Michael Kitchens for a top-notch performance! The casting was excellent in this series. If this series interests you, I highly recommend the series "The Enemy at the Door" about the invasion of the Channel Islands by the Nazis. This series shows what life was like for the citizens of the islands under German control as well as what life was like for the German officers and soldiers.
Rating: 
Summary: Foyling (sic) the bad guys on the home front
Review: Perhaps it's my affection for England - a love that makes my wife roll her eyes - that causes me to have a higher regard for BBC and ITV small screen productions than those of America, which seem so crass in comparison. So many of the former seem uncommonly funny, intelligent, or both. FOYLE'S WAR is an uncommonly intelligent detective drama, a period piece set on England's south coast in 1940. And, to keep the record straight, my wife's dedication to this series is at least as pronounced as mine, if not more so.
Michael Kitchen is Detective Inspector Christopher Foyle, who's ordered to remain at his post as homicide investigator for Hastings and its environs; he'd much rather be doing his bit for King and Empire fighting the Nazis across the Channel. Indeed, his son is a flying officer with the RAF. The two other series regulars are Samantha "Sam" Stewart (Honeysuckle Weeks), the Women's Royal Army Corps enlistee assigned as his driver, and Paul Milner (Anthony Howell), Foyle's assistant inspector recently returned to home front duty after being wounded with the Army during the disastrous British invasion of Norway.
In Series One,the murders occur in contexts that include sexual harassment, anti-semitism, police brutality, local jingoism, sabotage, and conscientious objection - all set against a backdrop of Luftwaffe bombing raids and the fear of imminent amphibious invasion by the German Wehrmacht.
The character of Foyle - intelligent, perceptive, reserved, compassionate, wounded by his wife's recent death, worried for his son's safety - epitomizes the phrase "still waters run deep." The viewer embarks into each episode wondering what new layer of Foyle's persona will be revealed. (Not to give too much away, but I've just seen the first episode of Series Two, which gives evidence of an old and tragic love affair involving Foyle and a now-married gentlewoman.) And the evolution of the relationship between Foyle and the occasionally cheeky Sam is one of the major delights of the miniseries as the latter proves she's smart, intuitive, and potentially more useful than just a lowly chauffeur.
The various murders investigated by the trio are never straightforward, but involve clever plot twists and hidden motives, the solutions to which silently gestate in the Inspector's mind before being revealed at the end of the story, much like the Sherlock Holmes mysteries of old.
There are, of course, uneven moments to Series One which allow for only four stars. I trust, as the show matures, that it will only get better. The areas that needs no improvement are the period costuming, props and sets, all of which are superbly done and a delight to an Anglophile.
Rating:
Summary: Television at its best
Review: This is a near-perfect television mystery series. Every element is outstanding: the ensemble acting, the plot and character development, the dialog, the set design -- EVERYTHING.
How often do you watch a tv show, a mystery at that, and shed tears over the death of a character, or at the sheer poignancy of a situation?
Each episode contains a mystery that is solved by the end, but I cared less about the "who dunnit" aspect that by the entire story surrounding the mystery. We see what it was like to live in Britain at the start of the war; what it was like to sail off to Dunkirk to help bring the boys back; what people went through to buy food and petrol. It's a history lesson that deals with topics far more fascinating (...). It's the story of people trying to live their lives and do their jobs despite the most horrendous events.
Best of all, the show has people you grow to really like and respect: Foyle, Sam and Milner.
I can't wait for Series 3 to be aired (...).
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: This is a wonderful new series! These first four episodes of "Foyle's War" have me completely hooked! The stories are exciting, moving and chillingly timely. The characters (particularly Michael Kitchen's Foyle) are intriguing and engaging. I hope these episodes are only the first of many.
Rating:
Summary: Count this for six stars at least
Review: This is a worthy new addition to the best British mystery series -- heavy praise from me. As a red-eyed fan of Morse, Dalgliesh, Poirot, Holmes (Brett), Smiley, Wimsey, etc., I am picky, having hosed off Oscar(R) winners and sequel spawners with a couple of stars and a flood of sarcasm. However, my only misgivings about the five-star award to this (thank heaven only the first) "Foyle's War" set is that Amazon.com would not allow me to give it all the stars it merits. I especially like its Britain -- no London / manorial ambience: Hitler lurks 30 miles across the Channel washing at our feet, the Battle of Britain has yet to be won, the Yanks not yet "overpaid, oversexed, and over here." At any time, a storm of Nazi bombs, naval gunfire, and assault troops could smash into the deceptively tranquil seaside setting, making the visit from William the Conqueror 874 years earlier seem like a romp in the meadow. Foyle is recently widowed, and must also solve cases not only amid the chaos of the Dunkirk rescue and attempts to set up coastal defenses, but also knowing that his son is one of the outnumbered pilots keeping the Nazi storm offshore, even falsely accused by a dishonest superior in one episode. Foyle is human, doesn't drive(!) and is not delighted that his driver Sam turns out to be a Samantha -- until she conks a felon escaping him. Kitchen and Weeks are perfect, with Weeks's heroic status multiplied by learning from the DVD extras that she DID OVER ONE HUNDRED TAKES of eating the same sandwich and still made it look like her first bite. Too bad we so seldom find actors as uniformly marvelous as in British productions. I will expand no more on the excellent reviews by others who appreciated this series, except to agree most enthusiastically. This is not only a superb mystery series, but an excellent reminder, in a setting not well-known in the US, of the courage and determination that the ordinary Brits found among their sometimes lovable quirks at a time when they stood alone as others caved in to Hitler. The technological quality of the DVD's is superb. These great British TV series are reason enough to stay with the 4:3 format and leave wide screens to those whose taste has sunk to (or never rose above) Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: A Most Enjoyable Family Mystery Series
Review: This series takes place in Eastern England during World War 2. This first of the series introduces the main actors and should be watched in order (the DVD number on the case will help keep them in order), as some of the characters progress.
Without giving away any secrets, these two series are certainly one of my most favorite of any English or US mystery series. Characters are very richly written and easy to relate to. Don't want to say too much, but my wife and I enjoy watching these from time to time even though we have already seen all 8 in series 1 and 2.
We sincerely hope you will enjoy them!
Rating:
Summary: Splendid, impeccable...well worth the dough, mate.
Review: This series was produced by intelligent, thoughtful people for like types. The deep though intelligible script, taut sequencing, convincing acting, and historical research to enable realistic portrayal of aspects of WWII usually overlooked, combine to make this 4-DVD series one of the best purchases I have found on the market. You might guess the culprit ahead of time, but you will thoroughly enjoy, and be engrossed in, the events leading up to the disclosure.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful period mystery
Review: This surprisingly prescient series follows Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Foyle through a series of murder investigations overshadowed by WWII. Set in 1940, as the Germans begin bombing England, the mysteries touch on everything from espionage to enemy aliens. The overall tone is melancholy and, appropriately enough, slightly ominous. Only the fourth episode, which turns on the tired plot mechanism of making things "personal" for the detective, fails to satisfy. As Foyle, Michael Kitchen effortlessly dominates the proceedings. A rather small and deceptively non-descript actor, Kitchen often plays villains whose larger-than-life criminal talents lurk behind an apparently amiable, non-threatening exterior. His Foyle is a reserved man, shy even, who can nevertheless suddenly metamorphose into righteousness personified; he represents a spot of moral decency among the confusions of war. As his incipiently feminist driver, Samantha "Sam" Smith, Honeysuckle Weeks is pleasantly awkward and ambitious. Unfortunately, Anthony Howell is too wooden as Sgt. Milner, invalided out of the army after losing his leg. A number of familiar faces appear in guest-starring roles, including Edward Fox, Robert Hardy, Charles Dance, and Oliver Ford Davies. Overall, an interesting contribution to the recent crop of British mysteries.
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