Foyle's War

Image provided by Acorn TV/RLJE.

             I don’t know why some things grab me faster than others.  For years now I have watched TV shows distributed by Acorn Media, and in the front of many of those shows was a snippet of Foyle’s War.  Over and over I saw that piece, but I never thought it was a show I should watch.  Until recently that is.  Something happened, but I don’t know what.  Either the snippet changed or I saw a longer preview.  Maybe I just simply started paying better attention.  No matter what the change was, one day I saw the mention of Foyle’s War on one of the DVDs and I decided to give the show a try.  Now that I have, I find myself excited for each and every episode that comes my way.        

Image provided by Acorn TV/RLJE.

           Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen) is a Detective Chief Superintendent investigating crimes during World War II.  Most of the crimes are murder, but other things, such as theft, have been known to appear as well.  A lot of the time Foyle goes out and investigates these crimes alone with only his driver, Samantha “Sam” Stewart (Honeysuckle Weeks), for company.  Back at the station, or out investigating other inquiries, is Foyle’s Detective Sergeant, Paul Milner (Anthony Howell).  He lost his leg in the war, and at first Milner mostly looks through paperwork.  As he becomes more acclimated to his artificial leg, Milner goes out into the field, usually on his own, but occasionally alongside Foyle.  It really depends on the case.  In the end, no matter who is where or with whom, Foyle, Sam, and Milner always make for a very interesting team.

                While Foyle and Milner are out officially investigating, Sam waits ready and willing to jump in when she is needed.  A lot of times this happens by chance as people are much more comfortable talking to Sam than they are to the police.  They will tell her things casually that they would never bring up to Foyle or Milner, or at least not without being asked directly.  This leads Sam to provide Foyle information that he may struggle to get otherwise.  Through this information, and with what Foyle and Milner tell her, Sam comes up with some very interesting conclusions.  They’re not always 100% correct, but they do sometimes lead Foyle down a path that he may not have thought about going down before.

Image provided by Acorn TV/RLJE.

Foyle, himself, runs into a lot of obstacles as he investigates.  There are the usual ones, people lying or flat out not willing to cooperate, but Foyle has something else he must deal with.  That something is the military.  As it is wartime, the military often plays a factor in what Foyle is investigating.  Usually they don’t want Foyle to continue investigating whatever crime has been committed, and they do whatever they can to deter him.  That just shows how little they know the man.  The military always underestimates Foyle as this simple country police officer who they can wave their authority over.  Little do they know, Foyle is far from anything they believe.  He is extremely intelligent and wildly crafty.  No one is going to get in Foyle’s way as he is working, and he will figure out how to get what he wants in the end.  

Image provided by Acorn TV/RLJE.

                The military aren’t the only ones to underestimate Foyle.  I don’t know how many times Milner, Sam, or Foyle’s airman son Andrew (Julian Ovenden) have agreed not to tell Foyle about a personal something.  Usually Sam is the one expected to keep the secret, although I don’t know why there needs to be a secret in the first place.  It’s never clear what anyone thinks will happen if Foyle finds out what is going on, which he always does eventually.  Usually Foyle figures things out on his own and simply waits for someone to tell him.  Then his reaction is nearly always one of compassion and understanding.  Only with Andrew is it ever different, and even those instances are extremely rare.  It makes the whole effort of being secretive all for naught.

Image provided by Acorn TV/RLJE.

                Each of the mysteries I have seen so far (I’m currently on season 3) have been really interesting.  They can, however, be confusing too.  That’s because sometimes Foyle is solving three or four connected cases at the same time.  I don’t know how many times I have wondered if one particular element is going to get solved or will it be forgotten.  When it comes to unsolved crimes and Foyle, I really shouldn’t worry.  With Foyle, no case goes unsolved.  The culprit is always discovered in the end.    Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the justice of the culprit.  The war and the military get in the way of that.  While Foyle is able to get around the military to solve the case, that is not the way it necessarily works for the punishment.  As far as I have seen, Foyle is amassing quite a list of people that he will be seeking out once the war is over so they can have their day in court.  It will be interesting to see if that happens or not, but I am willing to wait to find out.  There are many more episodes for me to watch in between.  I could watch them in a chunk and find out my answers, but I prefer to watch the episodes one by one.  As much as I like this show, I would hate to run out of episodes and end the series too quickly.