Happy 40th birthday, Masterpiece Theater, and Happy 30th, Mystery!
OK, actually 31st for "Mystery," which went on the air in February, 1980. And the "Theater" is no longer attached to "Masterpiece," whose subheadings now include "Masterpiece Classic" and "Masterpiece Contemporary."
No matter. Both have set standards for television and for the quality of PBS. Mostly British programs, the offerings have been extremely popular.
Here's a Top 10 list for "Mystery." The one for "Masterpiece" will follow in a second blog to run Sunday.
Mystery Top 10
10. Dalgleish: Roy Mardsen played the cerebral detective from the P.D. James series of books.
9. Cadfael: How far back can crime-solving go? Try the 12th century, with Derek Jacobi playing the sleuthing monk.
8. Reilly, Ace of Spies: Sam Neill played Jewish spy Sidney Reilly in this 1983 series of episodes, which won a host of awards.
7. Rumpole of the Bailey: Leo McKern was the crusty lawyer in the series that was part of most of "Mystery's" first 15 seasons, including the first one. A courtroom drama among the detectives.
6. Miss Marple: Agatha Christie's most famous detective keeps going and going, though she didn't make her first "Mystery" appearance until 1985, with Joan Hickson playing the immortal role. Since then, viewers have also seen Geraldine McEwan ("Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves") and now Julia McKenzie in the role.
5. Poirot: The incomparable David Suchet took Agatha Christie's fastidious Belgian detective and made the role his own, first playing it on "Mystery" in 1989 and continuing to the current day, although the new episodes no longer have his faithful assistant Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) or that wonderful opening theme by Christopher Gunning.
4. Inspector Morse: There was always a sense of melancholy, possibly taken from his own life, about the way John Thaw played Morse; few teams have been better than Morse and Sergeant Lewis ( Kevin Whately) in the sedate setting of Oxford, where murder seems to lurk at every turn. Viewers mourned Morse's death - and Thaw's soon after. Whately has continued in the fine "Inspector Lewis" with Laurence Fox as Sergeant Hathaway.
3. Foyle's War: Investigating murder during the horrors of World War II? Yes, for Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle (the magnificent Michael Kitchen), who longs to serve the war effort but must stay in Hastings and do his bit for the police along Britain's South Coast. Fortunately, he has two capable assistants in Detective Sergeant Paul Milner (Anthony Howell) and plucky driver Samantha Stewart (Honeysuckle Weeks). Foyle worries for his son, Andrew (Julian Ovenden), a Royal Air Force pilot. Really a drama about the war with mystery elements.
2. Sherlock Holmes: Jeremy Brett brought the world's greatest detective to life in a way no one else has. Channelling all of the quirks that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle put into Holmes, he gave the character humanity and grace. David Burke played a perfect Dr. Watson, but Edward Hardwicke was pretty good, too. Benedict Cumberbatch has shown signs that history and quality will repeat itself (even with the annoying text message graphics) in the new "Sherlock," set in the modern day.
1. Prime Suspect: How can NBC even think of putting its own version on the air when the original was indelible? Before Dame Helen Mirren was an Oscar winner as Queen Elizabeth, she was alcoholic, frequently burned-out detective ("Don't call me Ma'am; I'm not the bloody Queen") Jane Tennison. Both Mirren and the series won Emmys and many other awards.
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