The Last Detective - Series 1

Movie / Show Details

Product Description

He’s gentle, old-fashioned, and decent; nice even when he’s drunk. But these qualities only earn Detective Constable “Dangerous” Davies (Peter Davison, Dr. Who, All Creatures Great and Small) the scorn of his fellow detectives in a small London police station. His boss tells him straight out that he’s the last detective he would assign to a major crime-solving mission. Unlucky in love, rumpled, and accident prone, Dangerous muddles on and, with the help of his eccentric friend Mod (Sean Hughes, The Commitments), he proves the merits of his dogged, unglamorous method. He likes being a detective and, occasionally, he gets to do some good. Based on the Dangerous Davies novels by Leslie Thomas.

Amazon.com

The name is Davies, “Dangerous” Davies. The moniker, unfortunately, is meant ironically. British Detective Constable Davies (Peter Davison) is a man out of his time, “a decent man in an indecent world,” as his best friend, the fitfully employed Mod (Sean Hughes) tells him. As his derisive nickname indicates, Davies is not highly regarded by the public (at one point, he is pelted with garbage while chasing a suspect) or his colleagues. To his boss, he is “the last detective,” as in “the last detective I’ll ever think of, unless it’s a crap job. Then you’ll be the first.” In the feature-length pilot episode that launched this inaugural series based on Leslie Thomas’s books, a “waste of time” assignment leads the unprepossessing Davies to re-open an unsolved missing persons case from 1982. “They’ve given you a murder?” Mod incredulously asks him. “I was going to appropriate it,” Davies confesses. The quartet of cases contained in this two-disc set are quirkily intriguing. In “Dangerous by Moonlight,” Davies must make all the right moves when an investigation into a man’s disappearance leads him to a dance club that caters to seniors. In “Tricia,” Davies investigates two unwanted cases that involve demanding women. In “Lofty,” an eccentric homeless man Davies has befriended is found dead in a canal. This entertaining series is a memorable introduction to this amiable sleuth and “dear, old-fashioned chap” who, despite his unglamorous appearance and rather plodding manner, is capable of a surprise or two. “Frankly,” one captured criminal tells him, “it’s a pleasure to be arrested by you.” It’s even more of a pleasure to watch him in action. –Donald Liebenson

Review

Mystery fans, rejoice! Dangerous Davies proves with wit and style that he can crack cases better than anyone. — tvdvdreviews.com