"Foyle's War" (2002) TV series 2002-????

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Creator:

Anthony Horowitz

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

2 February 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

While the world is at war, one man fights his own battle on the home front.

Plot:

It is 1940 and Britain stands alone against the might of Nazi Germany across the continent. The terrors...

Plot Keywords:

Looting | Murder | Collaboration | Racket | Spy

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Michael Kitchen	...	Christopher Foyle / ... (19 episodes, 2002-2008)
Anthony Howell	...	Sgt. Paul Milner / ... (19 episodes, 2002-2008)
Honeysuckle Weeks	...	Samantha Stewart (19 episodes, 2002-2008)
Julian Ovenden	...	Andrew Foyle (8 episodes, 2002-2008)

Runtime:

UK:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 (season 4) | Iceland:12 (some episodes) | Iceland:LH (some episodes) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Singapore:PG | UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Balls Park, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Greenlit Productions

Trivia:

To the considerable mystification and annoyance of Anthony Horowitz (writer) and the cast, Simon Shaps, former Director of Television for ITV, who only stayed in the job for eighteen months, announced in 2007 that he would kill off this well-respected and lucrative series after making one final season of episodes. Horowitz had to abandon several scripts for episodes set in 1944, and jump forwards to episodes covering the end of the war in 1945. However in February 2009 it was announced that this decision has been reversed now Shaps has left his TV executive role, and three more episodes will be filmed in spring 2009.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Foyle is a Chief Superintendent. But the series is set during the Second World War and the rank was not introduced until 1949.

Quotes:

Samantha Stewart: [to Foyle and Milner] What you both need is a jolly good murder!

Intelligent, original and brave

Foyle's War tackles a great many of perceived truths of World War 2 head on, attempting to show a view of wartime Britain in a new light. These are dealt with against the backdrop of a murder which the considered, but burdened detective is called to.

Michael Kitchen is absolutely superb as Christopher Foyle. He plays him with a subtle mix of determination and humanity; each performance is multi-layered, giving the viewer the opportunity to see something new each time. The support cast is also extremely good, with each character given appropriate depth and screen time.

Overall, this is one to get if you like to watch well-crafted, intelligent drama.