''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'' is a British

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

television series that aired on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

from 12 March 2001 to 1 June 2008, consisting of six series and 24 episodes. The protagonist, Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

of Asherton (

Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and List of Merlin characters#Agravaine de Bois, Agravaine de Bois in the ...

), who is assigned to

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

, finds himself paired with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers ( Sharon Small). In addition to the tensions involved in solving murder cases, the series is built on clashes of personality, gender and class: Lynley is a polished man and a

peer of the realm A peer of the realm is a member of the highest aristocratic social order outside the ruling dynasty of the kingdom. Notable examples are: * a member of the peerages in the United Kingdom, who is a hereditary peer or a life peer * a member of the ...

, and Havers is an untidy woman from a working-class background. In August 2007, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

announced its intention to stop production of ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries''. Fans of the series mounted a campaign to save it, with a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

and by contacting the

, but to no avail. All six series have since been released on DVD, distributed by

Acorn Media UK RLJE International Ltd, d/b/a Acorn Media, a British company that publishes and distributes DVDs, as well as selling home-video products and streaming videos with a particular focus on British television. History Launched in 1997, Acorn Media ...

. All episodes from the first two series and two from the third are based on novels by the American writer

Elizabeth George Susan Elizabeth George (born February 26, 1949) is an American writer of mystery novels. She is best known for a series of novels featuring Inspector Thomas Lynley. The 21st book in the series was published in January 2022. The first 11 were ...

, though the plots and characters are often significantly altered. Initially adapted by Lizzie Mickery, later episodes are original stories for television based on her characters. The music for the series was composed by Robert Lockhart; later series were scored by

Debbie Wiseman Debbie Wiseman, OBE (born 10 May 1963) is a British composer for film, television and the concert hall, known also as a conductor and a radio and television presenter. Biography Wiseman was born in Belsize Park, north west London, and attend ...

Production

The first episode (pilot), ''A Great Deliverance'', was broadcast on 12 and 13 March 2001, becoming the only two-part episode throughout the series run. It was also based on the inaugural Inspector Lynley novel. The first full series began broadcasting on 8 April 2002, with the first episode based on and named after the third novel, '' Well-Schooled in Murder''. The first eleven episodes were based on, and named after, the eleven Inspector Lynley novels published from 1988 to 2001, beginning with the inaugural novel ''A Great Deliverance'', but subsequently departing from the print sequence. Nine more novels have since been published as of 2018, with a further volume due out in 2021.

Filming

Exterior shots of Lynley and Havers' base were filmed at the Bircham Dyson Bell solicitors offices on Broadway, central London. The first episode of series five was notable for being shot in

Dungeness Dungeness (, ) is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the ham ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. In the first episode, Lynley drove a Peugeot 607; whereas in both series one and two he drove a Jensen Interceptor; and in later episodes a Bristol 410. Despite the frequently recurring remark in

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Mystery! ''Mystery!'' is an anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States. The series was created as a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the PBS show ''Masterpiece Theatre''. From 1980 to 2007, ''Mystery!' ...

'' presenter

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Tracy Bond, Teresa di ...

's introductions to the series that Lynley "is the one with the

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

", he never drove a Bentley on TV. He does, however, drive one in the George novels. In the pilot episode, the character of Helen Clyde was played by Emma Fielding. She was later portrayed by Lesley Vickerage from series one to three (from series three she and Lynley had married and she was thus known as Helen Lynley) and by Catherine Russell in series five.

Cast

as Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley * Sharon Small as Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers * Emma Fielding as Helen Clyde (Pilot) * Lesley Vickerage as Helen Clyde (Series 1-2) / Helen Lynley (Series 3) * Catherine Russell as Helen Lynley (Series 5) * Paul Hickey as Forensic Pathologist Stewart Lafferty (Series 4-6) * Shaun Parkes as Detective Constable Winston Nkata (Series 5-6)

Episode list

A Great Deliverance (2001)

Series 1 (2002)

Series 2 (2003)

Series 3 (2004)

Series 4 (2005)

Series 5 (2006)

Series 6 (2008)

The broadcast of ''Limbo'' and ''Know Thine Enemy'' was initially postponed: they were due to air on 9 and 16 August 2007 respectively but did not air as scheduled. Their premiere broadcast came on 11 and 18 November 2007 on

BBC Entertainment BBC Entertainment was an international television channel that broadcast comedy, drama, light entertainment, reality and children's programming (some regions only) from the BBC, Channel 4 and other UK production houses. The channel broadcast re ...

, before being broadcast on

for the first time on 25 May and 1 June 2008 respectively.

International broadcasts

In the United States, all six series were broadcast on

from 2002 to 2008. * ''A Great Deliverance'' was broadcast on the series ''

'' in two parts as ''Inspector Lynley I'' on 19 and 26 August 2002. * Series 1 was shown on ''Mystery!'' as ''Inspector Lynley II'' on 31 August and 7, 14, and 21 September 2003. * Series 2 was shown on ''Mystery!'' as ''Inspector Lynley III'' on 5, 12, 19, and 26 September 2004. * Series 3 was shown on ''Mystery!'' as ''Inspector Lynley IV'' on 26 June and 3, 10, and 17 July 2005. * Series 4 was shown on ''Mystery!'' as ''Inspector Lynley V'' on 10, 17, 24 September, and 1 October 2006. * Series 5 was shown on ''Mystery!'' as ''Inspector Lynley VI'' on 9 and 16 September and 7 and 14 October 2007. Episode 4 was the final broadcast of ''Mystery!'' before WGBH retooled the classic anthology series, along with ''

Masterpiece Theatre ''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on PBS on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these ...

'', into ''

Masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

''. * Series 6 was shown on ''Masterpiece Mystery!'' as ''Inspector Lynley VII'' on 10 and 17 August 2008. In December 2014,

Knowledge Network Knowledge Network, also branded as British Columbia's Knowledge Network and K:, is a Canadian publicly funded educational cable television network serving the province of British Columbia. It is owned by the Knowledge Network Corporation, a Crow ...

began broadcasting the series from the beginning in Canada.

Home Media

Reboot

A new adaptation of the Lynley books is currently filming for

BritBox BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...

, and is written by Steve Thompson and directed by Ed Bazalgette. Leo Suter will star as Lynley, whilst Havers will be played by Sofia Barclay. The series will consist of four 90 minute episodes.

References

External links

*
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
at

bbc.co.uk BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

Official ''Masterpiece Mystery!'' website for The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.Old Official ''Mystery!'' website for The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.
* *
Nathaniel Parker's Official Homepage
covers all the latest news on the series as well as
complete collection of episode reviewsUSA based Yahoo ILM Discussion Board
Forum for discussion of "The Inspector Lynley Mysteries." International membership.
UK based Yahoo group for discussion of the BBC's Inspector Lynley TV series
Photos,

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

, links {{DEFAULTSORT:Inspector Lynley Mysteries, The 2001 British television series debuts 2008 British television series endings 2000s British crime television series 2000s British drama television series BBC television dramas BBC high definition shows Television shows based on American novels British English-language television shows British detective television series British crime drama television series 2000s British mystery television series Television shows set in London