Joan Seymour

If you loved Ruth Rendell’s Inspector Wexford novels, the TV series are probably not for you. Reg Wexford on the screen is just too -well -shouty! He shouts at his wife, ling-suffering and rather neglected. He shouts at Burden, his off-sider, a miserable, whining wannabe. Neither of them are at all attractive personality-wise. Wexford is as rough as bags, despite occasionally throwing out a quote or two from his Big Boys Book of Children’s Classics. The plots aren’t too bad, especially when they stick to Ruth Rendell’s masterly construction. Read the books. If you like British psychological police dramas, you’ll like them. As for the screen version -stick with Midsomer Murders, which has a great sense of humour!

Not funny. Really. Actors did a reasonable job, but the writing let everyone down.

Messy and unfocused. Too many moral questions asked but not really addressed. Good action thriler with ideas above its station.