It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

This is a detective sitcom. It has all the charm of small criminal cases that deal with no murders or crimes of that type, but only with small crimes in local neighborhoods in Lancashire and from time to time a little bit in Yorkshire. The main interest is the family background of the characters. Hetty and Robert Wainthropp are two older citizens who have reached retirement age but would find it difficult to go on living in good conditions on their two pensions. So they look for extra-activities. They start a private detective business and lead us into some squalid, sordid or simply sorry situations of hatred and jealousy, envy and rivalry, small demeanors and traffic. Though they do not do drugs. Later on Robert Wainthropp will manage to get a regular column in the tabloid.But the producers wanted to change the situation from what it was in the previous fabulously popular series with the same main actress, "Keeping Up Appearances." In both cases, the son of the married couple (forty years of marriage) was away from the family home and a younger man and eventually a young couple were needed to open them up to the younger generations and their problems. So Hetty Wainthropp selects a hardly of age young man who is more or less unemployed and trying to get away from his possessive mother who seems to be an alcoholic or something of the sort. Hetty and her husband Robert will make him an associate, a partner in the business soon after. And then this young man who is as virginal as a lily will soon get in touch with a female mechanic who will sell him a second-hand car when he finally gets his license. And with some ups and downs, they will slowly move into a relationship, one apartment, and a future common life.The criminal cases are there to show how disrupted the English society is up north. We are twenty years ago and you will then understand why they voted for Brexit. Closed upon their communities that are very small, with a lot of underground black market economy that is half criminal and half illegal. It is well known they could not accept European regulations that became little by little so hefty that people more or less thought they could not take a shower without paying an extra-tax and having to use no more than a gallon of water. Not to speak of all sorts of marginals, gypsies or not, who are roaming around. And the police are just helpless most of the time, to the point of employing now and then Hetty Wainthropp to penetrate and infiltrate some dubious circles to get some information from the inside. And they stopped the series marvelously after four years when the agency is in full bloom, Jeffrey, the younger partner, and his girlfriend are moving slowly towards some kind of an official relationship and after Robert has reestablished normal relations with his own brother. The family circle is slightly larger, though it looks a lot like a recomposed family. Parents in their older age are led to choosing the younger people who will be their side-kick children, and these younger people find in an older couple some sidekick or substitute parents of a new sort: mental parents and not blood relatives.Frankly, who gives the slightest straw about blood!Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

Patricia Routledge gives a superb performance as the title character in a crime drama only the British can produce so exquisitely. From visionary producer/creators John Bowen and David Cook, this intriguing, penetrating mystery series is set in the deceptively tranquil, idyllic Lancashire countryside, in a small village where supposedly little happens. A harmless appearing resident homemaker named Hetty Wainthropp discovers a very dark side indeed to her surroundings and sets out to blow this peaceful hamlet wide open. Aided by a young man who she has saved from a life of brutal criminality, she becomes one of the leading private investigators in the UK and the most sought after professional in her field. At first it's a bit of a lark in order to compensate for her husband's lethargy, indolence, and unemployment but soon it's a vocation as well as an all consuming obsession, leading her down dark labyrinths of deadly danger. At times powerful and hard hitting and at others deeply moving, Hetty Waintrhropp Investigates never pulls its punches and is always extraordinarily challenging television.

I have always loved indulging in a good televised mystery such as Matlock, Columbo and even Diagnosis Murder. When I came across Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, it was shortly after learning that the brilliant British actor, Dominic Monaghan was in it. It didn't stop there though because I went on to watching Patricia Routledge in her legendary artistry in Keeping Up Appearances.Hetty Wainthropp Investigates is nothing like the master comedic performance Routledge gives in Keeping Up Appearances. This is a mystery drama, not a BritCom. The first episode introduces Hetty Wainthropp (played by Patricia Routledge) as a no nonsense stay-at-home housewife who even though she enjoys taking care of her loving husband, Robert Wainthropp (played by Derek Benfield), doing the cooking and the cleaning; yearns for something much more. Hetty is celebrating her 65th Birthday, but flat out refuses to be called a senior citizen. After witnessing theft and a possible fraud at her new job as a type of Western Union employee, her curiosity immediately piques and she decides to explore this matter further. She goes to the chief of police and tells him of the speculation of fraud. She also subtly hints that she would like to explore this sensitive matter herself.Well, time for an assistant. Preferably someone younger than her hubby for obvious reasons, Hetty sets her eye on Geoffrey Shawcross (played by Dominic Monaghan) and asks him to come aboard with her. They are one of those fascinating, high quality, investigative duos that will forever be difficult to top.Patricia Routledge and Dominic Monaghan do a spectacular job in this Emmy-worthy T.V. show. After a six year run of epic proportions, there definitely needs to be talk of bringing it back for another series reunion.

This show is a great hours worth of British television. The main character, Hetty,who is played by Pat Routledge is best known for her ever social climbing status character Hyacinth BUCKET, pronounced Bouquet. The rest of the ensemble make you feel like they could be your next door neighbors. Geoffery, Janet and Hetty's husband Robert have that "real" feel about them. The show revolves around an older lady who does detective work, with the help, at times, from the local police inspector, D.C.I. Adams. The show has a nice flow to it, and the story lines are played out at a nice pace. A show worth watching whenever you can find it on PBS. Let's hope soon that we can find it on Video or DVD in the near future.