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(More customer reviews)This enjoyable low-key British crime drama continues with Peter Davison as the under-appreciated, constantly bullied, but well-loved copper, DC Davies. Following his eviction by his landlady, he is now forced to live with his idiosyncratic friend Mod (Sean Hughes). His estranged wife, Julie (Emma Amos), doesn't appear until the 2nd episode and this season we get to see a less pleasant side of her. The second season doesn't have quite as much interaction between Davies and his friends and colleagues as I would have like. This was its appeal to me in the first season. Here it focuses more on the crime solving and mystery element. The mysteries however don't have quite the polish of those from Arthur Conan Doyle, P.D. James or Agatha Christie. Still they serve as moderately intriguing puzzlers. Again, just 4 episodes in this season. British seasons are so painfully short. Thankfully the episodes last a good 70-minutes each.
Episode 1 (Christine) finds Davies looking into the mysterious demise of a rich painter, apparently burnt to death in his own locked room. Suspicion falls on the young, alluringly beautiful and not too grieving widow, Christine (the very sexy Susan Vidler). Mod comes up with his usual crackpot theory: spontaneous human combustion.
Episode 2 (The Long Bank Holiday) finds Davies bullied into working over the Easter weekend. He helps an Indian pharmacist settle a dispute with a racist neighbour and then discovers a horde of buried bones in the man's backyard. An apparent suicide on the train tracks and the disappearance of a prisoner on home-leave are tied together by a murder that happened 20 years ago.
Episode 3 (Benefit to Mankind) has Davies travelling to Wales to look into the apparent suicide of a scientist involved in pharmaceutical research and the subsequent disappearance of his assistant. His sympathetic boss tries to help by counselling him to be more assertive and Davies finally shows some temper and backbone by standing up to the young detectives who constantly poke fun at him.
Episode 4 (Dangerous & The Lonely Hearts) is based on the last of Leslie Thomas' "Dangerous" novels. It is also the most satisfying of the four episodes. Davies helps 8-year-old Katie track down her mother's killer. Davies discovers that his boss visits the same dating agency as the dead mother and that they had gone out together. He also reaches the end of the tether with his estranged wife and gives her an ultimatum.
Not quite as sunny and jovial as the first season, this still makes for a very pleasant evening of light, easy-going entertainment. Like the previous season, Acorn presents this in the original 1.78:1 widescreen (Anamorphic). The 4 episodes are generously spread over 2 discs. Picture quality is excellent. Sound is in the original 2.0 Dolby Surround. Again, no subtitles are provided. Extras include a biography and bibliography for Leslie Thomas, a cast filmography and a picture gallery.
Note: The Fourth season has already aired in Britain and the Fifth is currently in production.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Last Detective - Series 2 (2003)
As disrespected, disheveled, and endearingly dedicated as ever, Detective Constable "Dangerous" Davies (Peter Davison, Doctor Who, All Creatures Great and Small) returns to solve four new, full-length mysteries. His wife left him, his coworkers sarcastically dubbed him "Dangerous," and his boss called him the "last detective" expected to crack a big case. He even listens to advice from his kooky chum Mod (Sean Hughes, The Commitments). Still, Dangerous manages to make connections that slicker chaps in the North London constabulary miss. Whether investigating the mysterious deaths of a would-be artist, a medical researcher, an unknown victim under a high-speed train, or a pretty Kosovan refugee, Davies shows that underdogs do have their day. "Witty and well-plotted" -TV Times
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