Like many of my fellow TV geeks, I enjoy the TV products that are developed across the pond, in England. Ever since we started watching Downton Abbey, like the enlightened viewers that we are, the offerings from Masterpiece Theater on PBS have particularly caught our eye. We have been watching Foyle’s War for the past couple of years as it runs on PBS Masterpiece Mystery and love it. The previous seasons have been available on Netflix, so we have now seen them all.
Until now, Foyle’s War has centered around DCS (Detective Chief Superintendent) Christopher Foyle, played by Michael Kitchen, during World War II in Hastings – Sussex, England. He remains on duty at a time when most able bodied men have been called away to war and many of his cases involve him butting heads with members of the British military. Foyle, who is a brilliant and methodical detective, continues on until justice is served.
This new season of Foyle’s War takes place after World War II is over and the Cold War is just starting to gear up in England. DCS Foyle takes a much needed rest and decides to retire from police duty. Just when he thinks life will become normal again, he is compelled to join British Secret Intelligence, which later becomes MI5. Now Foyle is back to his old tricks and solving crimes, which is very similar to the previous seasons of this classic.
The Cold War and the espionage that took place has always been fantastic fodder for writers and good storytelling; just look at James Bond! We really enjoy this new version of Foyle’s War and I highly recommend it to anyone out there who wants to take a break from the high tech crime solvers.
Foyle’s War is now available streaming on Acorn.TV, the first British TV focused streaming service in North America, and on DVD. It is also available, for the first time, on Blu-ray featuring the complete U.K. broadcast version and two hours of bonus content, including a recap of the previous six seasons.
