User Reviews

Acorn TV always seem to have a cleaned up pristine view of London. A picture postcard image to drive up those foreign sales. They did the same with London Kills.

Going by the first episode, Inspector Morse seems to be an inspiration.

Detective Inspector Max Arnold (Adrian Scarborough) does not drive a classic car or loves a pint of real ale. He is more of a bike and coffee man. His cop partner DS Priya Shamsie has returned from maternity leave and has trouble adjusting to work and home life.

Both are called in to investigate the death of Andrew Knightley. It looked like a suicide at first, he seemingly jumped in front of a tub train. CCTV footage indicated that he was pushed.

Knightley was a troubled and traumatised man. His wife had recently died and he seems to want to punish himself for something that happened in the past.

The detectives diligently follow up the clues and interrogate suspects. One of them lives with his aunt and surreptitiously sells valuable first editions on ebay.

The first episode has a whole host of suspects with plenty of clues and red herrings. Arnold is on the right side of quirky without overdoing the angst. He parks his bike in front of his father's now closed bookshop. Upset at his wife over a coffee machine.

It was a surprisingly pleasant and enjoyable first episode.

Great cast, writing, all well done. Characters are likeable . No social agenda plot lines crammed in, like do many other. Good who done it mystery.. we are signing on ..

A bit of a johnny-come-lately here as I finally caught up with "The Chelsea Detective" episodes.

The story itself is quite good. A nice mystery wrapped with some interesting characters. The premise of someone being murdered, with the Police led by a quirky DI along with his trusty DS, traveling through a series of rabbit holes until they finally put it all together. Sounds rather droll when written as such, but the talented cast makes even some of the more obscure comments noteworthy.

Start with DI Max Arnold played by the marvelous Adrian Scarborough. Mr. Scarborough is a diamond in the sea of talented British actors who play their characters so well. There is one scene in particular towards the end of the episode where he is looking directly at the camera. You can feel his emotions just by the way his eyes stare into the void. An incredible bit of acting that.

DS Priya Shamsie played by Sonita Henry is wonderful as his second. She breathes a sense of movement into show as she juggles her professional and personal lives, at times feeling overwhelmed. She manages to make you feel her frustration at no longer being in control of everything. Wonderfully done.

Both DC Pollock and DC Lombard (Peter Bankolé and Lucy Phelps respectively) are excellent at their jobs. They provide a nice sense of grounding for the DI and DS as they perform their tasks at analysis of the data collected. They eventually turn up the important information that helps solve the case.

It is always nice to see Frances Barber (plays DI Arnolds aunt) as she is a grand dame of the British theatre.

Overall I am very pleased with "The Chelsea Detective". The writing, acting, locations, and incredible camera work make it an engaging way to spend some time in front of the telly.

First episode and so far all I have seen of Chelsea Detective. I am a huge fan of british crime, and favourites include Morse and Vera. High score in here, I had hoped this was better. The plot is good. Not sure of the the investigation; it lacks real surpises and it lacks a dark mood we need for getting real hooked watching good crime tv, like Morse.

Maybe it will grow on me, and the rest is more interesting?

But not the best start, for me anyway.

The lead characters aren't very charismatic. Then the delving into people so bland personal lives at such an intense level laid an egg.

Every single character investigated by the detectives had some involvement in or leading up to the tragic murder of Andrew Knightley (Richard Hope). No red herrings by this writer. Less than satisfying revealing and climax. Never really revealed or explained what video Simon (Al Weaver) had of Andrew Knightley that he was blackmailing him with. Simon turns in the ex con who could incriminate him? Then the true villainous pusher (Bryony Hannah as Erin Murphy) wanting Andrew Knightley to drive the accident victim to the hospital his car just struck in a drunken state made no sense.

Everything about this episode was only ok. Even slightly below mediocre.