Customer Reviews:
 The Foyle's War series in season three maintains its high standards August 15, 2007
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
It's now 1941 and Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen) is in the third season of Foyle's War. The series remains as well-written and gripping as the first two seasons were. Foyle is a British cop based in the southern part of England. Britain, woefully unprepared, is at war with Germany. Foyle is a taciturn man, even sad. He has lost his wife and his son is a fighter pilot in the RAF. In 1939 Foyle desperately wanted to join up, too, but was told by his superiors that his talents are far better utilized where he is. Foyle is a dedicated, no-nonsense cop. He's respectful to authority and the rich, but he isn't intimidated. If a person has committed a crime, especially one which could damage Britain's war effort, Foyle will never let up until the crime is solved and justice -- by the book -- is done.
This series is effective for several reasons. The production values are high. A great deal of effort has been placed in evoking the look and style of England at the start of WWII. The cast which backs up Kitchen is first rate. These include the ongoing characters of Samantha Stewart played by Honeysuckle Weeks (a great name) as Foyle's driver. Stewart is an energetic, curious young woman, brave when she needs to be, who has earned Foyle's respect. Paul Milner is played by Anthony Howell. Milner, who lost a leg in the Norway campaign, was assigned to Foyle as his detective sergeant. Milner had to build back his confidence and Foyle wasn't able to give him much time to do so. Milner now has become an integral part of Foyle's team. Showing up in one-time roles in this third season are such accomplished actors as Ronald Pickup, John Wood, Bill Paterson, James Wilby and Peter Capaldi.
Most of all, the series works so well because of Michael Kitchen and the mysteries themselves, all of which are drawn from issues of the early war period. Kitchen is an excellent, subtle, versatile actor whose long career includes the amusing and reprehensibly egoistic doctor in Reckless, the well-intentioned but naive king utterly outmaneuvered by Francis Urquhart in To Play the King and the unprincipled charlatan who finds himself facing Inspector Morse. Inspector Foyle is a serious, thoughtful man of high principles, who keeps most of his deepest feelings to himself but who is not without a sense of wry humor. Kitchen captures the man perfectly. The mysteries this season involve German POWs and assassinations, a hospital for RAF burn victims and the unconventional head surgeon, a murder which may involve rival spy agencies, the doings of a Communist agitator and a crime racket involving a shipyard.
Each of the four stories is approximately 1' 40" long. The four DVDs in the set have excellent pictures and audio.
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