User reviews

I am still struck by the sheer quality of the episodes, everything worked wonderfully well in conjunction, the writing, plots, charm and of course the acting.

Routledge is a joy as the Private Detective, and the chemistry with Monaghan is great, as you watch you get the impression that the pair enjoyed working with one another.

There are some super episodes, and it never really dips in quality. They produced some very memorable, and sometimes sad episodes, but there was always a story to tell, and some great characters.

Hard to believe they were made back in 1996, it was a bold series for the time, very different. It's as good in 2020 as it was back then. 9/10

Well written with interesting clues and wit. Closer to everyday actual situations than most over the top mystery dramas. The main characters developed well and the show itself held to reasonable expectations given the main characters. I would have gladly watched more episodes.

While most of the episodes are slow moving, I enjoy Patricia much more in this series than in Keeping Up Appearances, where her character got increasingly annoying. These type British series are far superior to the bland Hallmark Mysteries series with their model perfect casts and boring stories.

Gently amusing, occasionally dramatic, quirky English TV series which features a cast of peerless players who you will soon find warming your heart each week. Recommended as a stress reliever for all sitcom weary viewers and potential travellers to England. 10 out of 10 rating given by this viewer.

What really makes this series is Hetty's demeanor. It's hard to explain but she is comforting and fierce at the same time. I love the humdrum British world it takes us to, a different culture and setting than the one I live in, but I appreciate that it gives me a taste of simpler times.

My favorite episodes: Helping Hansi (a German gardener is being harassed by residents of a building complex and pinned as a Nazi. His acting of his isolation was really good.) Woman of the Year (Hetty solves a crime at a home for battered women. It's well done) , Runaways (Again a hard topic is addressed: Hetty finds out where a two mentally disabled young adults who are in love ran off to), Fisticuffs .

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.

This has not aged as well.... And it's hard to compare it to my fond memories growing up and watching the reruns of the reruns. It's a quirky cute little show with easy to predict solutions and what not, so it's nothing super stellar... but it's still fun for a weekend watch of something to see if you've never seen it before..... but there are more than a few nasty tidbits with old stereotypes that weren't so great and didn't age well either. But take it as it is and it's not so bad.

...then you will enjoy this.

I love that it's so anti Hollywood. In true British style this show has a main character in her 60s, dressed in the older lady's clothing and hats...unapologetically. It's about the stories and characters.

I own the complete DVD box set of Hetty Wainthrop Investigates & have watched each series at least 3 times. The show is now being shown again on UKTV Drama so I am dipping in and out of the episodes once more. HWI is a quaint & quirky detective drama series with flashes of added humour that never lets you down. Comforting like a well loved blanket it is one of my favourite shows of all time. The cases that Hetty & Geoffrey investigate are mundane downbeat and in real life would only be of interest to those involved in them but the homely, warm feeling that the episodes radiate are pure gold. Quintessentially (Northern) English it is one to be reached for when you want an hour of harmless entertainment - the end of each episode will leave you feeling all is right with the world.

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.

I knew Patricia Routledge was so good that (for me) she makes Helen Bucket (Yes, she insists it's pronounced as in bouquet.) painful to watch. I generally avoided "Keeping Up Appearances," until recently, hoping some day to see Ms. Routledge in a role I could enjoy more.

I'd already enjoyed the Masterpiece Theater mysteries, so I jumped at the chance to see Ms. Routledge in what was then a new series. She's wonderful, in a good, solid cast that tackles tough subjects with humor, sensitivity, and tough-minded goodness (Hetty). It's been years, so I don't remember the name of the teenage neighbor guy who she recruits as her assistant with her detective work. He's well cast, and works well with Ms. Routledge and other regulars and guest cast.

I really wish there were more of this series, and that I could see it all again. I hope Ms. Routledge is doing well.

I thought it would be a sweet, possibly engrossing typical British program. So it began. My original rating was a 7 yet I found the show to have a heart. In fact, it is able to advocate for issues and people we all would care about, without hideous politically motivated lies.

I find the show important, actually. It's charming and shows us issues we need to address, care for the mentally ill, etc. I think the cast is just right. Lots of famous actors pop in, a sign of a respected and supported show.

I recommend jumping in and giving it a go. You will feel better gor the time spent. Invite your kids.

Watching this 20 odd years later on the drama channel I now it's actually pretty dark: Hetty gets her young prodigy Geoffrey to check under the eyelids of a corpse to see if its eyeballs have been replaced by glass and on another occasion please comforted by a sudden death - all this in the first series!

This is such a terrific series. The stories are intriguing and take us to a time where we feel right at home with the characters. The entire cast are splendid actors and bring a realism to every plot. This was a time when BBC was making the best tv shows that are about the story and not political views being foisted upon us. When will they get the message? A show is great when you can watch it again and still enjoy it. Series today stretch the plots too far and that's when I have to fast forward just to get through. It's unfortunate that when creativity is stunted. Bravo to creators of this series.

Not being a fan of "Keeping Up Appearances", I purposely picked the video series out of the library because I thought the stars of that series might be better off in this one, which was produced after the other show. Unfortunately, while it wasn't silly like the other show, it wasn't very good either.

The premise does evoke the stars' former show. They are an older married couple, with one problem: the wife is not legally eligible for a government pension because she had not been employed long enough, so she takes a job at a post office to fill in her missing working time. In doing so, she spots a teenage boy swiping a charity box and a suspicious couple cashing two welfare checks. She gets the box back and finds out how the couple were cashing a fraudulently-obtained check. She gets the idea into her head of being a private detective, over her husband's objections.

The show doesn't try for comedy, but it is slow-moving and dull, and the wife bullies her husband as she did in their former show. I was hoping for better. I didn't get it here.

I first saw this program when it appeared on the PBS "Mystery" series. I keep asking for more. Patricia Routledge surely shows that she's quite adept at performing in a mystery program as well as in comedies. I wonder if she (Hetty Wainthropp) ever investigated a

murder in any of these programs. I'm sure she'd do quite well. I know Patricia Routledge did an audio recording of some of these programs, but don't know where I can purchase them in the USA. If anyone can tell me, please contact kclarke5@juno.com. Let's hope PBS gets on the stick and rebroadcasts some of these programs, especially in Kansas City Public Television!

Although the technical quality and parameters of "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates" do not fit the needs of many contemporary viewers, the Series gives a versatile overview of England in the 1990ies, its daily life with major views and issues then. The cases (often emanating from social problems) are not too sophisticated, many of them being trivial, but on the other hand, one can hardly expect a senior citizen and teenager solving serial killings or industrial espionage...

All the leading performances (Patricia Routledge, Derek Benfield, Dominic Monaghan are splendid, with Monaghan having his breakthrough with his role as Geoffrey), and several actors in minor roles are active in crime series of today. Mrs. Routledge is definitely in a class of their own and although her character has features I tend to dislike generally, she did not annoy me, I quite liked her views and activities.

This Series would deserve more attention even nowadays, but for that sake, for larger audiences, it should be technically restored. Bearing in mind better background understanding, you are advised to watch all seasons and episodes in succession.

This is a fun series perfectly reflecting the times, but also ahead of those times in some respects (e.g., women's roles). The subtitling (English) is remarkably poor (did anyone pay for this?) and offensive in its failures: dropping key words or phrases (i.e., spoken words are simply skipped), misspellings, wrong words, and impossible words (I have no idea how that happens).

Absolutely dire programme that claims to be entertaining. The acting of Maddock et al really sums it up - hammy, wooden and without credibility. Don't bother watching.

This drama was brilliant, all the actors in it gave brilliant performances, this was pure english drama which for some reason finished without a trace, why was it axed it should be brought back. Patricia Rouledge is brilliant just like she was in keeping up apperances. best mystery drama in years.

This has to be one of the worst British detective shows ever made. The "mystery" is how it managed to stay on the air for four years!?! I started season 2 hoping to see improvement, but it actually got worse! (SHOCK)

Hetty is rude, abusive and judgemental whenever she sees fit and she sees fit a lot! None of the characters have any redeeming quality. Although I did feel sorry for her husband and sidekick.

The plot meanders at a glacial pace. The victims, perpetrators and extraneous characters are muddled and ultimately I didn't care who was guilty or innocent because the players were all incohesive.

When an episode ended, it felt incomplete. I don't need everything tied up in a fancy bow, but arrest someone, provide some closure or at least end with some sort of a positive note or accomplishment.