Maigret: The Complete Series

Product Information

In addition, each episode is 90minutes long and the actor is very close to the Maigret, that I envisaged in my imagination, whilst reading the books. In the Gambon series, Gambon is more pleasant, his men work with him as a clever team, and we see much more of Mme. It doesn't help that the guest cast is mainly comprised of B-list supporting players who presumably are cheap to hire and willing to fly out to Budapest for a week. Have now watched the first 12 'cases' and have been gobsmacked at the timelessness of the production. Set against a backdrop of 1950s Paris and the surrounding countryside, the unhurried Maigret peels back the idyllic veneer of life in local villages and neighborhoods, exposing the criminals who lurk in all levels of society.

My favorite ones are the ones set in Paris, they seem to have the scene set better than the ones where Maigret is assigned to the Flying Squad helping out in areas outside Paris, and a few where he is in the US or Holland. It is a fast-paced, entertaining romp through the hallowed halls of power, with several surprisingly expressionistic moments.The characters are not nice middle class people who appreciate classical music and whose children go to good schools.

Also definitive is John Moffatt as Monsieur Coméliau absolutely embodying the snooty, disruptive and snobbish judge from the novels. Read more about the condition New: An item that is still in its original shrink wrap from the manufacturer and the original manufacturer’s seal (if applicable) has not been removed.Sporting his pipe that seems a nod to Sherlock Holmes, the pragmatic, reserved and refined Maigret investigates murders in his singular unhurried manner and inevitably discovers the truth. Granada had started the trend with their outstanding Sherlock Holmes series starring Jeremy Brett, LWT followed it up with their equally definitive Poirot with David Suchet, while Central gave us my personal favourite, the John Thaw Morse series, and the less iconic but nonetheless highly entertaining Cadfael with Derek Jacobi in the lead. The adaptation by Bill Gallagher doesn't quite have the same bite as the Simenon original but it retells the story with clarity and wit. The series was filmed in Budapest which makes a very good 1950's Paris (although Maigret worked from 1930 to 1972 in the novels, by which time he would have been about 88) and spares us establishing shots of the Eiffel Tower every two minutes. There are 12 episodes and of course some are weaker than others but the acting is always good even in the small parts and it looks great.