Agatha Raisin: Series One

Ashley Jensen stars as Agatha Raisin, a successful fortysomething London PR professional who buys a country manor in the rural village of Carsley—aiming to live a quiet, tranquil life—in this comic mystery series based on the novels of M.C. Beaton. The TV movie pilot The Quiche of Death introduces the cynical and sarcastic Agatha, a big city gal who is temperamentally at odds with her community but discovers both a passion and a talent for crime-solving after a neighbor is poisoned by a quiche that is entered into a baking contest. With her new housekeeper (Katy Wix) playing sidekick and local guide, Agatha sets out to find the real killer, much to the chagrin of the incompetent local police detective. Jensen has a grand time portraying the acerbic city woman who pokes around the secrets of an insular little village (that has an inordinate amount of murders). Agatha even flirts with romance with the village's handsome bachelor and sometime investigative partner (Jamie Glover), while the junior cop on the force (Matt McCooey) develops a crush on the older and far more sophisticated Agatha, who is kind of like a sassier Jessica Fletcher dropped into a cozy British mystery series. Compiling both the 2014 pilot TV movie and all eight episodes from the 2016 first season, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a photo gallery. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)