DCI Banks: Season One

The British TV procedural series DCI Banks, based on the novels of Peter Robinson and starring Stephen Tompkinson as London-trained but Yorkshire-based Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, began with the two-part DCI Banks: Aftermath, which was broadcast in the U.K .in 2010 and released on DVD in the U.S. last year. This set compiles the 2011 first season, serving up three two-part feature-length mysteries. DCI Banks is a private, tough, largely humorless boss, while his partner, Detective Sergeant Annie Cabbot (Andrea Lowe), is more talkative and less by-the-book. While hardly distinctive in the British crime show landscape in terms of either personality or atmosphere, DCI Banks is handsomely produced, with stories adapted directly from Robinson's books. “Playing With Fire,” which investigates two arson deaths, is a dense narrative wrapped up in art forgery and family secrets. “Friend of the Devil” finds connections between recent murders and a serial killer case from years ago. “Cold Is the Grave” comes closer to home when the runaway daughter of Banks and Cabbot's boss—the latter a career man more concerned with procedure than results—is found beaten to death in a nightclub. The rest of the squad doesn't get much opportunity for character development, but the high-quality productions should satisfy fans of British TV mysteries. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DCI Banks: Season Two is also newly available.] (S. Axmaker)