In Murder Most English, Detective Inspector Purbright (Anton Rodgers) tracks down the criminals of the mythical village of Flaxborough with determination and keen insight. Although he comes across as mild-mannered he is determined to bring justice to the quiet village. With the assistance of ever cheerful Detective Sergeant Love (Christopher Timothy), Purbright matches wits with the most audacious of criminals.
The series is based on the darkly humorous Flaxborough Chronicles of author Colin Watson. Watson had an ability in his novels to present a thoroughly confounding mystery while using the backdrop of Flaxborough to poke fun at British societal norms.
The episodes are taken from four of the novels. In "Hopjoy Was Here," an intelligence agent with a habit of running up debts and jumping from relationship to relationship goes missing. Purbright suspects foul play and is out to figure out what happened.
The second story, "Lonelyheart 4122," follows the story of two local women who disappear. Purbright and Love turn their attention to a local matchmaking agency as they search for the truth. They also meet Lucilla Teatime (Brenda Bruce) a new resident in Flaxborough who seems to have trouble on her mind.
In "The Flaxborough Crab," the men of Flaxborough are on the prowl and the women of the town aren't safe. The ladies are being pursued by a mysterious predator who walks sideways like a crab. As Purbright and Love start digging, they encounter Miss Teatime. Could she be responsible for what's causing the men to behave so badly?
The final installment, "Coffin, Scarcely Used," the funeral of a prominent town official brings out four important members of the community. But then a series of strange events leads to a conspiracy of murder and greed. Can Purbright solve the mystery before someone else dies?
Originally airing on the BBC and in the U. S. on PBS in 1977, the series holds up remarkably well. Although the video and audio quality is not as good as today's standards, given the age of the program the show holds up fairly well.
This is a truly English series and one that is a must for any fan of the genre. Murder Most English is a series not to be missed.
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