Da Vinci's Inquest

not to be confused with the book, The DaVinci Code.

this is an amazing television series and i feel privileged to get to see it. i wish everyone who likes dramatic series had the chance to see it because it is far and away the best i have ever seen, though you have to watch it for awhile before the full magic works itself on you.

DVI is in a class all by itself. it evolves slowly and intelligently in many ways over many episodes. the characters seem so much more real, with their peculiarities and particular views on the world which weave a feeling of humaness and familiarity. even walk-on parts have more depth than is normal.

a couple of plots at least are usually being pursued at the same time, and where many things do eventually wrap up, other don't. somethings you just never know, some are implied, some just lead you to think. issues that affect the poor and disenfranchised in the city come up on a regular basis, and prostitutes look more like street people than glamour girls, have actual personalities, live lives you care about. i could go on and on.

i just love this show, and it is great to have such a quality series made in and made about (no pretending to be Kansas or l.a. here) a city in Canada. even the cafés are real ones. a neat tidbit is that the series is based on the former city coroner, Larry Campbell, who is now Vancouver's mayor. kinda cool.

The second season of DaVinci's will be starting soon (probably in October), and I would suggest to anyone who is not familiar with the show to give it a try. The acting, for starters, is first-class. The show definitely draws its grittiness from American series like Homicide.. etc. but these guys also put a human & humorous face to the characters that make them convincing beyond anything on television today. The writing is first class, often drawing its inspiration from recent criminal cases in Canada. There is nothing contrived about this program. Yes, it is gritty, but not overly so. I would simply call it, exceedingly realistic. I cannot recommend this program highly enough. You will be pleasantly surprised to learn that Canada can now produce "made in Canada" series and draw from all the good production tricks of the U.S. industry, but also put a truly Canadian face back onto the television.

This show is high on group work and realistic dialogue and action, much more realistically paced and acted than current Yankee faves such as CSI and NCIS. They use real words such as "forensics" and the lead characters manage to hold audience interest without cheap and predictable audience grabbers. Good writing and excellent outdoor photography. It is so good it is only going over the show afterwards that I appreciate it at this level. While I'm watching it I'm drawn into the slice of life it portrays.

I also suspect it is less popular among us Yanks than for Canadians because of the pacing and attention to detail. I'd be happy to be wrong, however.

I have been a fan of all the CSI shows for awhile, but only recently discovered DaVinci's Inquest. After watching all the American shows in which the CSI teams trade cutesy one-liners while solving impossible crimes, it is really refreshing to see actors portray real people. DaVinci and his entire cast render a convincing picture of dedicated crime fighters and crime solvers who sometimes have to admit that they have no idea what's happening. It's also refreshing to see a cast of people who look like real people. While some of the girls are drop-dead gorgeous, most of the cast have a realistic appearance and even the gorgeous ones manage performances that make them seem genuine and not just some plastic-looking starlet types who walk and move like catalog models. DaVinci is outstanding ,and Leo is a great asset to the cast. I am completely hooked on this show, and I wish I could do something to assure that it will continue. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to let someone know how much I like it.

i am becoming a fan of canadian tv. davinci's inquest is a good example of good tv. unlike american tv, which is more plot driven, canadian tv is more character driven. this show, shot in vancouver, is a good crime show. no violence but definate tension. and the good guys don't always win - more like real life. the great thing about this show is that out of the 3 stories in the episode i saw, only 1 was resolved. we see his frustration at not bieng able to resolve his workload and the toll it takes on his personal/emotional bieng. hopefully in future episodes we will see the resolution or at least see davinci working towards resolution as he takes on more work. coroners and police don't just work on one case. they work on several cases at once with new ones adding on.

anyone who is able to catch canadian tv should catch this show. it makes american tv fare pale in comparison