A Man of No Importance

Van der Valk is taken away from an ongoing investigation by a John Doe, who's body is spotted at the head of a barge by a young boy.

It's not surprising to find Van der Valk in a spot of trouble at work, but here he's also in trouble as a result of forgetting Arlette's birthday.

Series two began with a very strong opener, the trend continued here, this was another very engaging mystery, I haven't at any point felt this show is repetitive or formulaic, there's something so curious about this story.

I am so keen to see more from Barry Foster, once again watching him here, I'm reminded of John Thaw's Inspector Morse, so matter of fact, so commanding, his pronunciation is quite something.

Van der Valk is driving a DAF, I'm not sure what happened to his car, a few interesting YouTube videos about the small car company.

Very intriguing, it's a real brain teaser, well paced, very well acted, Patricia Lawrence and Kevin Stoney in particular.

Enjoyed this one.

8/10.