"If I may change hats midstream...Mrs. Wainthropp of the Wainthropp Detective Agency. You may have seen us in the yellow pages. We offer a first rate service at a fraction of the price you've quoted." - Patricia Routledge as Hetty Wainthropp
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: Complete Third Series DVD Review
By A.J. Carson
Most retirees are content with playing golf and watching college students guess the cost of tuna fish on The Price is Right. Not Hetty Wainthropp (Keeping Up Appearances' Patricia Routledge). Rather than spend her time touring the world on cruise ships, she decides to open her own detective agency. With the help of her husband Robert (Derek Benfield, Rumpole of the Bailey) and her assistant Geoffrey (Dominic Monaghan, Lost), she investigates local cases, sometimes at the behest of Detective Chief Inspector Adams (John Graham-Davies).
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates undergoes a few changes in this series. Midway through the third series, Robert disappears. At first, it is explained that he is off at a flower show. In subsequent episodes, he is said to be visiting relatives in Australia. Benefield's name is even removed from the opening credits. The void left by his absence is filled by Frank Mills as Hetty's brother-in-law Frank. Frank is almost a carbon copy of Robert - he's a fussy skinflint - but Mills' lively performance helps to perk up the series.
Geoffrey has a slight personality shift in series three. In previous editions of the show, he often came across as slightly moronic. He isn't as slow-witted in series three. He finally behaves like someone his own age rather than like an overgrown toddler. He finds a love interest (Suzanne Maddock as tomboy car mechanic Janet), gets his driver's license, and even fulfills his dream of owning a car (a gold VW convertible).
One thing that hasn't changed is that the mysteries are a bit bland. The tales aren't always cohesive or compelling. The series is also overly reliant on the clichéd mystery plotline in which the detective pursues a certain suspect for much of the story before coming up with an alternate, out-of-nowhere solution to the case.
Some of the episodes, such as "Pursuit by Proxy," are filled with funny one-liners, but most lack this spark. Many opportunities for laughs go unchecked. Hetty often goes undercover to solve her cases. She is most unconvincing, but the humor inherent in this situation is rarely exploited.
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates is likeable, but viewers may wish that the series would be more focused and less bland.
Hetty investigates nine cases in series three:
All Stitched Up: Hetty joins a quilting circle in order to get information on a hoodlum terrorizing a neighborhood.
Daughter of the Regiment: Hetty pretends to be Australian while tracking down a photographer.
Serving the Community: Hetty is mugged while investigating a series of attacks in the local Indian community.
Fisticuffs: Hetty and Geoffrey investigate a hit-and-run accident involving an Alfa Romeo.
Childsplay: Hetty suspects that her nephew was framed for drug possession.
Pursuit by Proxy: Hetty's brother-in-law Frank decides to help out at the agency while Robert is away.
A Minor Operation: Even surgery (for varicose veins) cannot keep Hetty from investigating a sexual harassment charge against DCI Adams.
Helping Hansi: Hetty helps to track down the missing sister of a downtrodden German pensioner.
How Time Flies: Hetty investigates a valuable clock.
The nine episodes that make up Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: Complete Third Series are divided onto three discs. The discs are housed in three standard-sized keepcases which slide into a cardboard slipcover. The back of each keepcase includes brief synopses of the episodes found on the DVDs.
The static menus are simple and functional. Viewers can choose to watch an entire episode or can jump directly to a scene using the "Scene Selection" menu.
