Concerned more with the "why" than "who", Chief Inspector Maigret's profound perception of the realities of human behavior and extraordinary psychological insight are key to sorting out confused trails of evidence and complex crimes.

Granada Television's powerful adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels about the sprawling, fractious and aristocratic Forsyte family moves into the 1920s with Series Two, based on the author's To Let. The drama shifts to a new generation shouldering the burdensome legacies of an aging Soames (Damian Lewis) and his failed marriage to free-spirited Irene (Gina McKee). The lovely Fleur (Emma Griffiths Malin), Soames's daughter by second wife Annette (Beatriz Batarda), and strapping Jon (Lee Williams), son of Irene and Soames's bohemian cousin, Jolyon (Rupert Graves), develop a romance much to the dismay of their feuding parents. But the long reach of the elder Forsytes' sins-and the tenderness with which they seek redemption through their children-ultimately undercuts the young lovers' happiness. Meanwhile, sundry characters move in and out of the Forsytes' orbit, including a French businessman (Michael Maloney) stirring more troubles for Soames and an art dealer (Oliver Milburn) with designs on Fleur. As with Series One, all this will feel familiar to anyone who has seen the 26-part, 1967 version of The Forsyte Saga (the program that arguably created public television as we know it). Yet this updated effort renews and redefines the Forsytes' overlapping tragedies, with a more interior feel and a first-rate contemporary cast. As with its legendary predecessor, this Forsyte Saga depends heavily on the seemingly soulless Soames's slow evolution to humanity; Damian Lewis carries the load brilliantly. -Tom Keogh.

Not Only. But Also. was the career-launching comedy showcase for two of the funniest men ever put in front of a camera, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. This 20th-anniversary collection functions as a time capsule of classic, '60s-era British humor. Better-known shows such as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Mr. Bean, Saturday Night Live, and even Benny Hill certainly owe something to Pete and Dud's off-the-cuff loopiness. [+]

Kevin Whately (Inspector Morse, Peak Practice) stars as David Bruce, a newly prosperous gas Inspector who moves to London with his new wife and their infant daughter. Their new station in life affords them the luxury of a live-in maid named Jane.

Michael Gambon recreates his celebrated role as best-selling author Georges Simenon's famous pipe-smoking Parisian sleuth. Set against the bars, boulevards and back streets of post WW II Paris, the cases Maigret must solve are more varied than ever, ranging from murder in a sleazy nightclub, to an intense political thriller and even a macrabe force. Once again, Chief Inspector Maigret is backed by his hand picked team of detectives, but above all, his own acute observation of people and matchless understanding of human nature are the keys to success.

The life of an English schoolmaster may sound like dry stuff, but To Serve Them All My Days finds engrossing drama and dry wit in the most ordinary of circumstances. David Powlett-Jones (John Duttine), a young Welshman, returns from the trenches of World War I disillusioned and suffering from shellshock. Accepted as a teacher at an elite boy's boarding school called Bamfylde, Powlett-Jones fears he won't last-but the faith of the headmaster who hired him (Frank Middlemass) proves well-founded. Powlett-Jones immediately flies in the face of convention, fighting with a pompous science teacher (Neil Stacy), speaking out in favor of socialist reforms, and finding a mixture of discipline and empathy with the boys he teaches. Over the course of his 20-year rise through the ranks of Bamfylde, he finds and loses love with several women (Belinda Lang, Kim Braden, and Susan Jameson); one of the greatest strengths of To Serve Them All My Days is how fully realized these women are, each strikingly individual and self-directed. The writing and acting are impeccable, always cutting to the most engaging aspect of every scene, yet grounding every conflict in a rich understanding of character and circumstance. Even the minor characters are made vivid and distinct, and the realities of life-politics, sex, mortality-are handled frankly and honestly. In fact, To Serve Them All My Days demonstrates the best aspects of a miniseries, taking the scope of 13 episodes to map in detail a human life, with all its victories and disasters. Truly a pleasure to watch; of particular note is Alan MacNaughtan as a sardonic fellow teacher, whose ironic observations and close friendship with Powlett-Jones give the series a good dose of both humor and compassion. Based on the classic novel by R. [+]

This wonderfully eerie film is based on three mysteries by Somerset Maugham, Roderick Wilkinson, and Brett Halliday. In the first tale, a doomed museum guard is magically transported into his favorite painting. In the second, two friends fall in love with the same woman, who is suddenly killed. The dramatic finale stars Orson Welles as a statesman driven mad by guilt after he destroys his political rival.