Da Vinci's Inquest - Complete First Season

For those of us in the U.S. who are fortunate enough to have access to Canadian CBC programming on cable television, DaVinci's Inquest will be a familiar offering. It is typical of the literate and sophisticated television offerings which are wholly produced in Canada largely for Canadian audiences. This series involves the Vancouver coroner's department as well as the police department in a series of death investigations which involve serious and often philosophical looks at the contemporary crime scene. The characters are well defined and believable while the acting is uniformly excellent. In particular, the coroner, Domenic DaVinci, played by Nicholas Campbell,is extremely well played. None of your typical U.S. serial pap here. Rather a sensitive and vulnerable coroner with his own personal hang ups, a recovering alchoholic, recently divorced, with a teen age daughter, who is trying to make sense of his personal life as well as provide compassionate understanding to those who find their lives down on the seamy side of Vancouver.Many will already know that Canada treats drug abuse and prostitution quite differently than is the case in the U.S. This well acted series provides ample discussion of the isues surrounding the handling of social ills in Canada. I believe that it is a must see for those who want not only to be entertained but wish to understand the basis behind the more liberal Canadian thinking on these matters.

I had been looking for this video and found it on Amazon. Enjoying every time, I'm ready for the next.

ADDENDUM: April 14, 2012 - I was looking to find what Chris Haddock is producing now. For those who might be interested, go to an article written in February of this year in Macleans.Ca. Apparently he is living and working in New York as a writer on someone else's show. Canada had its chance and because it could not support a talented writer, they lost him to the U.S. What a rotten shame.DaVinci's Inquest is now re-running on KONG TV in Seattle.------------------Addendum: June, 2010 - Acorn managed to put out a total of three seasons and that appears to be all they can do. None have been issued on DaVinci the Mayor and there are no Chris Haddock creations out on Canadian TV that I've been able to find - at least none of this quality. CBC appears to prefer 3rd rate talk shows and pablum oriented programming. Unfortunate, because there is some amazing talent in Canada (and I live in the U.S.!) All of the reviews have not swayed Acorn, but we tried. DaVinci's Inquest is airing on Channel 6 with Comcast in Washington State right now. Anyone out there have any new information on where else it might be airing? I see adds that "new" episodes are running on "You Tube", but personally am not interested in sitting at a computer to watch programming.--------------------First entry: March, 2007: All of the reviews of this series are right on. I am so impressed with Nicholas Campbell and the men who put this series together, along with the sequel, when DaVinci becomes mayor. All or a portion of this group also, if I'm correct, created "Intelligence", which is running currently and one of the most engaging series on television. And they can't decide if it will continue for a second season!Yet - we can only buy Season One of "DaVinci's Inquest". This series is intelligently and realistically written with a mix of humour, the real problems of political and street life and heroes with forgivable and recognizable flaws. What's not to love?!I've written CBC countless times and they appear to have no interest in what their viewers want.We can buy DVD's of countless mindless series, yet Canada produces a remarkable trio of series and we viewers can't get our hands on them. What the heck are they thinking? Perhaps a better question - ARE they thinking?It would appear they are wonderful at creating but miserable at marketing.One of the best aspects of these series is that the violence is not gratuitous and not in your face. They understand you don't have to have blood and gore to create tension. It is always just far enough away that you are not smacked with it, say, as one is with the CSI series."DaVinci's Inquest" is NOT written for the average 12 year old mind, thank God. We can only hope someone wakes up and puts all of the episodes on DVD so the fans can watch them over and over. They are worth every minute of your time.

We truly enjoy every bit of Da Vinci's Inquest and have the shows we cannot yet purchase from Acorn (not released yet) saved on DVR so we can watch them as well as the first 3 seasons recently purchased. We watched one episode 3 times yesterday (weekend) because it had so much wry humour and it cracked us up even though this is an excellent drama series. Da Vinci is a great series and Nicholas Campbell and the rest of the cast are simply wonderful at their craft. The writer(s) have given this series true heart and headache as one would find in any big city coroner's office lucky enough to have people as talented as the cast of Da Vinci's Inquest working in a government/Crown capacity with all of the stuff that might really be going on as seen in this series with interpersonal relationships, different departments butting heads, and the kind of real life drama and humour we enjoy so very much from this drama and everyone involved. While David Kelley has done a remarkable job in bringing some good shows forward on U.S. television, he and the talented man that brings us CSI, JAG, and NCIS to name a few, cannot give us what Canada has given us due to the fact that too many people don't seem to appreciate thought provoking shows that continue different threads throughout the season. Because Da Vinci does do this as well as go beyond the surface of the characters and present a more 3 dimensional and realistic drama, they are well worth the price due to the amount of enjoyment we get from this drama and hope Acorn will get busy and release the rest of this series as well as the City Hall episodes asap. We missed Da Vinci's Inquest when it was regularly on U.S. television due to circumstances beyond our control so it has been delightful to find now and truly enjoy possibly at an age where we can even get more from the series. Hoping we do not have a DVR breakdown before Acorn gets the rest of these DVD's released. Sandra/Johnnie Texas

Watched for enjoyment.

Every episode has at least 3 or 4 story lines running throughout each the season and the lead characters are very charismatic and appealing. The series is set in Vancouver, one of the most beautiful cities in North America.

Da Vinci's Inquest is the closest to perfection in a series I can think of. Excellent cast, suspenseful plots, exceptional writing, true-to-life characters who are more like people we know than unrealistic heroic type figures. Dominic Da Vinci is a former policeman now working for the coroner's office whose main purpose is solving some of Vancouver's most sordid crimes. He is aided by the Vancouver police as well as his own team including his pathologist ex-wife. Although all the cases capture our attention the final 2 episodes feature a chilling fictionalized account of the Paul Bernardo-Karla Homolka killings. There are no magical endings in this series - some episodes leave us with the crime still unsolved, only to be featured in later episodes. Just like real life. A true masterpiece in my opinion.

I was interested in this Canadian Series.We watched the first couple of episodes and they were very enjoyable.thanks again.min

I liked it

In some respects a little like Law & Order with a different slant, Da Vinci's Inquest provokes thought and almost demands an opinion. Not afraid to tackle important issues such as drug trafficking, prostitution and the care of the elderly, the series does so dispassionately. The warts and all approach works well - there are no heroes here, just people doing their jobs. As true a reflection of real life as you are likely to get on TV and without the glitz of US series - compelling viewing!.