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31. DCS Christopher Foyle (Foyles War)
30. Brother Cadfael (Cadfael)
Based on the popular series of medieval mystery novels by Ellis Peters (a pseudonym of writer Edith Pargeter), the Cadfael series of feature-length TV stories ran from 1994 until 1998 and its 13 episodes depict life in 12th century Shrewsbury. It's become one of the most popular "historical crime" settings.
Brother Cadfael is a crusading knight who returns to England in his forties to join a monastery. Portrayed by Derek Jacobi, Cadfael retires into a quiet life of Benedictine worship... until murders in the local surrounding area force him to investigate. Worldly skills learned on his many travels come in handy, not just his broad understanding of human nature and his physical strength, but also a knowledge of herbs and poisons, languages, battlefield medical experience, and diplomacy. His love of scientific method and his natural sense of fair play mark him out as a man ahead of his time, although that does not always make him popular with the aristocrats and clergymen he comes into contact with.
29. Frank Pembleton (Homicide: Life on the Street)
Before The Wire, there was Homicide: Life On The Street, similarly sprung from the mind and experience of Baltimore journalist David Simon. And although its seven seasons are notable for a large ensemble cast, it was Detective Frank Pembleton who came to be considered by many fans its defacto hero.
Pembleton was inspired by real life Baltimore Police Department Detective Harry Edgerton. In the series, he's a passionate, uncompromising, occasionally preachy lawman considered a legend on the force for his tenacious ability to crack suspects in the interview "box". Usually partnered with less experienced detective Tim Bayliss, Pembleton is highly committed and drives himself and his colleagues hard, to the point where he has a stroke in season four. Pembleton is played by Andre Braugher who received multiple award nominations for the role, winning an Emmy for it in 1998.
28. Temperance Bones Brennan and Seeley Booth (Bones)
She's a straight-thinking, forensic archaeologist. He's a kooky FBI man. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) are like chalk and cheese, an odd couple thrown together by their individual skill sets to solve crimes for the Bureau. Brennan's methodical approach to all of life's problems, whether it be the skeletal remains on her table or a romantic endeavour, stems from her studious nature and trust of empirical evidence. Booth? He's more a shoot-from-the-hip kinda guy. A self-confessed nerd he constantly points out the wackiness of his wardrobe - belt buckles and socks - which usually receives a 'what's the point?' response from Brennan.
Over the ten seasons Bones has aired, the pair have gone through thick and thin; illness, hostage situations, imprisonment, shoot-outs, death... you name it, Bones and Booth have survived it, their relationship strengthened. The pair finally revealed their true feelings and started a family. Opposites attract.
27. Jim Bergerac (Bergerac)
Bergerac centres around the worklife of recovering alcoholic Jim Bergerac (John Nettles), a wayward Jersey detective. Posted to the island after nearly losing his job - he broke his leg pursuing a suspect under the influence - he starts afresh while ruminating on his divorce.
The show threw up week after week of unusual - if often affluent - mysteries to crack, plenty of which revolved around the tax-exempt millionaires making the idyllic isle their home. None of that mattered to old Berge, who gave all of his suspects plenty of grief, regardless of whether they had a Rolls on the drive.
26. Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)
She seems like a perky California blonde, with the perfect sun-kissed look, yet underneath Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) beats the heart of a hard-boiled detective. She's cynical, quick-witted and won't think twice about knocking people off their pedestals. And, like all crime fighters, she too has skeletons in her closet. A horrific incident that changed her life forever put Veronica in league with her dad - Keith Mars, the private eye behind Mars Investigations.
Driven to uncover the truth behind her best friend's murder, Veronica often stretches herself thin. Schoolwork tends to come second to crushing some high school hacker -- but when you've got street smarts, what else does a PI really need?
25. Tom Barnaby (midsomer Murders
Old-fashioned (but not as old as Marple) and good-humoured (though not as humorous as Poirot), DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) is that rarest of detectives honest and disarmingly normal. Unlike many of his gritty TV contemporaries, Barnaby is the opposite of a tortured soul, solving crimes in the English countryside without even a whiff of malaise. Over 14 years, he cracked 185 murder cases, plus 10 suicides and 12 accidental deaths, all with the geniality of an English gent whos looking forward to a cup of tea at the end of the day. Barnaby has always been a very down-the-line career cop, sums up Nettles.
24. Raylan Givens (Justified)
Whether chewing out vitriol or simmering beneath his Stetson, Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) is everything youd expect of a one-time redneck. And just because hes now a small-town US Marshal doesnt mean hes going to mend his ways he has no problem loving and leaving the ladies, or shooting his mouth off like a loaded gun and, over six seasons, he was at the centre of some pretty impressive scraps, whether tying people up to trees (poor Boyd) or playing Russian roulette (with Wynn Duffy). [Its] kind of fun watching how close he can get to that line without crossing it, says Olyphant.
23. Jack Frost (A Touch of Frost)
First appearing in radio plays and novels by author R.D. Wingfield, Detective Inspector William Frost nicknamed Jack by his colleagues at Denton CID was brought to life on screen by David Jason for the first time in 1992. Frost is an experienced copper, a smart problem solver and big-hearted good guy; but hes disorganised, irreverent, unambitious and often selfish. Although hes decorated for bravery, his stickler boss hates his lack of professionalism. Jasons interpretation is more family-friend than Wingfields original who swore and chain-smoked, but after 42 episodes the role is etched on TV crime history.
22. Dalziel and Pascoe (Dalziel & Pascoe)
Dalziel is a brash, avuncular but vulgar salt-of-the-earth type, while his younger partner Pascoe is a university-educated fast-tracker, and together this little and large pair solve murders in Yorkshire. They first appeared in 1970 in Reginald Hills A Clubbable Woman. ITV attempted to adapt the series of novels with comedians Gareth Hale and Norman Pace in the title roles back in 1993, but the author disliked it. The BBCs subsequent version, with Warren Clarke as DSI Andy Dalziel and Colin Buchanan as DI Peter Pascoe, was far more popular with creator and audience alike, running for 46 episodes. Theyre supported by an ensemble team of detectives most notably Detective Sergeant Edgar Wieldy Wield (played by Christopher Fairbank in the ITV pilot and David Royle in the BBC series). In Hills fiction, Dalziel and Pascoe carried on policing into the future: the novella One Small Step sees them solving a murder on the moon.
