The quietly enthralling British detective series Foyle’s War returns to Masterpiece Mystery! on PBS this Sunday, September 15th at 9pm for a brief, three-week season. Michael Kitchen returns as the softly-spoken but dogged DCS Christopher Foyle, this time finding his feet among the challenges of the Cold War in the ruins of post-war Britain.
Foyle’s success in mystery solving during the war makes him a natural fit for the security services, now recruiting as they ramp up their espionage battle of wits with the Russians. Initially Foyle seeks to have a quiet life but is pressured to join MI5 after some unnamed problems in America. He might contend not just with spies, criminals and rogue officers but also with mistrust within his own department, some of whom feels the decidedly middle-class Foyle just doesn’t fit in. Foyle’s longtime factotum Sam Wainwright (Honeysuckle Weeks) is also on scene, both helping Foyle and also struggling with a new life as the wife of a prospective Labour MP amid the huge legislative upheavals of the postwar period.
Sunday’s episode, the Eternity Ring, sees Foyle recruited as the iron curtain falls across Europe. Suspecting that British atomic research has been infiltrated, MI5 asks Foyle to investigate the possibility of a Russian spy network in the heart of London.
The Cage, premiering on Sunday, September 22nd, opens with a severely injured man dragging himself to a hospital, only to die shortly after being found by a nurse and doctor. As Foyle makes inquiries, he is led to discover a mysterious military facility full of secrets that could threaten British Intelligence.
In Sunflower, premiering on Sunday, September 29th, Foyle is tasked with protecting Karl Strasser, a Nazi officer turned MI5 informant who believes he is in danger. America wants Strasser extradited for his involvement in a wartime event, but British Intelligence is determined to protect him. As Foyle nears a solution to the case, the unfathomable truth of “Operation Sunflower” is revealed.
As usual the show’s creator Anthony Horowitiz skillfully weaves many hidden or forgotten aspects of British history into the mix – the show has plenty of echoes of contemporary issues with the ethics of waterboarding, intelligence gathering and using ethically-compromised individuals for the greater good all touched upon in this sadly-brief series that represents intelligent British television at its absolute best.
Foyles War, Series Seven, debuts Sunday, September 15th at 9pm on PBS Masterpiece Mystery! Check local listings.
– Nick Stark
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