Foyle's War#Paul Milner
{{Short description|British television detective series (2002–2015)}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Foyle's War title card.jpg
| genre = {{Plainlist|
}}
| creator = Anthony Horowitz
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| opentheme = Jim Parker
| language = English
| country = United Kingdom
| num_series = 8
| num_episodes = 28
| list_episodes =
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Jill Green
- Simon Passmore (2002–2003)
- Keith Thompson (2004–2006)
}}
| executive_producer = Jill Green
| runtime = 86–100 minutes
| company = Greenlit Productions (series 1–6)
Eleventh Hour Films (series 7–8)
| network = ITV
| first_aired = {{Start date|2002|10|27|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{End date|2015|1|18|df=y}}
}}
Foyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by Midsomer Murders screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse ended in 2000. It began broadcasting on ITV in October 2002. ITV director of programmes Simon Shaps cancelled Foyle's War in 2007, but Peter Fincham (Shaps's replacement) revived the programme after good ratings for 2008's fifth series.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/09/itv.television |title=ITV may revive second world war drama Foyle's War |newspaper=The Guardian |date=9 April 2008 |access-date=16 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806101938/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/09/itv.television |archive-date=6 August 2017 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |first=Chris |last=Tryhorn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/21/tvratings.television |title=TV ratings - April 20: Baftas watched by 5.6 million |newspaper=The Guardian |date=21 April 2008 |access-date=16 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806101408/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/21/tvratings.television |archive-date=6 August 2017 |url-status=live}} The final episode was broadcast on 18 January 2015, after eight series.{{cite web |url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/final-foyles-war-episode |title=Final Foyle's War episode |website=ITV.com |date=12 January 2015 |access-date=15 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506184115/http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/final-foyles-war-episode |archive-date=6 May 2017 |url-status=live}}
Description
Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen), a widower, is quiet, methodical, sagacious, scrupulously honest and frequently underestimated by his foes. Many of his cases concern profiteering, the black market and murder, and he is often called on to catch criminals who are taking advantage of the confusion created by the war. Although Foyle often comes up against high-ranking officials in the British military or intelligence services who would prefer that he minds his own business, he seeks justice tenaciously. Throughout the series, he is assisted by his driver, Samantha "Sam" Stewart (Honeysuckle Weeks), and Detective Sergeant Paul Milner (Anthony Howell).
The first six series are set during the Second World War in Hastings, Sussex, England. In series seven, Foyle works after retirement for MI5 on Cold War espionage. The stories are largely self-contained. There are some running plot strands, primarily involving the career of Foyle's son Andrew Foyle (Julian Ovenden) – a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force – or Foyle's relationships with minor characters. Each episode runs for 90 to 100 minutes, filling a two-hour time slot on ITV when commercials are included.
Production
In a newspaper article and an interview accompanying the series one DVD set, Horowitz explained that he was seeking a name which evoked the early 1940s. He thought of Foyles bookshop in London's Charing Cross Road, once known for its archaic business practices and its owner, Christina Foyle; Christopher was the nearest male name to Christina. After Christina Foyle's death, control of Foyles passed in 1999 to her nephew Christopher. Christopher Foyle made a cameo appearance in the episode "Bad Blood", although his scene was cut from PBS airings in the US.{{cite web |url=http://www.nothing-fancy.com/foyleswar/episodes/402/402cuts.htm |title=Scenes Cut From the US Screening on PBS, Foyle's War Bad Blood |quote=The next cut was a seemingly extraneous little exchange which does nothing to advance the plot, but which affords a cameo appearance to a real-life man named "Christopher Foyle", chairman of Foyles Bookshop in London and Anthony Horowitz' inspiration for the name of his fictional DCS. |author=Lynette |website=nothing-fancy.com |access-date=21 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143034/http://www.nothing-fancy.com/foyleswar/episodes/402/402cuts.htm |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/nov/02/5 |title=Raconteur who wrestled to keep Foyles in the family |first=David |last=Teather |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 November 2007 |access-date=22 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402201757/http://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/nov/02/5 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live }}
The series is also notable for its attention to historical detail, and the drama is frequently moved along by historical events of the Second World War. Horowitz considered that to honour the veterans of the war it was important to get the details correct."Production Notes", Series Four DVD extras. As the series progressed, he became more interested in the "murder mystery" format than the portrayal of history and exploration of the Home Front."Production Notes", Series Five DVD extras. Nevertheless, the Imperial War Museum is credited in an advisory capacity in some episodes.
St Just, in Croft Road, Hastings, was used as the location for Foyle's home.{{Cite web|title=Foyle's War - Visit 1066 Country|url=https://www.visit1066country.com/destinations/hastings/foyles-war|website=www.visit1066country.com|access-date=17 May 2020|archive-date=25 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925124734/https://www.visit1066country.com/destinations/hastings/foyles-war|url-status=live}}
=Cancellation and revival=
After five series, Foyle's War was cancelled abruptly by ITV director of programmes Simon Shaps.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/feb/10/itv-foyles-war-returns |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |title=Foyled again – ITV revives wartime drama Foyle's War |first=Ben |last=Dowell |date=10 February 2009 |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306070929/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/feb/10/itv-foyles-war-returns |archive-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=live }} This forced Horowitz to discard scripts set during most of 1943 and 1944, resulting in time jumps of nine months to a year between episodes; previous series had gaps of a month at most. In April 2008, the presumed final episode, "All Clear" (during which the end of the war is announced) was broadcast.
On 9 April 2008, however, ITV announced that it was negotiating with Horowitz and Greenlit Productions to revive the series and continue Foyle's adventures beyond VE Day; some media observers saw high viewing figures for the penultimate episode (a 28-percent audience share) on 13 April as strengthening the case for continuing.{{Cite news |first=Chris |last=Tryhorn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/14/tvratings.television1 |title=Foyle's War sweeps to victory for ITV |newspaper=The Guardian |date=14 April 2008 |access-date=14 April 2008 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228181847/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/14/tvratings.television1 |archive-date=28 February 2014 |url-status=live }} When the audience figures for the final episode were released (28 percent and an average of 7.3 million viewers), ITV confirmed that it had entered "early discussions" with Horowitz and Greenlit. The negotiations led to Foyle's War{{'s}} recommissioning for an additional three series.{{cite web |first=Anthony |last=Horowitz |url=http://anthonyhorowitz.com/newscentre/alexrider/i%e2%80%99m-off-for-christmasand-the-next-alex/80/#comments |title=I'm off for Christmas…and the next Alex |website=anthonyhorowitz.com |date=17 December 2008 |access-date=16 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415032952/http://anthonyhorowitz.com/newscentre/alexrider/i%E2%80%99m-off-for-christmasand-the-next-alex/80/ |archive-date=15 April 2009}} Series six began filming in February 2009 and premiered on UK television on 11 April 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.violetdesigns.co.uk/foyles_war_series7.htm |title=Foyle's War - Series 7, New Series filmed in 2009 |website=Violetdesigns.co.uk |access-date=27 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180907/http://www.violetdesigns.co.uk/foyles_war_series7.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016}} Series seven was filmed in Ireland and London from late August to December 2012, and was broadcast in the UK in March and April 2013.{{cite web |url=http://www.iftn.ie/actors/actorsnews/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4285287&tpl=archnews&force=1 |title=Exclusive: Irish Cast Join 'Foyle's War' As Production Gets Underway in Dublin |website=The Irish Film & Television Network |first=Steve |last=Cummins |date=29 August 2012 |access-date=15 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030003529/http://www.iftn.ie/actors/actorsnews/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4285287&tpl=archnews&force=1 |archive-date=30 October 2017 |url-status=live }} Series eight, three two-hour episodes, aired in the UK in January 2015.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-01-04/anthony-horowitz-on-the-dark-truth-behind-foyles-war |title=Foyle's War: Anthony Horowitz on the show's dark, discerning and absolutely true storylines |first=Anthony |last=Horowitz |magazine=Radio Times |date=4 January 2015 |access-date=9 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127061621/http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-01-04/anthony-horowitz-on-the-dark-truth-behind-foyles-war |archive-date=27 January 2016 |url-status=live }}
=Foyle's Last Case=
Even after this second cancellation, Horowitz continued to hold out hope for some sort of revival, spin-off around Honeysuckle Weeks's character, or even just some Christmas specials.{{cite web |title=Anthony Horowitz: New episodes of Foyle's War? |url=https://honeysuckle-weeks.blogspot.com/2019/08/anthony-horowitz-new-episodes-of-foyles.html |website=Honeysuckle Weeks Blogspot |date=3 August 2019 |access-date=21 January 2024}}
An example of the later concept was even developed by Horowitz as Foyle's Last Case, an exclusive two-part Christmas short story for The Daily Mail newspaper, published there on the 22 and 23 December 2018.{{cite web |title=Foyle's Last Case |url=https://honeysuckle-weeks.blogspot.com/p/foyles-last-case.html |website=Honeysuckle Weeks Blogspot |access-date=21 January 2024}}
Episodes
| class="wikitable" style="width: 100%;"
|+ ! Series !! Time !! Title !! Writer(s) | |||
| Series 1 2002 | May – August 1940 | 1 (1) "The German Woman" 2 (2) "The White Feather" 3 (3) "A Lesson in Murder" 4 (4) "Eagle Day" | Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz |
| Series 2 2003 | September – October 1940 | 1 (5) "Fifty Ships" 2 (6) "Among the Few" 3 (7) "War Games" 4 (8) "The Funk Hole" | Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz & Matthew Hall Anthony Horowitz & Michael Russell Anthony Horowitz |
| Series 3 2004 | February – June 1941 | 1 (9) "The French Drop" 2 (10) "Enemy Fire" 3 (11) "They Fought in the Fields" 4 (12) "A War of Nerves" | Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz Rob Heyland Anthony Horowitz |
| Series 4 Part 1 2006 | March – August 1942 | 1 (13) "Invasion" 2 (14) "Bad Blood" | Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz |
| Series 4 Part 2 2007 | December 1942 – March 1943 | 1 (15) "Bleak Midwinter" 2 (16) "Casualties of War" | Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz |
| Series 5 2008 | April 1944 – May 1945 | 1 (17) "Plan of Attack" 2 (18) "Broken Souls" 3 (19) "All Clear" | Anthony Horowitz Michael Chaplin Anthony Horowitz |
| Series 6 2010 | June – August 1945 | 1 (20) "The Russian House" 2 (21) "Killing Time" 3 (22) "The Hide" | Anthony Horowitz David Kane Anthony Horowitz |
| Series 7 2013 | August – September 1946 | 1 (23) "The Eternity Ring" 2 (24) "The Cage" 3 (25) "Sunflower" | Anthony Horowitz David Kane Anthony Horowitz |
| Series 8 2015 | October 1946 – January 1947 | 1 (26) "High Castle" 2 (27) "Trespass" 3 (28) "Elise" | Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz |
Episode numbers in parentheses are a running count used in the following table, "Main Characters".
Characters and cast <span class="anchor" id="Samantha Stewart"></span>
=Main=
- Michael Kitchen as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle (Series 1–8)
- Honeysuckle Weeks as MTC (Mechanised Transport Corps) Driver Samantha Stewart (Series 1–8)
- Anthony Howell as Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Paul Milner (Series 1–6)
=Recurring=
- Julian Ovenden as Andrew Foyle (Series 1–5)
- Mali Harries as Jane Milner (Series 1–2, 4)
- Michael Simkins as Hugh Reid (Series 1)
- Geoffrey Freshwater as Sergeant Eric Rivers (Series 2–3)
- Ellie Haddington as Hilda Pierce (Series 2–3, 5, 7–8)
- Jay Simpson as Sgt Ian Brooke (Series 4–5)
- Max Brown as Adam Wainwright (Series 6)
- Daniel Weyman as Adam Wainwright (Series 7–8)
- Tim McMullan as Arthur Valentine (Series 7–8)
- Rupert Vansittart as Sir Alec Meyerson (Series 7–8)
- Hermione Gulliford as Elizabeth Addis (Series 8)
=Guest appearances=
- James McAvoy as Ray Pritchard (Series 1)
- Rosamund Pike as Sarah Beaumont (Series 1)
- Paul Brooke as Arthur Ellis (Series 1)
- Charles Dance as Guy Spencer (Series 1)
- Danny Dyer as Tony Lucciano (Series 1)
- David Tennant as Theo Howard (Series 1)
- Janine Duvitski as Eve Redmond (Series 2)
- Emily Blunt as Lucy Markham (Series 2)
- Laurence Fox as Simon Walker (Series 2)
- Bill Paterson as Patrick Jamieson (Series 3)
- Sandra Voe as Mrs Roecastle (Series 3)
- Peter Capaldi as Raymond Carter (Series 3)
- Philip Jackson as Alan Carter (Series 4)
- Gerard Kearns as Frank Morgan (Series 4)
- Eleanor Bron as Elsa Constantin (Series 6)
- Andrew Scott as James Devereaux (Series 6)
- Kate Duchêne as Helen Fraser (Series 7)
- Jonathan Hyde as Colonel Galt (Series 7)
- Tamzin Outhwaite as Brenda Stevens (Series 7)
- Nick Hendrix as Robert Lucas (Series 8)
- Matilda Ziegler as Lady Ava Woolfe (Series 8)
International broadcast
- Africa - The series began broadcasting in 2009 on the pay service DStv (broadcast from South Africa) on the Universal Channel.{{cite web |url=http://www.tvsa.co.za/showinfo.asp?showid=3454 |title=Foyle's War |website=TVSA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314165710/http://www.tvsa.co.za/showinfo.asp?showid=3454 |archive-date=14 March 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=17 May 2017}}
- Australia - Aired on the ABC, with repeats on Seven Network
- Canada - Broadcast in Ontario on TV Ontario and in British Columbia on Knowledge Network
- Finland - Broadcast on YLE1; series seven and eight broadcast in 2015-2016
- Sweden - Broadcast on TV8.se, SVT and TV4
- US - Aired on PBS.{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/foyleswar/ |title=Foyle's War |website=PBS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010152601/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/foyleswar/ |archive-date=10 October 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=28 August 2017}} Series 1-8 are available for streaming on Acorn TV and occasionally on Netflix (the latest run in 2014–2017) via paid subscription. Acorn Media contracted Cre-a-TV to repackage Foyle's War in two-part episodes to run in PBS's time slots. The episodes were fed by satellite to the public television system by former PBS affiliate KCET in Los Angeles (now an independent station), and public TV stations began rebroadcasting the series in the fall of 2011. Each episode was aired in two parts, each in a one-hour time slot (usually separated by a week), and each part ran for about 50 minutes.
Awards
Foyle's War was nominated in the Best Production Design category for the 2003 BAFTA Television Awards, and won a Lew Grade Award for Best Entertainment Programme that year.{{cite web |title=Foyle's War Awards |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310455/awards |website=IMDb |access-date=5 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024040022/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310455/awards |archive-date=24 October 2015 |url-status=live }} The series was nominated for the 2004 BAFTA Best Drama Series award.{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/2004/television |title=Television in 2004 |website=BAFTA |access-date=17 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814063714/http://awards.bafta.org/award/2004/television |archive-date=14 August 2017 |url-status=live }} That year, Honeysuckle Weeks was nominated for the 10th National Television Awards' Most Popular Newcomer award.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
Media
=DVD releases=
In the UK, the first four series of Foyle's War were released as two two-disc DVDs per series, with two episodes each and episode titles instead of series numbers. In March 2007, UK and US distributor Acorn Media began re-releasing series 1–3 as four-disc DVDs for the UK (as they had in the US) and labelling them with series numbers. A complete box set of the series is available.
=Blu-ray releases=
All but the last two series have been released on Blu-ray in Australia (all discs are region-free).{{cite web |url=http://blu-ray.com/movies/Foyles-War-The-Complete-First-Season-Blu-ray/21337 |title=Foyle's War: The Complete First Season Blu-ray (Australia) |website=Blu-ray.com |access-date=15 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105233627/http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Foyles-War-The-Complete-First-Season-Blu-ray/21337/ |archive-date=5 January 2018 |url-status=live }} While it may appear the "complete collection"{{cite web|url=http://blu-ray.com/movies/Foyles-War-The-Complete-Collection-Blu-ray/68449|title=Foyle's War: The Complete Collection Blu-ray (Australia)|website=Blu-ray.com|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105233618/http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Foyles-War-The-Complete-Collection-Blu-ray/68449/|archive-date=5 January 2018|url-status=live}} box set includes seven seasons, there are only the first six series included. This is due to Icon entertainment releasing parts 1 & 2 of series four as seasons 4 & 5 respectively. Hence after the fourth season the Australian season numbering is one greater than the series that is included in the release.{{Cite web|url=http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=219742|title=Foyle's War - Blu-ray Forum|website=forum.blu-ray.com|language=en|access-date=19 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619113054/http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=219742|archive-date=19 June 2018|url-status=live}}
| class="wikitable" style="width:99%; text-align:center;" | ||||
| rowspan="2" |Blu-ray seasons/sets | rowspan="2" |TV series | rowspan="2" |Episodes | rowspan="2" |Originally aired | colspan="4" |Blu-ray release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aus (Region B) | US (Region A) | text-align:center;" | Discs | ||
| 1
| 1 | 4 | {{small|Oct–Nov 2002}} | n/a | 2 | ||||
| 2
| 2 | 4 | {{small|Nov–Dec 2003}} | n/a | 2 | ||||
| 3
| 3 | 4 | {{small|Oct–Nov 2004}} | n/a | 2 | ||||
| 4 & 5
| 4 |{{small|Jan 2006 - Apr 2007}} | n/a | 2 | ||||
| 6
|5 | 3 |{{small|Jan - Apr 2008}} | n/a | 2 | ||||
| 7
|6 | 3 |{{small|Apr 2010}} | n/a | 2 | ||||
| 8
|7 | 3 |{{small|Mar & Apr 2013}} | n/a | 2 | ||||
| 9
|8 |3 |{{small|Jan 2015}} |n/a |2 |
=Other media releases=
Hastings Borough Council and Rod Green have produced books to accompany the popular series and these go behind the scenes, as well as celebrate aspects of the series. Notable authors on the town during this period and who are acknowledged in these books as offering further information are Nathan Dylan Goodwin, Victoria Seymour and Mary Haskell Porter.
- Foyle's Hastings, Hastings Borough Council, 2006 (No ISBN available)
- Foyle's Hastings, Hastings Borough Council, 2006 (updated version), {{ISBN|0-901536-08-3}}
- The Real History Behind Foyle's War, Green, R., (2nd Ed.), 2010, {{ISBN|978-1847325426}}
Notes
{{Reflist|group=notes}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0310455|title=Foyle's War}}
- {{epguides|foyleswar|Foyle's War}}
{{Foyle's War}}
{{Anthony Horowitz}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2002 British television series debuts
Category:2015 British television series endings
Category:2000s British crime television series
Category:2010s British crime television series
Category:2000s British drama television series
Category:2010s British drama television series
Category:British detective television series
Category:British television series revived after cancellation
Category:British English-language television shows
Category:Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Category:Television series produced at Pinewood Studios
Category:Television shows shot in Liverpool
Category:Television series created by Anthony Horowitz
Category:World War II television drama series