British Crime DVDs for Winter Binges
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- The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, adapted from Elizabeth George's novels, ran on BBC One from 2001 to 2008.
- Midsomer Murders premiered on ITV in 1997 and became the longest-running contemporary British detective drama, with over 130 episodes filmed across twenty-three series.
- Law & Order UK (2009–2014) translated the American franchise's format to the Crown Prosecution Service, starring Bradley Walsh and Ben Daniels.
- George Gently, based on Alan Hunter's novels, aired on BBC One from 2007 to 2017 and starred Martin Shaw as a 1960s Durham detective.
- All four series were released on Region 4 DVD by Acorn Media and Universal, with secondhand copies still circulating widely in Australian markets.
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries — Elizabeth George (adapted by BBC)
Quick Verdict: The thinking person's detective duo — aristocratic Scotland Yard inspector meets working-class sergeant — in six series of immaculately shot Oxford and London murders.
Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small carry this adaptation of Elizabeth George's novels with the kind of restrained chemistry that makes American crime TV look cartoonish. Lynley (8th Earl of Asherton) drives a Bristol and wears bespoke suits; Havers drives a battered Vauxhall and eats crisps at crime scenes. The murders are academic, literary, occasionally baroque — poisoned dons, family estates with secrets — and the pacing assumes you're capable of forty minutes without an explosion. The BBC's production values here are peak early-2000s: location shooting in actual country houses, no green screen, no shortcuts. As of April 2026, Patina's crime collection includes rotating preloved copies of the complete series on DVD. Explore our current copy of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries or browse more Crime DVDs at Patina.
Midsomer Murders — Caroline Graham (adapted by ITV)
Quick Verdict: The cozy English village mystery turned into a multigenerational franchise — twenty-three series, 130+ episodes, and a body count that would depopulate Oxfordshire twice over.
John Nettles anchored the first fourteen series as DCI Tom Barnaby, solving murders in fictional villages where the WI bake sale turns into a bloodbath with alarming regularity. The formula is airtight: twee village setting, middle-class victim with dark secrets, red herrings involving bell-ringing societies or amateur dramatics, resolution over tea. It shouldn't work for 130 episodes, but the locations (shot across Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire) and the gleeful absurdity of the murder methods (death by wheel of cheese, electrocution via maypole) keep it compulsively watchable. Neil Dudgeon took over in 2011 as Tom's cousin John Barnaby, and the show kept running. This is comfort-food television — predicable, soothing, occasionally ridiculous. Explore our current copy of Midsomer Murders or browse more Crime DVDs at Patina.
Law & Order UK: Series 2 — Dick Wolf (adapted by Kudos)
Quick Verdict: The American procedural franchise transplanted to London with Bradley Walsh and the Crown Prosecution Service — same two-act structure, better accents, actual British law.
Dick Wolf's format translates surprisingly well to the UK justice system: the first half follows the Metropolitan Police investigation, the second half shifts to the CPS barristers arguing the case in court. Bradley Walsh (later of Doctor Who) plays DS Ronnie Brooks with the right mix of working-class grit and procedural efficiency, while Ben Daniels brings theatrical intensity to Crown Prosecutor James Steel. The cases are ripped from British headlines — knife crime, honour killings, football hooliganism — and the show doesn't soften the class tensions or the institutional failures of the Met. Series 2 (2009) is the sweet spot before the cast turnover started. If you miss the "dun-dun" sound effect and the episodic structure of pre-streaming TV, this is the UK's best attempt at the franchise. Explore our current copy of Law & Order UK: Series 2 or browse more Crime DVDs at Patina.
George Gently — Alan Hunter (adapted by BBC)
Quick Verdict: Martin Shaw's career-best performance as a 1960s Durham detective navigating post-war Britain — slow, literary, visually stunning, and cancelled too soon after eight series.
Alan Hunter's Inspector Gently novels (written 1955–1999) got the prestige BBC treatment starting in 2007, relocating the detective from Norfolk to County Durham and moving the timeline to the 1960s. Martin Shaw plays Gently as a widowed, morally serious Scotland Yard detective who's fled London for the North East, partnered with the ambitious, occasionally ruthless DS John Bacchus (Lee Ingleby). The show's real subject is Britain's class structure unraveling — coal mines closing, old certainties collapsing, the '60s cultural revolution hitting provincial towns like a wrecking ball. The cinematography (Durham Cathedral, Northumberland coast, industrial estates in the rain) is Film4-level beautiful, and the pacing is novelistic — some episodes run feature-length. It's the anti-procedural: morally complex, politically engaged, visually considered. Explore our current copy of George Gently or browse more Crime DVDs at Patina.
British crime drama in the DVD era was slower, smarter, and more committed to place than anything streaming platforms greenlight now. These four series — Lynley's Oxford murders, Midsomer's absurdist body count, Law & Order UK's courtroom procedurals, and George Gently's 1960s Durham — represent the genre's high-water mark before algorithms started writing the scripts. They're also region-coded for Australia, which means no VPN, no subscription fatigue, and no sudden removal from your queue because the licensing deal expired. Shop all Crime DVDs at Patina Paperbacks →
Where can I buy secondhand British crime drama DVDs in Australia?
Patina Paperbacks stocks rotating preloved copies of British crime series on DVD, including The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Midsomer Murders, Law & Order UK, and George Gently. All DVDs are region-coded for Australian players and ship Australia-wide from our Sydney warehouse. We don't photograph every disc individually, but condition notes are included in each product listing.
Are British crime DVDs region-locked for Australian players?
Yes — most British crime DVDs released for the Australian market are Region 4, which works on Australian DVD players. The DVDs in Patina's current stock (Acorn Media and Universal releases) are all Region 4. If you're buying secondhand from international sellers, check the region code before purchasing — UK releases are Region 2 and won't play on standard Australian equipment without a multi-region player.
What's the difference between The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and Midsomer Murders?
Lynley is character-driven literary detective drama adapted from Elizabeth George's novels, focused on a mismatched Scotland Yard duo solving Oxford-area murders. Midsomer Murders is cozy village procedural with a rotating detective and a formulaic structure — think Agatha Christie on an ITV budget. Lynley has six series and ended in 2008; Midsomer has been running since 1997 and passed 130 episodes. If you want Morse-level seriousness, pick Lynley. If you want comfort-food TV where the vicar did it, pick Midsomer.
Is George Gently based on a book series?
Yes — George Gently is adapted from Alan Hunter's Inspector Gently novels, which ran from 1955 to 1999. The BBC adaptation (2007–2017) relocated the detective from Norfolk to County Durham and shifted the timeline to the 1960s, turning the series into a meditation on post-war Britain's social upheaval. Martin Shaw's Gently is closer to the novels' moral seriousness than the cozy village procedurals that dominated British crime TV in the same era.
Why are British crime DVDs better than streaming the same series?
Honestly, because you actually own them. Streaming platforms rotate content based on licensing deals, which means your favourite series disappears mid-binge when the contract expires. DVDs don't require internet, don't buffer, and don't get pulled from the catalogue. For British crime series like Midsomer Murders or George Gently — which streaming services often only license in partial series or with missing episodes — secondhand DVDs are the only way to guarantee access to the complete run.