''Murder on the Home Front'' is a two-part

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

, written by David Kane and directed by

Geoffrey Sax Geoffrey Sax (sometimes credited as Geoff Sax) is a British film and television director, who has worked on a variety of drama productions in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Life and career He began his directing career in the la ...

, that first broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

on 9 May 2013. The series, which stars Patrick Kennedy and

Tamzin Merchant Tamzin Merchant (born 4 March 1987) is an English actress and author, best known for her roles as Georgiana Darcy in the film ''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), as Catherine Howard in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2009–2010) and as Anne Hal ...

in the principal roles, follows Dr. Lennox Collins (Kennedy), a home office pathologist new to murder cases who teams up with his receptionist, Molly Cooper (Merchant) to investigate a serial killer operating at the height of

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. The series' script was based upon the memoirs of

Molly Lefebure Molly Lefebure FRSL (6 October 1919 – 27 February 2013) was a British writer with an interest in the English Lake District and the Lake Poets. Early life Molly Lefebure was born in the London Borough of Hackney on 6 October 1919, the daughter ...

, secretary to the former

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Home Office pathologist Keith Simpson. The series aired as a single presentation on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on 16 February 2014. Executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle said of the production, "With Geoffrey Sax directing Davy Kane’s witty and fast paced script, we hope to depict London in the Blitz as a city living life on the edge." The series was released on DVD via Universal Pictures on 29 July 2013.

Cast

* Patrick Kennedy as Dr. Lennox Collins *

as Molly Cooper *

Emerald Fennell Emerald Lilly Fennell (; born 1 October 1985) is an English actress, filmmaker, and writer. She has received many awards and nominations, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and nomination ...

as Issy Quennell *

James Fleet James Edward Fleet (born 11 March 1952) is an English actor of theatre, radio and screen. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and the dim-w ...

as Professor Henry Stephens *

David Sturzaker David Sturzaker is an English actor born in Hammersmith in London, who played Dr. Simon Bond (Doctors), Dr. Simon Bond in the BBC soap, Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors from 2009 to 2011. Early life Sturzaker was born in Hammersmith in west Lon ...

as DI Freddie Wilkins *

Iain McKee Iain McKee is an English actor best known for his role as Frank Gadney in BBC1 drama series ''Lilies'' and Michael in BBC sitcom ''The Visit''. He is originally from Bolton and now lives in North London. Filmography * 2001 - ''The Parole Office ...

as DS Brady *

Ryan Gage Ryan Gage (born 17 January 1983) is an English actor who has worked in theatre, television, films, and video games. On television, he is best known for his roles as King Louis XIII in the BBC series ''The Musketeers'' and Ted Bundy in the TV f ...

as Danny Hastings * John Heffernan as Wilfred Zeigler * John Bowe as Ronald Terry *

Richard Bremmer Richard Bremmer (born 27 January 1953) is an English actor. Early life Bremmer was born and brought up in Warwickshire. Career Bremmer first began his career in the short film of ''Couples and Robbers'' before being in his first full-length fi ...

as Charlie Maxton *

Susie Blake Susie Blake (born 19 April 1950) is an English television, radio and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the snobbish TV announcer in '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' and Bev Unwin in ''Coronation Street'', which she played ...

as Miss Jenkins *

Ria Zmitrowicz Ria Zmitrowicz (born 1990/1991) is an actress. She is known for her work in theatre, earning WhatOnStage and Manchester Theatre Award nominations, and her role in the BBC drama '' Three Girls'' (2017). She was named a 2018 BAFTA Breakthrough ...

as Wilma Grey *

Siobhan Hayes Siobhan Teresa Hayes (born 21 July 1974) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Abi Harper in the BBC sitcom ''My Family'' and Sandy in the BBC radio series '' Absolute Power''. Career Hayes portrayed Abi Harper, a clumsy and dim- ...

as Jenny Hatton * Patrick Knowles as Rosanski

Episodes

Reception

The series broadcast to strong critical acclaim, with Sarah Rainey of ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' writing; "A decent, gritty portrayal of Second World War Britain - one that doesn’t pretend life on the Home Front was a cosy tea party of do-it-yourselfers and make-do-and-menders -

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

has been a long time coming." Alison Graham of the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' commented; "Imagine a cross between ''

Foyle's War ''Foyle's War'' is a British detective fiction, 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 (TV network), ...

'' and ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McC ...

'' and you have ''Murder on the Home Front''. It’s one of those brown, wartime dramas where lights are dim, ITMA’s on the radio and everyone is terribly plucky. A strange mix of the jaunty and the gruesome, though there’s a loving attention to period detail; even the bomb-sites look hand-crafted." Keith Watson of the ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' was however slightly more scathing, writing; "The acting is spot on, but the tone is a touch wobbly. At times a cartoonish skit on 1940s stereotypes – think ''

The Fast Show ''The Fast Show'', known as ''Brilliant'' in the US, is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams (actor), M ...

''’s Cholmondeley Warner ic– ''Murder on the Home Front'' wants it all ways, throwing in the kind of grisly gore that’s customary in modern serial killer cases, but feels at odds with jaunty banter that’s saucily tongue-in-cheek."

References

External links

* {{Geoffrey Sax 2013 British television series debuts 2013 British television series endings 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British police procedural television series 2010s British television miniseries English-language television shows Films directed by Geoffrey Sax ITV television dramas Television series about fictional serial killers Television shows set in London United Kingdom home front during World War II World War II television series