Da Vinci's Inquest

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Da Vinci's Inquest

Da Vinci's Inquest logo.
Format Drama
Created by Chris Haddock
Starring Nicholas Campbell
Suleka Mathew
Sarah-Jane Redmond
Donnelly Rhodes
Venus Terzo
Ian Tracey
Gwynyth Walsh
Robert Wisden
Country of origin Flag of Canada Canada
No. of episodes 91 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 45 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel CBC Television
Original run 1998-10-07 – 2005-01-23
External links
IMDb profile

Da Vinci's Inquest is a Canadian dramatic television series that aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. Seven seasons of thirteen episodes each were filmed for a total of ninety-one episodes.

The show, set and filmed in Vancouver, stars Nicholas Campbell as Dominic Da Vinci, once an undercover officer for the RCMP, but now a crusading coroner who seeks justice in the cases he investigates.

The cast also includes Gwynyth Walsh as Da Vinci's ex-wife and Chief Pathologist, Patricia Da Vinci, Donnelly Rhodes as detective Leo Shannon, and Ian Tracey as detective "Mick" Leary.

Contents

[edit] Basis

Da Vinci's Inquest was based partly on the real life experiences of Larry Campbell, the former chief coroner of Vancouver, British Columbia, who was elected mayor of that city in 2002. It is also similar to such earlier series as Wojeck and the American Quincy, M.E. insofar as the program revolves around a coroner who investigates unusual cases. However, its complex plots, along with the realistic character development and somber style of the show, make it more similar to Steven Bochco's productions, especially the hit drama NYPD Blue.

[edit] Awards

Campbell received the Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for his work on the series and has guest-starred in American shows such as Monk and T.J. Hooker. Donnelly Rhodes also received a Gemini Award for Best Actor in 2002 and the Earle Grey Award in 2006. The series was critically acclaimed as the best television series in Canada after winning the Gemini Award for Best Dramatic Series for five of its first six seasons. When Da Vinci's Inquest completed its seventh and final season, it was continued in 2005 as Da Vinci's City Hall.

[edit] Availability outside Canada

[edit] United States

Da Vinci's Inquest made its U.S. debut the week of 17 September 2005, when it was already in syndication after the original run. Local outlets airing the show include stations in Honolulu, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Boston, Hartford, Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle, Miami, Minneapolis, St. Louis, San Diego, Colorado Springs, Bismarck, Amarillo, Baltimore, Phoenix, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Kansas City, and Springfield, Missouri. The show also has been airing on Superstation WGN, available via cable television and satellite. The series is distributed in the United States by Program Partners.

[edit] Other countries

In Australia, it aired late Monday nights on the Nine Network, and its affiliates WIN (although on a different night) and NBN. In mid 2006, the show was replaced with Quizmania. As of early 2007, it has been screening again late on Thursday nights (technically early Friday morning).

It has also been aired in late night slots on RTE One in Ireland.

In Iceland, Skjár einn has aired the show in various slots, including saturday evening.

The show currently airs daily at 3am in the United Kingdom on the Living Channel and on late Thursday evenings in Finland and northern parts of Estonia on Finnish YLE TV2.

[edit] Da Vinci's City Hall and TV movies

In Canada, the new spinoff series, Da Vinci's City Hall, premiered on 25 October 2005. However, after airing a complete first season of 13 episodes, the CBC cancelled the program.

In the US, this series was aired as an extension of Da Vinci's Inquest, even using the same intro as the last season of Inquest, despite the fact that some of the characters seen are not present in the new series. City Hall debuted in the US on Superstation WGN on April 27, 2007, and released into national syndication to local stations, also as part of Da Vinci's Inquest, on November 4, 2007.

A TV movie following up on the two series, The Quality of Life, is scheduled to air on CBC in June 2008. Depending on audience, more TV movies may follow.

[edit] The cast

[edit] Recurring characters

[edit] Format

Da Vinci's Inquest is notable for its unconventional story formats. Unlike most crime dramas, many crimes on Da Vinci's Inquest aren't clearly explained, and some aren't even solved. Many of the show's fans hail this characteristic as one of its finest qualities. Also unusual is its handling of story arcs. Some story arcs span the length of one or more season, but aren't touched on at all in some episodes within that season. Story arcs include Da Vinci's struggles with his ex-wife and daughter, Leo Shannon struggling to care for his mentally ill wife, the relocation of a mental hospital's cemetery and the intrigue that follows, and Da Vinci's quest to establish a red light district and safe injection site to protect the sex workers and drug addicts of Vancouver. In Internet fandom, the plot line following Mick Leary's descent into depression after a female constable infatuated with him commits suicide is often considered one of the most powerful and best-written arcs in the entire series by many fans.[citation needed]

[edit] Episode guide

See List of Da Vinci's Inquest episodes

[edit] DVD release

[edit] Season 1 (1998-1999)

On 15 December 2006, TVShowsOnDVD.com announced that Acorn Media has made plans to release the complete first season on DVD. It contains all 13 episodes on 4 discs for US$59.99 in the US and CA$68.95 in Canada. The set was released February 27, 2007[1]

The first season was also released by Alliance Atlantis in Canada in October 2003. That version lacks closed captioning. The Acorn Media release contains closed captioning on the episodes.

[edit] Season 2 (1999-2000)

The second season was released on November 13, 2007 on Amazon.com[2]. Special features include behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with series creator Chris Haddock.

[edit] Season 3 (2000-2001)

Acorn Media has announced the third season's release date for June 10, 2008. Special features will include two behind-the-scenes featurettes, photo gallery, cast filmographies, and creator biography.[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ PROGRAM PARTNERS TO RELEASE DA VINCI’S INQUEST DVD 2007-01-24. Retrieved on 2007-04-19.
  2. ^ Da Vinci's Inquest Season 2 (1998) Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  3. ^ Da Vinci's Inquest DVD news: Date Correction for Da Vinci's Inquest - Season 3

[edit] External links

Languages