The first two seasons of Death in Paradise are superb. Ben Miller is a treat playing Detective Poole who would rather not be assigned to the Caribbean. He is homesick, missing English food, weather, and seasons. He does like the challenge of a murder investigation, and he comes to like his team.

The team makes the show enjoyable. Each supporting actor adds a distinct flavor to the show. Sara Martins is delightful as the smart, beautiful assistant, Camille, who demands respect for her gender and French background. She is gorgeous but never poses for the camera. Gary Carr is the studious young officer, Fidel, who works hard to do things right. With a mere look or gesture, he brings depth to his character. Danny John-Jules is the resourceful Dwayne Myers, who hardly works. His brings the lazy 'don't try too hard' style to the show. It is the Caribbean after all. Don Warrington plays the Commissioner who connives to keep the team intact. The Commissioner reminds me of Colonel Burkhalter from Hogan's Heroes, always aware of happenings but more into authority than action. And Warrington plays this part to a T.

In addition to the acting, the show brings gorgeous scenery, upbeat music, ingenious crime detection, and a lizard. The computer-generated lizard is so much fun as the unwanted pet of Detective Poole. Their interactions add sparkle to the show and highlight growth of the main character. At first he hates the lizard as unnatural. As he becomes more comfortable (although never fully comfortable) he worries about its care and names it Harry. I love it.

After Ben Miller left the show at the start of Season 3. The things I loved about the show slowly faded. The team of actors who fit so well together seemed incomplete (and in Season 4 start to leave). The Commissioner doesn't fight for the new guy to stay. The lizard is forgotten. And, the title "Death in Paradise" starts taking on a whole new meaning.

I own the first three seasons and rewatch the first two seasons often. Much like Inspector Lewis, the episodes bring gorgeous scenery, music, and thoughtful teamwork together. No guns, blood or deviant crimes, just a well-rounded story and good old-fashioned detection. I highly recommend watching Seasons One, Two, and the first episode of Season Three.

This series provides satisfying relief from the dull urban settings and characters that have become so boring and ubiquitous. I like "who done its" in the first place, but the laid back Caribbean setting, the character development and casting (especially supporting players), and a good dose of comic relief make this series quite special and entertaining. I have collected the 7 seasons available in the USA so far, so I'll comment also that you might find some between seasons cast changes disappointing when you first encounter them. However, My wife and I found we quickly accepted the replacements, and whatever disappointment we felt initially was quickly forgotten.

This show gets an A++++ for location! The scenery is beautiful. And I'm glad I can't feel the heat! I find his new partner very pushy (his female counterpart). If her character was more relaxed it would make the series more enjoyable. Casting was well done. It's different, often humorous, and the mystery aspect is excellent. Every episode seems to be impossible to solve, but there's always a "key" to the solution. The British excel at well done complex mysteries!

DEATH IN PARADISE, SEASON 1. This BBC television series, made with the support of the French Caribbean region of Guadeloupe – and filmed there—is a quintessentially British mystery. In a light-hearted, humorous crime drama that has been playing on some PBS channels in the United States, stalwart strait-laced Inspector Richard Poole is a fish out of water when Scotland Yard sends him to the tiny – fictitious-- Caribbean island of Saint Marie to solve the murder of his predecessor. He does so successfully, then finds himself seconded to this small hot island. Unfortunately, he hates the sun, sea, sand and seafood. Nor is he suited to the pace of life on the island.

And, at this new post, Poole encounters a very different type of policing than what he is used to: it challenges his more buttoned-up sensibility. His new partner, Camille Bordey, is instinctive, feisty, insightful. The rest of the – fictional, though I suspect it resembles St. Lucia --Saint Marie police force – two cops! has their own unique way of doing things in this police procedural. But, though Poole would never admit it, together, they make a perfect team. The season 1 box set consists of two DVDs, each holding four new mysteries, totaling about 466 minutes of entertainment. And thank goodness, and the BBC, subtitles, for who would want to miss a moment of this delightful lilting Caribbean-accented dialog. Though, wonderfully enough, the sound quality is quite good; even I was able to make out the entire dialog, without shaking the house on the volume meter.

The acting is fine, from Ben Miller, PRIMEVAL, playing Detective Inspector Poole, the hapless, yet brilliant detective, to Sara Martins, PARIS, JE T’AIME, as his gorgeous new partner Detective Sergeant Borday. Other series members live up to the high acting standards, including Danny Jules-John as Officer Dwayne Myers; Gary Carr as Officer Fidel Best; Elisabeth Bourgine as Catherine, Camille’s lovely and charming mother and Don Warrington as Police Commissioner Selwyn Patterson. Both series are also packed full of new pretty faces, British and Caribbean. And many, many well-known British stars/supporting players: I clocked, among others Colin Salmon, (PRIME SUSPECT); Adrian Dunbar, (LINE OF DUTY); Robert Pugh, (GAME OF THRONES); Philip Jackson, (POIROT); Sharon Small, (INSPECTOR LYNLEY). Also Gemma Jones, Joanna David, Julie Graham, Phil Davis, Claire Holman, Cherie Lunghi, Nicholas Farrell, Rupert Graves.

The episodes are:
Arriving in Paradise
DI Richard Poole arrives on the tropical isle of Saint-Marie to investigate the death of a fellow British detective.

Wicked Wedding Night
A bride dies minutes after her wedding.

Predicting Murder
A woman predicts her own murder and describes her killer.

Missing a Body?
A woman confesses to murdering her husband but the lack of a body brings her claim into question.

Spot the Difference
A prisoner is stabbed to death while handcuffed to DI Poole.

An Unhelpful Aid
Dwayne and Fidel have to solve a murder without the help of an ill D.I. Poole.

Music of Murder
A band member is murdered at the band's comeback gig.

Amongst Us
Dwayne is framed for a murder. An homage to Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes’ The Silver Blaze, a short story, famously known for the plot point of the dog that didn’t bark in the night, when it should have.

The scenery is, of course, to die for, looking hot-hot-hot on the screen, and I adore the soundtrack, as I have apparently always adored Caribbean music. You can any time give me an interlude of doing the Rock Steady to Blondie’s “The Tide is High,” of which we hear snatches here. The mysteries: well, they’re not down, dirty and depressing in the latest British style, more old-fashioned fun Agatha Christie’s Marple and Poirot style. Some might consider them a bit clunky. But rather original, some even unique in my experience. And I’ve been noticing that some of the most charming interludes, local color mostly, have been trimmed from the broadcast versions. Well worth getting.

The show is light and will allow for a bit of tropical and mindless escape. However, it is incredibly formulaic and predictable as to its flow. There's always a murder within the first 3-5 minutes; the local police department spends the next 37 minutes gathering clues that they pin on a whiteboard; inevitably, they hit a wall as to how the murder takes place based on the clues (43-45 mins in); but, then the Detective Inspector on the case suddenly has an epiphany after receiving a final and arbitrary clue, upon which he asks the officers to gather all the potential suspects (usually 4-6) together in a central location where the DI miraculously gives an account of a most clever, premeditated crime from clues that otherwise were impossible to tie together. I've now watched 6 of 11 seasons and they all have been the same, but with changing cast members...no DI remains more than 2 seasons and other regular cast members fall off as well. So, don't get used to the cast. I like the show because it's simple and I enjoy seeing the Caribbean scenery and attitudes (the most realistic thing about the show, in my opinion) in the fictitious St. Marie. I borrowed seasons 2-6 from my local library and will likely do so with the remaining seasons. I'm a fan, but glad I didn't purchase any more than the first.

Death In Paradise is a light-hearted, yet brilliant murder mystery series. A die hard English detective taken out of his element solves complex crimes while trying to find equilibrium with the laid back atmosphere of the tropical island. He is, quite simply, hilarious. Take this series for a ride - you won't be disappointed.

This series is set in a lovely fictional village on an island in the English speaking Caribbean. Being under British government, a policeman, Inspector Poole, is dispatched from England to solve the murder of a British subject, a policeman. He steadfastly refuses to undo his collar, loosen or lose his tie. He won't wear sunglasses or a hat. He wears a suit and suffers. He stomps around looking for a real cup of hot brewed tea. He has a peculiar knack of noticing things, and assembling clues. He wants to return to England so he came come out of a snowstorm into his pub and sit before a roaring fire. The local police, some of which are French speaking, work under a commissioner. A crafty and wise leader, he manipulates the Englishman into staying on the police team. The officers on team are played well, I feel I 'know" them. There is humor, but this is not a comedy show. The theme song, "You're Wondering Now", turns out to be a song of sad lyrics, but played cheerfully with lots of syncopation in reggae. Originally performed in 1964 by Andy & Joey, written by Rueben Anderson, and published by C and N Records (Studio One). Incidentally, different versions have been played for the following seasons. Youtube has it. Anyway, I like the characters, the tourists, the plots, and the views. The mysteries are very well plotted. It's more about solving human nature than physical stuff. A cozy.

Although it took a while for this show to grow on me, I did enjoy it. DI Richard Poole is sent to the Caribbean to investigate the murder of a fellow police officer. He HATES everything about the island and finds it very difficult to settle in. However, he uses his experience and powers of observation to solve the case, only to find that he has been permanently reassigned to his own personal hell on earth.

As someone who grew up on the beaches of central Florida, I can totally sympathize with DI Poole...I hate everything about the beach: the sand, Sun, heat and especially the humidity. I also can understand his aversion to the constantly sandry home, tree growing through the middle of his house, and his reptilian roommate!! This is a lighthearted mystery with humor thrown in . There is no foul language or nudity and violence and sexual situations are minimal so appropriate for teens as well as adults.
UPDATE: If you love this show and have only viewed it on Netflix or Amazon VOD, then I would recommend purchasing the DVDs. On Netflix, each episode is edited down to 52 minutes while on Amazon, each episode is 55 minutes but the episodes on the DVDs are 60 minutes or longer (at least for the first season). While the deleted scenes don't affect the eventual outcome of the mystery, they do provide some context to the overall story. I've read some complaints about the closed captioning and I too have noticed the same issues with the CC of season one on Amazon however this is NOT a problem with seasons two and three on Amazon. For some reason, the CC of season three has been displayed on season one and only started happening recently so hopefully Amazon will fix this.