DA VINCI'S INQUEST may well be the very best 1-hour television drama ever. If it isn't, there are no more than a handful - from whatever country or era - that can even come close.
It's new to American television (at least as far as I know), and I've only seen a dozen or so episodes, but their promos don't lie: one episode and I was hooked. The writing, the acting; you almost forget that what you're watching is, well, written and acted! 'Verisimilitude' is one of those words one doesn't come across much these days, but it's appropriate to describe this show. The characters are complex, their interactions so 'real life,' that watching them almost gives a feeling of eavesdropping.
Also, as in real life, there is not always a resolution. Some episodes end with matters left hanging and loose ends untied. Life doesn't always supply us with all the why's and wherefore's; neither does DA VINCI'S. This is a show that does not treat the viewer like an idiot. Perhaps a lot of Canadian TV is like that, but it's a novelty down here.
Nicholas Campbell, as Vancouver coroner Dominic Da Vinci, is the on-screen engine that powers this show. The acting of all of the series' regulars - Ian Tracey, Donnelly Rhodes, Sue Mathew, Sarah Strange and others - is of a uniformly high order, but each is even better when playing a scene with Campbell, whose presence, style and energy make everything just crackle with authenticity (oh, hell, I don't know; does authenticity crackle? If it doesn't, it should). If you've been a regular viewer of U.S. shows such as "X-Files" and the "Stargate's" - which were/are produced in Canada - you'll see a number of familiar faces.
Be warned: this show could spoil you for all American television drama. My viewing companion and I watched an episode of "Law & Order" - which we enjoy - immediately after viewing a DA VINCI; big mistake. Anything else is going to suffer by comparison. But here's some good news: if you jump in now, you've got seven seasons worth of episodes to see. That should tide you over for a while, and you'll want to catch each one.
