Product Description

The acclaimed crime drama that blends high-tech forensic science with old-fashioned legwork


'I'm not a doctor. I don't pretend to be. My job is to prevent death.'

That's how Dominic Da Vinci sums up his job as the controversial coroner for the city of Vancouver. He relies on the expert findings of criminologists, pathologists, and police - and his own hard-nosed inquiries - to ferret out the truth behind suspicious deaths. Along the way, he makes plenty of enemies.

Combining the intricate realism of Law & Order with the high-tech forensics of CSI, Da Vinci's Inquest has a social and moral resonance that makes it truly unique. In this complete second season, you ll see why Da Vinci's Inquest has earned international acclaim and devoted fans.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE interview with series creator Chris Haddock, photo gallery, Chris Haddock bio, and cast filmographies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14508 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-11-13
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 572 minutes

Amazon.com
Nobody does world-weary cop quite as intensely as does Nicholas Campbell, who plays Dominic Da Vinci (though the late Jerry Orbach comes close). In Season 2 of Da Vinci's Inquest, the hit Canadian police procedural, Campbell is in fine form as Da Vinci, a former Vancouver cop turned coroner. What's great about Da Vinci's Inquest is that it never feels formulaic, even though it delivers as a good cop procedural should.

Case in point: The episode called "Blues in A Minor." The story revolves around the body found in its first scene--that of a young boy found washed up on the rocks underneath the Second Narrows Bridge in Vancouver. Instantly this feels different from an American cop show. The boy's body is splayed horribly--realistically--on the rocks as the tide laps around it. There's no unnecessary gore, but the realism grabs the viewer viscerally. There's also another case unfolding at the same time, just like in real life--having nothing to do with the original case, but calling for attention just the same. Our hero, Campbell's Da Vinci, is scattered between the two cases, though it's the first that eats at him, as he follows well-meaning but mistaken leads and finally homes in on the horrible truth that led to the boy's death.

Da Vinci's Inquest feels as untidy as real life, and at the same time manages to be a valentine to the lovely, but quietly violent, city in which it's set. This Vancouver is gorgeous, but not romantic; the hard-scrabble folks who settled here at the edge of the continent breed their own type of malaise. And thankfully, Da Vinci is there to battle it. Extras in the boxed set include an interview with series creator Chris Haddock, a bio of Haddock, a photo gallery, and cast filmographies. --A.T. Hurley

Review
Unlike anything on television --The New York Times

DVD Talk
Highly recommended.

Customer Reviews

"I'll tell you this for free"
Applause to whomever finally decided to get off the stick and release subsequent seasons of this phenomenal TV series, based on the exploits of Vancouver's legendary coroner-turned-mayor Larry Campbell. Nicholas Campbell's Da Vinci ranks with James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano as one of the greatest sustained performances in television. Charismatic, principled, cranky, witty and deeply flawed in so many interesting ways, Campbell is surrounded by a deep and appealing ensemble cast of characters(Ian Tracey, Venus Terzo, Alex Diakun, Kim Hawthorne, Sarah Strange, Sulekha Mathew, Gwyneth Walsh and especially Donnelly Rhodes as the equally crusty Leo), all buoyed along on writer-producer Chris Haddock's fast-paced interwoven storylines. A textbook example of how to create an ongoing storyarc along a spine of individually satisfying episodes. The series loses its way a bit in later seasons, and builds a long meandering plotline that never satisfactorily resolves itself, but it's still a completely addictive ride along the way because the acting, directing and character writing are of such a high level. In this season, look for a particularly chilling guest shot by Matt Frewer ("Max Headroom") as a weirdly self-confident serial killer.

Impressive storytelling and acting, crime drama at its best
The second season of Da Vinci's Inquest is as good the first season was, and it still has everything one can wish for :
Strong characters supported by excellent actors, fascinating stories, competent direction.
What is amazing is the overall coherence of the sum of those parts : this show clearly has its own personnality, this is not the average crime drama but an unique work of art.

A SERIES FOR ALL SEASONS
I'm an American, fortunate to be able to receive CBC. When I see Chris Haddock's name on anything, I know it will be quality. The minute I saw the second season of "DaVinci's Inquest" was available, I bought it. I've no idea how it is possible, but this series just gets better every season. The mixture of humor, pathos, mystery and drama is perfection. The only flaw I've seen in either season is the attempt to make DaVinci's mother seem more Italian than she is. I can't tell whether the problem lies with the actress or the director, but when she uses an Italian phrase, it comes off as clumsy and amateurish. This character doesn't spend more than 15" on the screen in all the episodes together, and that's a good thing.
Season 2's episode of "Sister's Light" will break your heart and is flawless, as are most of the episodes. In the first season, the writing had Leo (Donnelly Rhodes) as an irritating grump, but by the second season, they figured out what to do with him and his gruff humor, sadness of a husband with a wife losing her mind - fit the character beautifully.You know when he comes on the screen he will either make you laugh or break your heart.
Wish I knew how to reach the team that put this series together and ask them why they don't just put the entire set on sale? I didn't find this series until just before it was shot down by CBC, so was at the mercy of the commercials/reruns until the first two seasons came available on DVD.

I'd like to comment on CBC and their treatment of this team, as evidenced by what they are currently doing to "Intelligence", but that's another show and a separate issue. When Canadians find something as perfect as "DaVinci" and "Intelligence", they have systematically sabotaged them for what I call milk-toast shows that I wouldn't turn the TV on for. If any of you want to catch DaVinci reruns, they are currently in the first season on ABC, Monday mornings, at about 12:04 a.m. CBC stopped the reruns years ago but ABC is putting it through a second set of re-runs.
Set your VCR and watch the magic happen.

Come on, Mr. Haddock - get ALL your shows on DVD. It would be a crime to bury them in rerun land, chopped up and butchered. You wrote a series that matches or tops most everything American. Make your programs available for your fans to view and enjoy over the years.
Just because CBC didn't know what they had, doesn't mean the people don't appreciate your shows, the actors and the amazing writing.