| Da Vinci's Inquest | |
|---|---|
 Da Vinci's Inquest logo. |
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| 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 |  Canada |
| No. of episodes | 91 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBC |
| 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 the CBC 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 pathologist, Patricia Da Vinci, Donnelly Rhodes as detective Leo Shannon, and Ian Tracey as detective "Mick" Leary.
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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.
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. Critically acclaimed as the best television series in Canada and winning the Gemini Award for Best Dramatic Series for nearly all of its previous six seasons, Da Vinci's Inquest completed its seventh and final season, being continued in 2005 as Da Vinci's City Hall.
Availability outside Canada
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, 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 Sony Pictures Television, through its "Programming Partners" subsidiary. Beginning April 27, 2007, WGN began airing Da Vinci's City Hall, but continues to refer to the series as Da Vinci's Inquest, even using the same intro (which was used only late into the show's original run) despite the fact that some of the characters seen are not present in the new series. Beginning November 4, 2007, WBAL-TV in Baltimore followed suit in the same manner (with the blurb, "All-new episodes starting in November"). It is unknown whether these episodes are also seen on other stations that carried Da Vinci's Inquest.
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). As of early 2007, the show airs in the United Kingdom on Tuesday nights on ftn. It has also been aired in late night slots on RTE One in Ireland.
Da Vinci's City Hall
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 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation cancelled the program. It is currently (2007) rerunning the season late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning.
The cast
- Nicholas Campbell as Dominic Da Vinci
- Suleka Mathew as Sunita "Sunny" Ramen (credited as "Sue Mathew" in the first season)
- Sarah-Jane Redmond as Sgt. Sheila Kurtz
- Donnelly Rhodes as detective Leo Shannon
- Colin Cunningham as detective Brian Curtis
- Venus Terzo as detective Angela Kosmo
- Ian Tracey as detective Mick Leary
- Gwynyth Walsh as Patricia Da Vinci
- Robert Wisden as Chief Coroner James Flynn
Recurring characters
- Robert Clothier as Joe Da Vinci (season 1)
- Joy Coghill as Portia Da Vinci
- Terry Chen as William Chen (Seasons 3, 4, 6 & 7)
- Max Martini as Danny Leary
- Gerard Plunkett as Chief Coroner Bob Kelly
- Jewel Staite as Gabriella Da Vinci
- Sarah Strange as Helen
- Alisen Down as Dr Maria Donato (Season 6 & 7)
- Emily Perkins as Sue Lewis
- Peter Williams as Morris Winston
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.
Episode guide
DVD release
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.
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.
Season 3 (2000-2001)
Acorn Media has announced the third season's release date for June 10, 2008.[3]
See also
References
- ^ PROGRAM PARTNERS TO RELEASE DA VINCI’S INQUEST DVD 2007-01-24. Retrieved on 2007-04-19.
- ^ Da Vinci's Inquest Season 2 (1998) Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
- ^ Da Vinci's Inquest DVD news: Date Correction for Da Vinci's Inquest - Season 3
