The Cadfael Collection (DVD, 2005, 13-Disc Set)

Cadfael is an extremely interesting mystery series. It features Sir Derek Jacobi as the Benedictine Monk of Shrewsbury, a 12th century medieval detective. Each episode is based on the books by Ellis Peters, and they were filmed in the mid to late 1990's. Many are beautifully filmed in Budapest, Hungary.
I purchased this set as a gift for my father, but I am a big fan as well, so it has gotten a lot of play! We are both big Mystery! fans, and they rarely repeat their shows from the past, so this way we can see it whenever we like. I wish they would bring back this series and produce the remaining books into television episodes. This series is highly entertaining, and I recommend it to everyone. Absolutely fascinating to see Brother Cadfael come to life, and we think that Sir Derek Jacobi is perfect in this role, as are the rest of the cast.
I like the fact that the entire series is all in this one boxed set, and my father doesn't have different DVD's to try to keep together. They have their own place in the disc box, and are much less likely to get lost. I also recommend buying the box set because it saves money, versus buying each episode individually.

This is a wonderful collection from the BBC. The Cadfael series, adapted from the books of Ellis Peters, stars the incomparable Derek Jacobi as the patient monk/detective who uses his knowledge of herbs and his wiles to solve murder mysteries. The series strays from the novels at times, but remains true to the spirit of the novels. If you have read the novels, you have a treat waiting for you. If you have never read the novels, you also have a treat waiting for you. However, as this is a collector's set, I hoped that there would be more special features - the British television series' tend to be lacking in this respect.

What a pity only 13 of the books by Ellis Peters were presented in this series. She wrote many more and I would happily buy the lot on DVD. Fabulous series.

Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) joined the monastery later in life, having fought in the Crusades. He keeps the monastery's herb garden and ministers to the sick. He is also the one who challenges ideas and perceptions, and solves the mysteries of Shrewsbury using common sense, logic and observation. No fingerprints, ballistics, SOCOs or crime labs here. The pace is quite different in the 12th century, which in some ways heightens the mystery.

If you like a good mystery story. Then this is a must watch DVD collection. Brother Cadfael is a pre-Sherlock Holmes detective of the 12th century England. Brother Cadfael is a monk, who used to be a knight. A knight who has seen too much dead in the world, now wants to help his fellow man. A monk with a lot of common sense and deductive reasoning skills. He'll look every where to get to the truth, no matter what. On top of that he has a special talent with all the various herbs to cure what ails you. So let the good Brother make you a tonic and enjoy the episodes. The sheriff relies Cadfael's friendship and skills as a detective. I hope you enjoy this set as much as I enjoyed watching it.

Cadfael, the monk of the middle ages, solves murders with only the tools available to him - his herbs and knowledge of medicine, his knowledge of people and their foibles, and his common sense. Even in his time common sense was remarkably uncommon. This series is not only true to the books by Ellis Peters, but is also filmed wonderfully. The detail of time and place is remarkable. And Derek Jacobi is so completely Cadfael. I only wish they had filmed all the books.