October 13, 1999

A Look at... Da Vinci’s Inquest - THE COMMENTARY

By Joseph Planta

Da Vinci’s Inquest is of a rare breed. It’s a successful show. It’s a successful drama. It’s Canadian. It’s also, being watched. Starring Nicholas Campbell as harried Vancouver coroner, Dominic Da Vinci, it examines the issues of crime that plague our city, in a fictional drama, á la Prime Suspect or NYPD Blue. Our city, Vancouver that is, looks painfully real. It dramatizes the impact crime and the search for the “bad guys”, on the boys and girls in blue. There hasn’t been a Canadian drama this good, since Street Legal. And I say that as a Canadian show that can get Canadian viewers watching. Da Vinci’s Inquest has some first class acting, Ian Tracey was just nominated for a Gemini for his performance in Milgaard, Sarah Strange is a most busy actress and Campbell, the center of the show, and scored a much deserved Gemini nod as well.

It had its second season premiere last Wednesday the 6th of October, and in the first part, according to The Sun’s Alex Strachan, the show has finally found it’s voice. The second part which airs on the 13th, recalls the missing prostitutes on our infamous Downtown East Side. It’s unpredictable, and it’s painfully real, something that sets this show apart from Red Green or Traders. Local filmmaker Anne Wheeler directs this two-parter that portrays our physical city in a magnificent way, but also captures the lost innocence in our ever burgeoning problems, in the intricate scenes that are acted with great achievement.

Da Vinci’s Inquest is a show worth watching, if not for the fact it’s a local production. It’s just as good as Homicide: Life on The Street or Cracker, and got a confidence that’s lacking from most Canadian programs.

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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .