Lee Ingleby

The family's last chance is to convince a visiting inspector from the Ministry of Health to overturn the council ban on a zoo at Oakfield. But when the nets of the aviary are slashed, George begins to lose his grip on the case - and his self-control. Lizzie is concerned he might throw their last chance away so reaches out for legal help, which comes at a cost.

As the family nurse female bear, Eve, back to health, local residents' opposition to the zoo grows hostile. The zoo continues to expand beyond their means, forcing George to use all his charm to persuade a local journalist of its unique worth. But while George's proclamations fall on deaf ears, Billy brings home a surprise that could turn things around.

The devastating news that planning permission for the zoo has been denied threatens to tear the family apart and destroy George's dream. However, Lady Katherine's connections in Whitehall give the family a lifeline. She and George embark on a trip to London to convince the Deputy Minister of Health to grant an appeal, while the family deal with a shocking new arrival at Oakfield.

Inspector George Gently, a former Scotland Yard sleuth, returns to track murderers in Britain's North Country.

The eight season moves into the 1970s, with DCI George Gently facing retirement. In the opening episode Gently discovers the victim's wife was convicted of the murder eight years ago, he decides to re-open the case; a controversial move. But DI Bacchus opposes Gently's decision, not least because he worked as a DS on the original investigation and putting mentor and protégé at complete odds.

"Detective Chief Inspector George Gently ... returns to the job six months after he and his sergeant, John Bacchus ... were gravely injured in the line of duty. Both officers appear to be on the mend, physically at least. ... At a time of changing attitudes and values in Britain, Gently and Bacchus are undergoing transitions of their own ... set in 1969"--Container.

Gently evil: Called to a crime scene at a working-class boarding house, Gently and Bacchus find a woman horribly beaten to death, her eyes covered discreetly with a handkerchief. The victim also carried her daughter's birth certificate, with the name of the child's father crossed out and "satan" penciled in. Following this lead, Gently and Bacchus probe the twisted secrets of a family that seems to harbor pure evil. Peace & love: When nuclear submarines...

Gently and Bacchus try to determine the identity of a body found in a wooded area, shot once through the head and then burned beyond recognition. Their only clue is a gold ring inscribed with the name "Wanda" found in the victim's stomach. Adding to the pressure, a disreputable man named Empton from the Criminal Investigation Department's Special Branch befriends Bacchus and takes a peculiar interest in Gently's investigation.

When an adopted baby is snatched from her crib, suspicion initially falls on the birth mother, who may be having second thoughts about giving up her child. But after a ransom demand turns out to be blackmail, Gently turns his attentions closer to home.

Shot down over England and billeted with a kindly farm family during the war, pilot Gunter Schmeikel returns to Northumberland to visit his former captors, now his friends. The joyous reunion turns tragic when Schmeikel's body is fished out of the harbor. Investigating the murder, Gently and Bacchus confront long-simmering anti-German sentiments among the locals and Gunter's coldly arrogant son.