Dennis Waterman as Terry McCann, ex-boxer and ex-con, who now works as a bodyguard (Minder). Initial idea was that he'd have many bosses, but the series keeps him with Arthur Daley (George Cole), a dodgy car dealer and businessman. Other regulars are Dave, the barman of the pair's club, the various policemen who are out to jail Arthur (Patrick Malahide, Peter Childs, Nicholas Day, Jim Carter) and the junior police who are more sympathetic to Terry (Meic Povey, Michael Troughton, Stephen Tompkinson, Jonty Stephens), and eventually Arthur's nephew Ray, who replaces Terry. 10 seasons, not counting the 2000s reboot.
Shetland was always good, but ironically improved vastly once they moved past the author's original material in series 3 and came up with their own cases. With Series 3 and the (currently airing) Series 4, I would call it one of the best detective shows in recent memory. Every time I try to nitpick about it, I found myself saying "Yes, but it's so well-balanced!" And it is. The current format of 1 case taking up 6 episodes is just perfect.
A friend told me about it, and I thought "Hey, why not? At least I'll see some nice scenery. Even if it's not really believable that there's a lot of crime in a place like that." I was very impressed by it. And the thing is, it improves with every season. The cases keep you guessing. There's a good balance of dark and light. DI Peres is good but he's not a superman. There's moral ambiguity. There's family and friendship. It's addictive as hell and I can't figure out exactly why. It's just.....like I said, so well-balanced. I really hope there's more after Series 4.
I'm re watching Morse and he's seems to be a lot more grumpy and sexist in the 1980s than he was in the 1960s.
People tend to be grumpier, less open-minded and more set in their ways when they're older, so it kinda makes sense.
I'll give another vote for Lewis. One of the biggest attractions for me and my daughters is the interaction between Lewis and his DS Hathaway -- the "average copper" with good insights and his quiet Cambridge-educated sergeant. Perhaps even greater differences than between Lewis and Morse. And the sparks with the recurring police pathologist are enjoyable, too. Colin Dexter, author of the Morse novels, appeared in a couple of episodes, I believe. An 80s-vintage ITV show I have a soft spot for is Dempsey and Makepeace. More cop show than detective series. A tough NY cop uncovers high police corruption, so he's placed in a police exchange program & sent to London. He's paired w/ an officer who is also a crack shot noblewoman. Think The Odd Couple meets Starsky and Hutch. Lots of action, the cultural, social, and sexual tension you'd expect, but also a lot of fun as I recall. Only ran a little less than two years.
Just ignore some of the contradiction s between the two series Endeavor has morse as a DS in the late 60s where as a Morse episode from 96 he talks about a case soon after he made detective sergeant 16 years before. And when you reach "Death is now my neighbou" will feature a very familiar face.
Spoiler: Spoiler for season finale You're quite right that the Chief Constable couldn't have done the shooting himself. However, when Morse visited his home it came across like one of those confrontations that the police officer has with the culprit when they unmask them and the Chief Constable's reaction as he poured the drinks while Morse told him the news about the bullets just stank of guilt
If you don't mind parody A Touch of Cloth, though it might ruin every other detective show for you. Vexed was fun. No Offence and Babylon I've heard are good. Agatha Raisin currently has 9 episodes but an American streaming service just picked it up for a second season.
My first experience with No Offence didn't take, but I've since seen both the first and second series and thought it was quite well done. Babylon (if I'm thinking of the right one) was rather fun. I think A Touch of Cloth went a little over the top for my style. I also seem to remember a one and done series called Cuffs(Mostly about the Uniform branch) set in Brighton and I enjoyed that. It's probably not easy to find anywhere now though. Could also try Scott and Bailey?
Along the lines of Ripper Street, Netflix has The Frankenstein Chronicles, which I just started watching. Set in 1820's London and starring Sean Bean as a detective. And no, he doesn't die in the first episode Really liking it so far. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frankenstein_Chronicles I liked the first two seasons of Ripper Street the best. Afterwards, it seemed to become less about crimes and more about interpersonal drama and had become less interesting to me. But it was a really nice touch during the final episode to refer to the ripper murders to tie it back into its namesake. If you're willing to step out of the wheelhouse a bit, Canada has Murdoch Mysteries set in Victorian-era Toronto, with the Chief inspector hailing from Scotland. Three original movies feature Colm Meaney as the Chief Inspector, but are otherwise completely different to the TV series.
I'm a huge fan of Luther, Idris Elba is magnetic in the series. Another series I'm enjoying but the narrative doesn't add up well is Marcella. She's a detective who left the job because of the strain; after a harsh divorce she comes back, but like Bruce Banner when her heart rate goes up and she's angry she gets black outs... when she comes to; she finds herself in the aftermath of her rage. Really gripping stuff. Broadchurch is another interesting detective series as well. I would like to add just one more which kinda like a detective series but its more like a crime drama, it's called Happy Valley. All of these shows on streaming on Netflix.
You forgot to mention that Dennis Waterman wrote the 'feme tune and sang the 'feme tune... And now I'm going to have "I could be so good for you..." running through my head all afternoon. Actually if people like Minder it'd probably be worth seeking out Boon as well as they're kinda similar