Silver Spring, MD —Acorn Media announces the January 20, 2009 DVD release of The Last Detective: Complete Collection, offering all 17 episodes of the hit British detective series in a discounted collector’s set. Though never broadcast in the U.S., the series remains a perennial top-seller on DVD, with each new installment performing better than the last. Each contemporary mystery rewards the viewer with a light-hearted blend of mystery and comedy from North London’s most doggedly unglamorous detective.

Detective “Dangerous” Davies (Peter Davison, All Creatures Great and Small, Dr. Who, At Home with the Braithwaites) may be the last man his boss wants for a big case, but his old-fashioned decency and dogged determination have won him legions of loyal fans on DVD. Akin to Poirot and Midsomer Murders, The Last Detective is an addictive British mystery series with a literary pedigree, superb casts, and sublimely witty scripts.

Dangerous Davies always gets the cases no one else wants—and no one notices when he eventually succeeds. Mocked by colleagues at his small London police station and estranged from his wife, he actually listens to advice from his kooky chum Mod (comedian Sean Hughes, The Commitments). Still, Dangerous manages to make connections that the slicker cops miss and shows that underdogs do have their day.

Based on the bestselling Dangerous Davies novels by Leslie Thomas, The Last Detective premiered in the U.K in 2003 and ran for four series ending in 2007.

Guest stars include The Who’s Roger Daltrey, Julia McKenzie (new Miss Marple), David Threlfall (Housewife, 49), Leslie Phillips (Chancer), Kenneth Cranham (Rome), Celia Imrie (Dinnerladies), and Toby Jones (W, Infamous).

BONUS PROGRAM: Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective, the 1981 movie starring Bernard Cribbins that tells the same story as series pilot.

Special Features: Interview with Peter Davison, Leslie Thomas bio and booklist, photo galleries, and cast filmographies.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media distributes distinctive home video releases to the North American market with a special focus on the best of British television. Acorn’s DVD sets are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn Media at (888) 870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.