Pie in the Sky

British Exotic Detective series starring Richard Griffiths, originally airing 1994-1997.

Detective Inspector Henry Crabbe is on the cusp of retirement, and looking forward to realising his dream of opening his own restaurant. He's got as far as finding a building and hiring staff when his Pointy-Haired Boss, Assistant Chief Constable Fisher -- who has built his career on capitalizing on Crabbe's successes -- finds a hook by which to drag him back into harness. But, to keep him from getting totally rebellious, Fisher lets him keep the restaurant.

A standard episode has an A Story in which DI Crabbe solves the mystery of the week (which is not Always Murder: this is one quiet English county that doesn't have people dropping like flies) and a B Story in which Chef Crabbe deals with some obstacle to the smooth running of his restaurant. Or vice versa.

The supporting cast includes Crabbe's accountant wife Margaret, who to his continual regret is one of those people who has no interest in food unless they're hungry and then will eat anything; the staff of the restaurant (assistant chef Steve, later Gary, and waitstaff Linda and John, later Nicola and Sally) and Henderson, the market gardener (with a somewhat shady past) who supplies the restaurant. On the policing side there is WPC Sophia Cambridge, who starts out as ACC Fisher's staff driver and gofer, and becomes Crabbe's de facto sidekick because she's the one always sent to drag him away from his restaurant when Fisher needs him. In later seasons, Cambridge transfers to CID and becomes a detective in her own right.

Not to be confused with the 80's children's series of the same name.

This series provides examples of: "Margaret: I'll just feed the chickens. Henry: You just have. Margaret: Then I'll sit and I'll tell them a story!"
 * The Alleged Car: Henderson's van. "As long as you keep it out of third, and you don't try using the lights and the heater at the same time, you'll be fine."
 * Bad Impressionists: One of the restaurant patrons in "Who Only Stand and Wait".
 * Beleaguered Childhood Friend: Nick Spencer in "In the Smoke"
 * Busman's Holiday: "Once a Copper" and "Passion Fruit Fool" both start with Fisher leaving town for the week, and Crabbe looking forward to an opportunity to concentrate on the restaurant, only for a mystery to find him out anyway. "In the Smoke" has Crabbe go away on a holiday from both his jobs, with equal success.
 * Commuting on a Bus: Detective Sergeant Cambridge in the later seasons.
 * The Coroner: The medical examiner in "Who Only Stand and Wait" is a good example of the type.
 * Defictionalization: The building that provided the exterior shots was turned into an actual restaurant after the series ended.
 * Some people maintain that the entire series is Defictionalized from a show by The Comic Strip Presents, about a fictional show combining the best qualities of a murder mystery and a cookery show. Shortly after it aired, Pie In The Sky was pitched, about a partly-retired detective who opens a restaurant and has conversations about such things as the benefits of soaking steak in guinness overnight.
 * Drink Order: Crabbe's is "Gin and tonic; no ice, no slice". He explains in the second episode that he doesn't trust any ice cube that he doesn't know where the water's been, and that too many places now use lemon slices that were pre-sliced in a factory somewhere and shipped to the bar in individual plastic bags; in context, he's clearly bunging it on a bit for his audience, but it's characteristic enough to be his real reason.
 * Exotic Detective
 * Happily Married: Henry and Margaret Crabbe, despite their incompatible attitudes to food.
 * Iconic Item: Crabbe's favourite pepper mill, which he carries with him everywhere.
 * I Need to Go Iron My Dog: In "Passion Fruit Fool", when Margaret wants to give Henry space to talk to their friend Alec, and Henry isn't taking the hint:

""... something in the eyes ... that strange mixture of complete stupidity and naked ambition. I think I'll call you 'Fisher'.""
 * I Never Said It Was Poison: When Crabbe is under suspicion of having been bribed by Hooperman to let him get away, the real culprit reveals himself in this manner.
 * Interrogation by Vandalism: In "A Matter of Taste", Margaret Crabbe is locked up in a cellar after stumbling on a conspiracy to smuggle vintage wines. She proceeds to gain her freedom by breaking the wine collection.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!/Retroactive Recognition: Plenty of scope for this among the guest cast. Crabbe himself was Uncle Monty and is now Uncle Vernon.
 * An amusing near-miss: In the episode "An Innocent Man", the DCI hounding the innocent man of the title is played by Robert Glenister, the real-life brother of DCI Gene Hunt.
 * The Killer Was Left-Handed: Played with in "Who Only Stand and Wait".
 * My Car Hates Me: The kidnapping victim in "Passion Fruit Fool" makes a very creditable escape attempt, right up to the point where she tries to drive off in her abductor's car, which turns out to be an Alleged Car that won't start unless you turn the key just right.
 * Obstructive Bureaucrat: In "A Matter of Taste", the restaurant is beset by one from the local planning office.
 * Pointy-Haired Boss: Assistant Chief Constable Fisher
 * Reassigned to Antarctica: All three members of the Public Duties Squad, or so they'd have you believe. Crabbe was (according to rumor) sent there after his criminal conspiracy with Hooperman with sour; PC Ed Guthrie was (according to him) framed for an accident by his drink-driving superior, and we never hear WPC Jane Morton's version of events (she is rumored to have been involved in an illicit relationship with a high-ranking officer). As Crabbe says, they're all good stories regardless.
 * Retirony: Played with in the first episode. DI Crabbe, counting down the hours to his retirement, gets shot by an escaping criminal mastermind -- in the leg, because Hooperman is the kind of person who prefers his opponents to be alive and know they're beaten.
 * Shoot the Dog: When an old police friend of Crabbe turns out to be corrupt, Cambridge arrests him to spare Crabbe from having to do so.
 * Stalker with a Crush: One of the restaurant's patrons is stalked and abducted by her ex in the episode "Passion Fruit Fool".
 * Stealth Hi Bye: Used by the environmental activist in "Endangered Species" when Crabbe goes to speak to him on his home ground.
 * Terrible Interviewees Montage: When Crabbe is hiring his first assistant chef.
 * Twofer Token Minority: Cambridge (black and female) is an in-story example; Fisher indicates at one point that he picked her for his staff because it make his equal-opportunity-employer cred look good.
 * Two Lines, No Waiting
 * The Unfavourite: In the episode with the work experience student, he's the un-favourite of his family.
 * Unsatisfiable Customer: In "An Innocent Man", which showcases some of the restaurant's regular customers, there's a man who puts on wine-snob airs and always finds a reason to reject the first bottle of wine recommended to him by the waiter. By the end of the episode, he's been banned from the restaurant.
 * We Named the Monkey "Jack": Crabbe buys a flock of chickens to provide fresh eggs for the restaurant, and decides there's something familiar about the rooster:


 * Wicked Cultured: Dudley Hooperman, Crabbe's opponent at the beginning of the series, is suave, well-dressed, and as big a foodie as Crabbe is.
 * Your Television Hates You: In the first episode, there's a scene where the television is turned on to a press conference being given by ACC Fisher. What he says isn't meaningful to the plot (or indeed at all, being a fine example of PR platitude-speak), but it metaphorically represents that Fisher is haunting Crabbe's thoughts at this point.