That phrase isn't always an oxymoron, just usually. A fine British drama about a seaside town policeman Foyle, who against the backdrop of early WW2, is left behind to fight plain vanilla law and order. Excellent, excellent excellent accomplishment on all fronts. Michael Kitchen does the brooding intensity bit quite well. The extreme close ups of the cool-blue eyes, and his unemotional but very sharp one-liners make for both an extremely effective and likable pro-tag. Like all good TV series, Foyle too has a marvelous supporting cast. But i think the true credit here has to go the writing for some very imaginative non-tiring stories. Like all of these modern quasi whodunits however, Foyle's War withholds from the audience some if not most of the requisite tools needed to solve the crime, no surprise there. And like all series good and bad, the general theme lacks subtlety and is too clearly repetitive. Foyle every week has a crime usually murder to solve, that is somehow entangled in the war effort, very cool idea. But, it also usually involves either the aristocracy or military or both, as the ultimate culprit. Hardly a unique phenomenon in modern entertainment, this posturing is evident in most outlets for viewers, c'est la vie I suppose. Foyle is so well done, that even I can overlook the commie claptrap and strongly recommend it to weary viewers tired of the usual rubbish we are force fed here in America. Foyle is most certainly a cut above most.