Best written little sitcom in years. I really would like to see season 4 in the future.

Gentle, sweet, and warmly executed. From the writing to the acting, the photography to the music it is top notch in every respect. Perhaps my favorite television series!

I tried this show when it was first seen on BBC Four, to be honest, I was mainly attracted to it by the fact that Mackenzie Crook was acting, directing and writing, and I knew that metal detection is a big hobby in Britain, so why not make a joke out of it, it is one of those oh so simple but oh so fantastic ideas for a sitcom. Basically in the small town of Danebury in northern Essex, Andy Stone (Mackenzie Crook) is an agency worker with an interest in archaeology, and Lance Stater (BAFTA nominated Toby Jones) is a forklift truck driver and amateur musician. Andy and Lance are good friends, and they are members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club (DMDC), an exclusive club for many eccentric detectorists, characters who have an interest in metal detecting. Andy and Lance, besides being with their girlfriends and getting on with their normal work, spend a lot of their time walking across the countryside, the ploughed fields and open fields, with their metal detectors. They always hope to find something made of metal that is rare, interesting, or obviously really valuable, but most of the time they find disposed items, such as ring pulls, nails and screws, toys, cutlery, stationary, inexpensive jewellery, and a controversial Jim'll Fix It "Jim Fixed It for Me" medal. Andy and Lance are also often competing with rival detectorists Art (Simon Farnaby) and Paul (Paul Casar), mockingly nicknamed Simon & Garfunkel, who are not only encroaching on their patch, but constantly changing their name, which include The Antiquisearchers, The Dirt Sharks and Terra Firma. What Andy and Lance are really hoping to find is treasure, specifically a collection of highly valuable ancient coins, believed to be buried beneath the fields they often scour, there are many times throughout the series that they come close to finding one or all the coins, either just beneath their feet, or in a tree snatched by magpies. Also starring Rachael Stirling as Becky, Gerard Horan as Terry, Pearce Quigley as Quigley, Russell, Divian Ladwa as Hugh, Laura Checkley as Louise, Sophie Thompson as Sheila, Orion Ben as Varde, Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Sophie, Alexa Davies as Kate, EastEnders' Lucy Benjamin as Maggie, Dame Diana Rigg as Veronica, Adam Riches as Tony, Tim Key as Tim, Kenneth Collard as the Mayor, Linda Lusardi, Kevin Bishop as Kelvin and Kevin Eldon as Auctioneer. Crook does a great job writing and directing a surprisingly witty show, and he is good acting as an eccentric as well, Jones is equally fantastic as the more eccentric man who has all the facts about every find. It is admittedly a show with a very slow pace, but that is obviously part of the joke, it is all about the interactions between the characters, mostly the main double-act, the humorous subjects of conversations, and obviously their pointless unearthed finds, the search for treasure is a good running trend, it is also worth mentioning the likeable theme tune by Johnny Flynn, a delightful situation comedy. It won the BAFTA for Best Scripted Comedy. Very good!

Like a great wine this has improved with each season, we are now part way through season 3 and I continue to sit waiting each episode with eager anticipation, its entertainment as it used to be with every actor performing to the enth degree. Subtle humour with many enjoyable plot threads and beautiful scenery.