'Death at the Opera' was the first episode of the regular series, and was first broadcast on 16 January 2000.
It sees Mrs Bradley return to her old school, the Hadleigh Heights Academy for Young Ladies, to deliver the
annual lecture. However, one of the teachers dies mysteriously during a student performance of 'The Mikado', 
and although it seems to be a simple case of heart failure, the police are called in when the deputy principal
is found gassed to death in the school's kitchen. As with all British mystery dramas, there are a number of 
suspects, including the music teacher, Max Valentine (played by David Tennant). Mrs Bradley's suspicions
about Valentine deepen when she discovers that he is working at the school under an assumed name, and
that he had been implicated in a series of robberies in Venice. Inspector Christmas (Peter Davison) thinks
the second death was a simple case of suicide, but Mrs Bradley is not convinced, and soon discovers the
killer, while Valentine reveals that he is the illegitimate son of the principal, Mrs Simms.

The  verdict: 'The Mrs Bradley Mysteries' is an interesting crime/drama series that is very compelling. 
Being a BBC period series it pays close attention to the clothing and fashions of the era, while the casting 
of Diana Rigg as Mrs Bradley and Neil Dudgeon as George Moody are inspired. Indeed, Diana Rigg proves that
age has not diminished her acting skills and she is still a pleasure to watch as much as she was during her 
years on 'The Avengers'. While the series is similar to the Miss Marple ones in terms of the premise, the
producers quite wisely opted to avoid direct comparisons by injecting a lot of humour into the show, while Mrs
Bradley frequently talks directly to the camera with her wry observations. While the series is more lightweight 
than many British crime offerings, it is well worth a look and should please fans of the genre.