It's Da Vinci's Seventh, Eh!

If you get Canada's CBC network, the seventh season of the gritty, much-honored crime drama Da Vinci's Inquest premieres at 9 P.M. Tuesday. Da Vinci's Inquest centers on obdurate Vancouver coroner Dominic Da Vinci (played by ace vet Nicholas Campbell) as he investigates deaths and, through the coroner's office, tries to improve the city, particularly Vancouver's downtown east side. Last season saw Da Vinci wrangle to create a safe injection site for IV drug users while investigating police abuses and waging a tooth-and-nail back room campaign to become chief of police. Will Da Vinci become top cop, take a run at elected office, or maybe get kicked out of the coroner's service? Da Vinci's ongoing stories and characters should get full treatment, too: expect more of the hyperkinetically crooked vice cop Brian Curtis (deliciously played by Colin Cunningham) and the angle-playing teen prostitute/police informant Sue (Ginger Snaps' Emily Perkins), plus new complications for the ever-growing circles of new characters and outstanding series regulars. If you receive CBC, Da Vinci's Inquest is more than worth a look: each season, they've raised the bar with innovative writing, strong performances, unique characters, and unsentimental yet always-human stories. This is no formula-driven CSI or Law & Order franchise: on Da Vinci's Inquest , shit happens, and it'll bite you in the ass if you aren't careful.