I can only surmise that people mark this low on scores because it is in black & white rather than colour, but until I know better it is just that. The series while not fantastic it has a great feel to it, creating flavour and immersion with interesting portrayals, which are well acted by main cast, with recognisable guest spots from old players. The stories provide some variety of location, some in Paris, and others around the north, west and northwest of France. The strength of the best stories comes with unusual happenstance, unexpected characters acting against type or from the main character being a fish out of water. Although many versions have been made of Maigret, and I've watched quite a few this one will be the benchmark purely from the number of stories handled independently. My experience will likely be a sense of loss once I've finished them, and this indicates perhaps a higher value than merely good(7). There are a few episodes that did score an 8, but nothing higher. There were also a few sixes. The inconsistency I suppose derives from a faithfulness to the books.