Jonathan Creek: The Grinning Man

[poliphilo]

I love a locked room mystery- and this was a good one.

I miss Caroline Quentin. Did she leave under a cloud or something?  Creek's line last night about "Carla and the other one" seemed distinctly ungenerous. She and Davies were a great Holmes and Watson act.

I miss Anthony Head too. The guy who took over as the oily magician is- well- just too oily.

Two hours was too long. I mean, that's half an hour longer than a regular, old-style, feature film. The subplot- about Mr Oily and the pneumatic porn actress was very broad-brush- and it was hard to see why it was there except as padding. Creek is fluff- and you don't need fluff to last two hours.

Sheridan Smith is fun. I'd be very happy if Renwick were to write more episodes- and she stayed on board.

Comments

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of problems with Jonathan Creek. I so want to like it, but I find the mix of genuine horror and Benny Hill style humour very hard to cope with. It just doesn't work for me. If it's fluff, then the horror is too horrible and if it's horror, then the fluff just doesn't belong.

As to the oily magician, he's the same chap he always was isn't he? (Checks on Wikipedia) Fancy that! I honestly don't remember Anthony Head being in it, but I see that he played Adam Klaus (the oily magician) in the very first episode in 1997. That was the only episode though so I only remember the newer chap in the role.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't have a problem mixing laffs and horror- just so long as it's well done. Last night the mystery/horror elements were excellent, but the laffs misfired.

I'm surprised to find Anthony Head only did the one show. I thought he'd been around for at least a season.

[shullie.livejournal.com]

i actually really enjoyed it... though I agree was a tad to long... but I do hope there is a new series in the making!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Me too. It's one of my favourite shows.

[silverhawkdruid.livejournal.com]

Aww, I could sit and watch Jonathan Creek for hours! It could never be too long for me. I loved last night's episode. One of the best, I thought, and am praying to the gods of TV entertainment and the writer's guild to please, please, please make loads more episodes! LOL
Gee, I've missed him and his gal pals! I think Caroline just wanted to concentrate on her real family. I do miss her though.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I thought last night's wizard wheeze- the room from which people disappear- was absolutely first rate. I've always been a big fan of the "impossible" crime.

[silverhawkdruid.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I never saw that coming! Great stuff! I love these types of stories too.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I used to be a big fan of the mystery writer John Dickson Carr aka Carter Dickson. He was the master of this sort of thing.

[goddlefrood.livejournal.com]

This was the very first Creek I'd seen, seeing as I've been out of the country so long (am actually currently in it and anticipating a visit to Manchester in the next few days). 'Twas reasonably light, but entertaining fare. Judging from IMDB, I don't think a revival is planned.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You might like to check out earlier episodes on DVD. The show was at its best when Caroline Quentin was on board.

[(Anonymous)]

Loved the addition of Sheridan Smith as Joey Ross. This versatile young actress was ideal as the new side-kick,..she brought lots of energy and fun to the role, and was a great complement to Creek's laid-back style of investigating. The storyline had them reluctantly thrown together at the start, but the excellent acting convinced us of the characters' growing respect for each other's sleuthing skills. I really hope that this new partnership leads to a new series!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I hope there'll be more shows. There's nothing else quite like Jonathan Creek.

And I agree about Sheridan Smith.