Jonathan Creek: Series I, II and III (1997-2000)
S1: Pilot, approx 90 mins + 5 episodes, approx 60 mins each |
S2: 6 episodes, approx 50 mins each | S3: 6 episodes, approx 50 mins each
His knowledge of stage magic, or rather his understanding of what it takes to create the perfect illusion, enables him to take available clues from a crime scene and work backwards.
He assesses the impossible without ever dismissing the implausible. In a sense, the show is less of a traditional 'whodunnit' and more of a 'howdunnit' in which every episode keeps you guessing right up to the inevitable reveal.
It's not all death and murder, though. There's also a lot of comedy, much of which revolves around Jonathan's relationship with his partner in crime-solving, the female writer/investigative reporter Maddie Magellan (Caroline Quentin). He's the reserved, quiet sort, whereas she's the bold, outgoing kind. As the show progresses their relationship deepens and they spend more and more time under each other's feet, and on each other's couch!
An ongoing sexual tension would be too much of a cliché. Instead, Maddie just wants to bang Jonathan to within an inch of his nerdy life. It's not because he's dashingly handsome - it's because she likes a challenge, too. I'm not suggesting the show is free of all clichés. It certainly isn't, the murder in a locked room scenario pops up often and becomes a kind of running joke, and it even relies on a few others of its own making, but it at least tries to balance them out.
Every great TV detective needs an equally great mood-setting theme tune. JC uses a slightly more fickle arrangement of French composer Camille Saint-Saëns' wonderful Danse Macabre. It's the perfect accompaniment to the show's clever but fatuous nature.
If you've time, stick around after the credits roll on the pilot for a scene that isn't important to the actual murder story but is relevant to something else.
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