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The
Wainthropp Agency, having garnered a glowing reputation, now
has many varied cases including Satanist pyromaniacs, a stalking
paparazzo-style photographer, a string of racist restaurant
robberies and drug possession in Hetty's nephew's school.
Hetty isn't in it for the money, as she finds solving problems
and helping other people reward enough...
Hetty
Wainthropp Investigates, based on the novels by David
Cook, follows a great English tradition of eccentric female
characters which solve murder mysteries. Like her forbearer,
Miss Marple, Hetty takes her little notebook and her odd English
affectations and tries to help people, in the depths of Lancashire,
whose lives have taken a turn for the worst. This quasi-humorous
show stars Patricia Routledge, whose previous series for television
had been Keeping up Appearances and Talking Heads.
For sidekicks, and every hero needs one, Hetty had her dependable
and lazy husband Robert, played by the excellently laconic
Derek Benfield, and Dominic Monaghan, who plays the ever enthusiastic
Geoffrey, who has subsequently found fame and fortune in The
Lord of the Rings and Lost.
By now in the series John Graham-Davies had become a regular
as D.C.I. Adams, appearing in sixteen of the episodes of the
show's four year run. To add to the ensemble feeling Suzanne
Maddock also has a recurring role as Janet Fraser.
The
three discs in this set represent the entirety of series three,
which only consist of nine episodes - three more that the
second
series - and originally ran between November 1997
and January 1998. Each disc is presented in the original stereo
and, for the most part, the picture is clear, if a little
soft. Extras are better than on Series Two with the
option for subtitles, some filmographies, a picture gallery
and cast interviews, on disc one, and nothing in the way of
extras on disc two and three.
The
first disc contains the first three episodes All Stitched
Up, Daughter of the Regiment and Serving the
Community.
All
Stitched Up sees our Lancashire lass going under cover
in a sewing circle to discover the truth behind a pyromaniac,
who is terrorising his local community.
Daughter
of the Regiment is a case of be careful what you ask for
as Hetty goes under cover as an Australian to discover why
a wealthy woman's daughter and fiancé are being followed by
a photographer.
In
Serving the Community Robert complicates Hetty's life
when he becomes an unfortunate receiver of stolen goods which
is connected to a case involving the targeting of the local
Asian community for robbery.
Part
of what makes Hetty so good, apart from the directors,
was that the show employed a good number of well seasoned
writers who where used to working in the detective genre.
Most notable is Brian Finch, who wrote the second story and
had worked extensively on Bergerac, and Philip Martin,
who wrote the last story on this disc, who had penned the
most excellent Gangsters - now there's a show crying
out for a re-release, if only from me. This level of writing
held up across all four series and goes a long way to account
for the show's longevity, in people's minds, long after the
last episode was aired.
Ok,
so on to disc two and more mayhem in the Lancashire countryside.
This disc contains the episodes Fisticuffs, Childsplay
and Pursuit by Proxy.
Fisticuffs
sets up an odd situation. When following a car accident, the
perpetrator not only leaves the scene of the accident but
also punches the victim first, for good measure. It's a mystery
and if there is one thing Hetty loves it's a mystery.
Childsplay,
and problems have come way too close to home, when Hetty's
nephew is excluded from school over drugs. Hetty is having
none of this and comes over all Dinnerladies as she
infiltrates the school to prove his innocence.
Pursuit by Proxy sees husband Robert head off to Australia
on a freebee to be replaced by his brother Frank (played by
Frank Mills). This one involves more white collar shenanigans
as Hetty tracks down a company director who has done a bunk
with all the money.
Now, you must be thinking that this all seems a bit samey,
and if truth were told it is, but in this type of show it
is often the audiences familiarity with the characters which
make them come back time and again. This is true of the show,
where the cast turns in their characterisations with such
easy aplomb that watching the show is like revisiting old
friends.
Ok,
so we're on the last leg with the final three episodes, A
Minor Operation, Helping Hansi and How Time
Flies.
A Minor Operation and Frank has his feet under the
table, becoming a regular character, which gives the writers
a whole other character to play with. Frank is, obviously,
destined to add to the comic relief as he gets himself involved
with a woman with amour on her mind. Hetty meanwhile is exposing
a theft ring run by nurses.
Helping
Hansi finds the gang trying to help out an elderly German
gentleman who lost track of his family in the war. Unfortunately,
others of his generation seem to have some problem moving
on from the war and Hansi is targeted as a Nazi.
Last
episode in the third series is How Time Flies. Hetty
has to unravel the connection between an unhappy marriage
and a stolen clock.
So, there you have it, good old fashioned Sunday afternoon
fare, resplendent with strong writing, direction and acting.
The picture obviously points to the show's age. It's not too
bad but then again it's not great. Still, you quickly get
over this as Hetty drags you into another mystery. Time to
sit down with a cup of tea and a slice of cake to see if we
can work out whodunit.
Charles
Packer
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