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Jonathan Creek is the genius behind magician Adam Klaus's
stage act. He hides his brilliant mind behind a shaggy unassuming
appearance. But the magic expert and amateur sleuth extraordinaire
turns out to be less successful in his relationship with investigative
crimewriter, Maddy Magellan...
This
collection features all eleven episodes from season one and
two, including the feature length opening episode, The
Wrestler's Tomb. Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
appears as Adam Klaus, the creepy magician who Jonathan Creek
works for. Although Head is replaced in later episodes, he
pulls of a great performance.
Both
Alan Davies and Caroline Quentin are perfect in their respective
roles (in fact writer David Renwick originally wrote the part
of Maddy for Quentin) and
t here isn't a bad episode in this collection. And out of
the lot I only worked out how the murderer vanished in Danse
Macabre and why the murder suspect was telling
the truth in No Trace of Tracy. The rest of the episodes
managed to catch me off guard.
There
is only one two-part episode (The Problem at Gallows Gate)
which is a shame, because all too often the endings to the
episodes seem a little rushed. There is a good mixture of
dark episodes (Jack in the Box and The House of
Monkeys) and 'more bizarre
than grizzly' mysteries (Time Waits for Norman and
The Scented Room).
The
list of recognisable guest stars is another aspect that makes
this collection memorable - most playing against type. Colin
Baker (Doctor Who), Nigel Planer (The Young Ones),
Annette Crosbie (One Foot in the Grave), Simon Day
(The Fast Show), Peter Davison (Doctor Who),
Pippa Heywood (The Brittas Empire), Bob Monkhouse and
Brian Murphy (George and Mildred) all make fantastic
appearances. But of particular merit were the late Bob Monkhouse
and Brian Murphy - both proving that they are both accomplished
actors who can play straight roles.
I
also noticed that, as the episodes progressed, there seemed
to be a pattern as to who was the guilty party. It seemed
to be very common for Jonathan and Maddy to confront a few
people at the conclusion of each episode. And you can almost
bet your life that the guilty party is the one who is in the
room in the background - either because it's their house or
they are there to support the person that we are meant to
think is guilty.
The
only real thing which bothered me was that the Long Hair
and Duffel Coat featurette was on the first disc. It's
just a personal preference, but I prefer extras to be on the
last disc so that I'm not tempted to watch them before I've
watched all the episodes - or completely forgotten that it's
there when I have. Although, by watching this feature early
on, it did mean that I noticed one of the director's cameo
appearances in a few episodes.
This
collection is pure magic.
Amber
Leigh
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£29.98
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