pawebster

...but that's not saying a lot. It might not to so bad if we couldn't compare it on YouTube with episode 1 of the 1991 Anglia TV version (sadly only that one episode). This is of such low quality in comparison. For one thing it's more cheaply made with about a third of the cast, according to IMDB. That was set in the P D James setting of Norfolk with local accents and atmosphere. Now we have moved to an unconvincing generic location which is described af Kent. (If it was really Kent, Dungeness would have been the place to set it.) Roy Marsden was a slightly sad but also human and likeable Dalgliesh. Bertie Carvel's is mainly just grim and glum. Now we have goodies and baddies, much like in a children's story. Back then there was actual nuance. Take for instance the caravan-dwelling protesters, Neil and Amy. Now they are just angry caricatures. In 1991, Robert Hines and Nicola Cowper included a gentle, touching, human quality to the roles. There was Gemma Craven and Suzanna York and various other excellent actors of the period. Nuff said. Why did they bother with this inferior remake?

This was an adaptation we didn't need. It had been pretty well done in 2003 with Martin Shaw as Dalgleish and Robert Hardy was great value, as always. Jesse Spencer shone as the troubled ordinand. The college was on the edge of a dangerous cliff by the sea. The adaptation stayed close to the book, which had only recently come out. The cast was twice the size of this rather cut-price version. There is very little atmosphere at all - the college is deserted for one thing - it's the holidays - with literally no one there apart from the small group of suspects. Just about every character is unpleasant. There is no one to root for. Have they forgotten it's meant to be entertaining? Bertie C is just terrible as Dalgleish. He has pretty much reduced the character down to grim and miserable austerity. He is boring. Roy Marsden was by far the best Dalgleish, because, for one thing, he added just a touch of human warmth. Martin Shaw was physically a bit ox-like, which he couldn't help, but otherwise OK. The sidekick, played by Alistair Brammer, is boring as well. To be charitable, the part as written probably gives him little chance to be anything else. As I write, I'm waiting to see what they do with Devices and Desires, which also was good in its previous incarnation.

I really enjoyed this, but I'm glad I watched it on BBC iPlayer, as it meant I could stop, start and go back a bit to check things I might have missed. You really need your wits about you with the different timelines and actors playing two roles. That was a fun aspect of the series. What wasn't so much fun was Susan's private life and her completely irrelevant sister and nephew. Crete provided some pretty pictures and it meant they got some funding from the Greek government, but it was also unnecessary. This should really have been a four-part serial. There was no need for six episodes. Horowitz is a clever man and the plot - while not totally convincing (others have spotted holes) is full of interesting touches. On a more mundane level, there are some anachronisms, such as "gotten" in the mouth of an 1950s' character. Also the fact that Ireland was used to stand in for England shows through at times - most crassly in the form of a bright yellow "road narrows" sign (Ireland has American-style road signs). The fact that it was Ireland was probably the reason that Susan was mostly seen driving down unmarked single-track roads. Other roads would have had markings and street furniture that gave away the true location.