Dr Jacques COULARDEAU This series is in the English tradition of the « independent » investigator who helps the police solve some bad criminal cases essentially with their mind power and their observation power. The great model of them all is Sherlock Holmes but many more were invented and developed in detective story literature, especially female specimens like those of Agatha Christie. In this case the main mind, Jonathan Creek, is associated to a woman who is a reporter or writer of some kind. They are only interested in complex cases, especially having to do with some surreal or super-real elements. Jonathan Creek is by profession the technical inventor of a very successful magician, a certain Adam Klaus. So there is always the disappearing of a criminal or of some artifact, or some illusion that has to be placed back in context, and that cannot be explained at all with normal physical considerations. In other words magic. Then the stories always add a personal element about the victims and the people around the victims that is strange too and has to do with some kind of mysterious business often shown as a scam. The object here is to show that most "magicians" are nothing but crooks who pretend they are performing something supernatural, only when they are performing a sham, an illusion, a treacherous dishonest act. The stories are extremely inventive and the situation in which Jonathan Creek and his female associate finds themselves are often hairy and frightening. Generally it ends up in the hands of the police except from time to time when they decide it is worth a special treatment. The second Christmas special is typical at that level. Satan's Chimney really is Satan's Chimney. Of course not the Satan you may think of, but quite a different one that has not been living since the Middle Ages, but one of blood and flesh today. That Satan is so perverted that he leads some people into doing some so unnatural things that the name of Satan is by far miles away from his reality. The second quality of this series is that, being a BBC production, it has no advertising and an hour is an hour. I must say that is slightly different from the one hour American series that are reduced to a small 45 minutes, when so much, because of the advertising that is interspersed in the show. The extra fifteen minutes gives the story some depth because they just have the time to build that depth and there is only one enigma in each episode which makes it possible to concentrate on the details, and that once again is a major difference with American series in the field, today imitated by some European series, particularly French series. That's definitely a positive point. If you add to that the acting that is perfect, even at times more than perfect you nearly have a totally admirable picture. But in fact there is another essential element that is 100% British. It is humour (note the spelling of course). At times it is gross, at times it is subtle, or sexual, or political, or whatever but it is humour all right and it gives the series a catching look that you cannot miss. You laugh in the midst of the worst details of the worst crimes you can imagine. Finally we will note the police is practically always shown under a non-negative light, often positive, and some times not too swift. There is a nasty copper from time to time just to spice up the vision. This series is worth the numerous hours it covers at least 1,000%.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

merlin-105 Reading all the raves about this series makes me feel like I dropped into the Twilight Zone. My husband and I watched a couple of episodes, an early one and then, just for the benefit of doubt, a later one. Both episodes felt like a high school production, only less creative. There were some occasionally witty lines in in the otherwise amateurish dialogue, but the actors inevitably drop the few funny bits like so much litter. The lead actor has moments here and there where one senses he could actually be a character, but there is zero chemistry between him and the woman "investigative journalist", who has no credibility from her very first line. But I blame the director who seems to have a negative sense of comedic timing. As for the plots, "laughable" doesn't apply, because they are just not funny. It's not that the style is crude -- crude, taken far enough, would have been more interesting! So why do apparently so many people -- Brits! -- think this series is the best thing since Starbucks Eggnog Latte? Am I blind to the Zeitgeist? Am I taking the wrong drugs? Am I stuck too far in the past? Or did I indeed stumble into the Twilight Zone?

elsiewagon Can't they do a Johnathon Creek special like they did for The Office? They can't leave it so open-ended! I want Jonathon and Maddy to ride off into the sunset together!! I need closure and I need it now!!! * NOTE: They have book tours in England, why can't Maddy just suddenly show up for a book tour and meet up with Jonathon--then they can get things together, finally, so I can stop watching the old episodes crying in despair (lol) that it will all 'end badly'--I think that the ABFAB kid is okay but she doesn't have the on-screen chemistry with Alan Davies (going out or not) That Caroline Quentin had with him. So her leaving the acting world shouldn't put a damper on the plans...and I'm just babbling on so I can fill the ten line requirement.

A Jay I have to say that I really enjoy this series, but I did prefer Caroline Quentin to Julia Sawalha. Quentin could just deliver a better comedy performance and was less stilted. Not to criticise Sawalha's performance though, she was still a brilliant sidekick for Jonathan.The basic premise of the series is that magicians assistant Jonathan Creek and in the first 3 series writer Maddy Magellan are invited to solve seemingly impossible murders and crimes. Jonathan uses his skills of logic to determine exactly what happened, and it is usually the most complex set of incidents. What makes the series so good is the comedy moments. Quentin and Davies are the perfect coupling. My favourite episode would have to be "Ghost's Forge". It is brilliantly written, and has a twist where Maddy gets her own back on Jonathan and leaves him with a mystery to solve. The shocking twist at the end though where the mystery is solved was a great case of misdirection. Personally I think it could survive another couple of specials and a series, but much more and the stories will start to dry up and it would lose it's edge. It would be great if a series was made for this year then Caroline Quentin could return for a one-off Christmas special and then put an end to the series, it would be able to go out on a high that way.Overall I would say this is a fantastic series, but a warning to the writers, you can have too much of a good thing!!