The BBC has come up with one of those adorable sleuth pairings again, that sort of virtual wine-and-cheese combo that is simply irresistible to their PBS audience—or at least, to me and my susceptible lady friends.
See, we have (1) a VERRA HANDSOME young vicar—and you are to consider that unlike, say, Father Brown and his Catholic colleagues, an Anglican priest not only can marry but is heartily encouraged to do so. So, lovely young ladies abound and our charmant Rev. Sidney Chambers is nothing loath to pitch woo in between sessions of sleuthing with—(2) the handsome and yet GRUMPY police chief. They play backgammon together at the pub, while downing pints of that dark British beer that Lawrence loved so much. They discuss the Crime, and our Sidney has creative insights–which I must say all seem very similar, having to do with a fortuitous comment or note that suddenly explains some salient point in a suicide note/overheard dialogue/witness statement. Which is, luckily, always correct, and only 2 of them are needed per crime to bring us to a solution and an arrest.
And meanwhile the Handsome Cleric is breaking his heart over the gorgeous dark girl—who can’t marry him because—oh, I forget why–but she is sad about it, and so she gives him a puppy—stands to reason, no? But now, we have an impossibly handsome fellow WITH A VERY CUTE PUPPY. The ravished lady viewers are swooning on the spot.
It is set in lovely countryside, across which the beauteous vicar is always madly bicycling at a great pace—exhibiting his elegant figure to good effect. And, it is set in the 50’s , so everyone is smoking and drinking which adds that sinful frisson so important in British detective series—but, none of the horrid blood and gore that blights the darker more modern series.
Not that I CARE, of course, but apparently there will be a second series, should one happen to have watched all of the first series.
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