Dalziel & Pascoe, Season 3 (BBC-DVD-1998)
This Brit detective series, which lasted from 1996-2007 (a more-than-decent run for any detective show), continues to be released, season-by-season, on DVD. Season 3 (originally aired in 1998) consists of only four 90-minute episodes.
The pairing up of an irascible street-trained Yorkshire Detective Superintendent, Andy Dalziel (a loveable Warren Clark), with a younger, university-trained partner (serious Colin Buchanan) was reasonably old-hat even then (INSPECTOR MORSE had set that standard, followed by MIDSOMER MURDERS, still going strong) but it works dramatically. Older/younger, different approaches to solving crime, personal private differences, all add up to minor strains in the relationship, but not enough to interfere with crime solving.
Episode one of this season’s offerings, “Under World,” explores racism when the body of a ten-year-murdered South Asian young fellow is discovered, opening up various avenues to possible criminals, including smugglers. Amid personal grievances uncovered, some townsfolk give themselves over to tragic results as some in the community decide to take matters into their own hands. The writing by Michael Chaplin (as all the episodes are, from Reginald Hill’s novels) is crisp and the direction of David Wheatley keeps the episode moving quickly, with the violence kept gratefully off-screen.
Episode two, “Child’s Play,” again written by Michael Chaplin, finds old mysteries opened up when a local dowager dies and at her funeral comes a man claiming to be her long-thought-lost-at-war son, now named Alessandro Pontelli (Jack Hedley), who stands to inherit a tidy fortune. But when he is murdered, casting doubt on other survivors, Dalziel and Buchanan, ably assisted by Detective Sergeant Edgar Wield (David Royle, my favorite actor of the series), must clear up who did what to whom, when they did it, and why. Margaret Tyzack is the old nanny, Ella Keech, and a welcome sight is she, indeed – one of Britain’s great older actresses. The mystery is clever and involving.
Episode three, “Bones and Silence,” written by Alan Plater, and directed by Maurice Phillips, finds Dalziel (pronounced Dee-all) countering what looks conclusively to be a suicide as he searches for the murderer. Michael Kitchen, pre-FOYLE’S WAR, is his usual brilliance in this episode. Being friends with the deceased, we get to see more of Pascoe’s wife, Ellie (Susannah Corbett of the deep-seated eyes and the intelligence that shines through them). Also in this episode, Det. Sgt. Wield, is allowed to come out as a gay man, lonely in his closet, a mature choice for this show.
Episode four, “The Wood Beyond,” written by Ed Whitmore and directed by Edward Bennett, animal-rights activists are implicated in a murder and Pascoe has family problems. But it lacks crispness and cohesion, an odd slip of the series.
This show is for lovers of smart writing and character-conflicts. It’s not terribly amusing, as such, but Clarke has personality-plus and has been a personal favorite since the early ’70s.