Jonathan Creek
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Creek is a British
mystery series produced by the BBC
and written by David Renwick
. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches. It stars Alan Davies
as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a magician while also solving seemingly supernatural mysteries through his talent for logical deduction and knowledge of illusionism.
The series ran semi-regularly from 1997 to 2004, airing four series and two Christmas specials, initially co-starring Caroline Quentin
as Creek's collaborator, writer Maddie Magellan. After Quentin's departure in 2001, Julia Sawalha
joined the cast as new character Carla Borrego, a theatrical agent turned television presenter. Following a five-year hiatus, the series returned for a one-off special on 1 January 2009, "The Grinning Man
", which featured Sheridan Smith
as another paranormal investigator with whom Creek joins forces. A further 90-minute special "The Judas Tree
", was filmed in October 2009 and broadcast on 4 April 2010.
The cult success of the series won it the BAFTA
for Best Drama Series
in 1998. It was notable for featuring comic characters and sub-plots which lent a lot of humour to the series. Unusually, it was produced by the BBC's in-house Entertainment department rather than the Drama department — this was because Renwick preferred working with people he knew rather than the people at Drama who might not share his vision. It has included guest-stars such as Bob Monkhouse
, Griff Rhys Jones
, Rik Mayall
, Jack Dee
, Bill Bailey
and John Bird
, who are mainly associated with comedy, but who gave straight performances.
The first two seasons were broadcast in the U.S. on a number of PBS stations, while the remainder aired on BBC America
.
wanted to write a detective series that dealt with the actual work of detection rather than action, which most crime dramas appeared to focus on at the time. Also, whereas most of these were about who did it (Inspector Morse
or Taggart
) and why it was done (Cracker
), this new series would be about how it was done with an element of magic thrown in, such as murders committed in locked rooms
, a person being in two places at once or impossible thefts; finding a culprit would still be part of the detective's job but the emphasis would be on how the crime was committed.
Magic would play an important part of the series, but it would be in the form of tricks and sleight-of-hand used by stage magicians to deceive their audiences. The programme often exposed how such tricks are actually done, the way being quite banal compared to the trick itself.
The series would also focus on the relationship between Creek and his collaborator Maddie Magellan, a writer who often uses dishonest means in order to expose miscarriages of justice. It would be a mainly platonic
one, though they do at some stage consummate their relationship only to agree that it must never happen again. (In his early planning, Renwick had thought that Maddie should be Creek's stepmother and that they would investigate crime in memory of his murdered father. However, he decided that the concept of the avenging son was far too "Batman
" and in the series Creek's parents are mentioned as having moved to America
.)
Caroline Quentin
was Renwick's first choice for Maddie Magellan, but the casting of Creek proved something of a problem. Renwick had wanted Nicholas Lyndhurst
, but he turned it down. Rik Mayall
was also offered the part but was, at the time, busy with stage work (he would later guest-star in a Christmas special of the series). Hugh Laurie
showed a great deal of interest and agreed to take the part, but later turned it down as he could not figure out Creek's motivations for investigating the cases Maddie involves him in, especially when he shows so much reluctance in some of the episodes.
Others who were tried for the part included Nigel Planer
and Angus Deayton
, both very popular at the time. Almost a dozen actors were considered before producer Susan Belbin
saw Alan Davies
during a rehearsal for a sitcom. Davies was invited round to talk to Renwick and "turned up in his duffle coat
with straggly hair and a broad grin [and] was self-evidently the closest match yet to Creek as we had always seen him".
The role of Adam Klaus was originally cast to Anthony Head
in 1997 in the pilot episode ("The Wrestler's Tomb"). However after accepting the role of Rupert Giles
on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series), Head was unable to play Adam Klaus in later episodes leaving the way clear for Stuart Milligan
to take over the role until the present. This explains why Adam Klaus is missing in episodes 2-5 of series 1.
, Rik Mayall
(who had been considered to play Jonathan) and Jack Dee
who are better known for their comedy roles.
Other guest stars, both comedy and straight, have included: Steven Berkoff
, Geoffrey McGivern
, John Bluthal
, Kate Isitt
, Sanjeev Bhaskar
, Nigel Planer
, Griff Rhys Jones
, Hattie Hayridge
, Alistair McGowan
, Tamsin Greig
, Katherine Parkinson
, Colin Baker
, Brian Murphy
, Rebecca Front
, Mary Tamm
, Jim Bowen
, Peter Davison
, Maureen O'Brien
, Lysette Anthony
, Mark Caven, Lorelei King, Geoffrey Beevers
, Annette Crosbie
, Rae Baker
Doreen Mantle
, Charlie Brooks
, Maureen Lipman
, Paul Blackthorne
, Jimmi Harkishin
, and Bill Bailey
(who was also pencilled as the original Jonathan Creek).
Jonathan Ross
, Michael Grade
and Bamber Gascoigne
have all appeared as themselves.
Creek is a somewhat cynical designer of illusions for stage magician
Adam Klaus, and lives in a windmill
in Sussex
; his ingenuity and lateral thinking
usually, if not immediately, lead to an unveiling of the intricacies of the crime.
Magellan is a plausible liar who never seems to have trouble sneaking in to closed crime scenes, and Klaus is a flamboyant performer with a sinister stage persona who is really a dumb-witted, insensitive womaniser. In some instances, his magic tricks go comically wrong.
The programme usually features 'impossible crimes', for example an offence having been committed in a sealed environment from which no criminal could have escaped (a "locked room mystery
"), paranormal thefts and murders. Creek solves these cases using his knowledge of misdirection and illusion. No matter how fantastic the crime appears to be at first, he always finds a rational explanation, giving the character a passing resemblance to stage magician turned paranormal investigator James Randi
. Some aspects of the character were inspired by Ali Bongo
.
As the series progresses, Creek gradually changes from an antisocial anorak
to a man with a great deal of wit and charm. This helps to fuel the romantic thread between him and Maddie. Jonathan's trademark duffle coat
worn in the first series was actually Alan Davies' own coat that he wore to the auditions; it helped him win the role, as the writer and producers thought it suited the character. After the first series, Jonathan's coat was supplied by the wardrobe department. Davies kept the original at his home, and wore it again for the 2009 New Year's special.
For the 2001 Christmas special and thereafter, Caroline Quentin declined to appear, and so a second supporting role was introduced, theatrical agent
Carla Borrego, played by Julia Sawalha
. After her first appearance, the character married TV producer Brendan Baxter (Adrian Edmondson
), and she became a TV presenter.
Part of the humour comes from the fact that Jonathan often does not want to get involved in other people's problems, and has to be pressured into it by Maddie or Carla. In "The Scented Room", which centred around a theft from a critic who had lambasted Adam's act, he took great delight in announcing he had solved the crime but wasn't going to tell anybody how it was done. Initially Jonathan was only brought in to investigate because he was asked by Maddie due to her having a connection to the crime, or because it involved an old friend of hers. As time went on, he acquired a more significant reputation and was independently recruited by such varied contacts as a chief of police or the United States military.
Over time the show became noticeably darker, with Jonathan investigating psychopaths, pimps, gangsters and corrupt policemen, who stood in stark contrast to the duplicitous suburbanites of earlier series. The 2009 special
contained a hybrid of elements from earlier and later seasons, with the lethal engineering element, somewhat reminiscent of "Mother Redcap", and the torture and murder of a young woman as she is held dangling by a rope in the middle of a room. This theme continued on in the Judas Tree with the murdering of a murderer and her accomplice then being framed for her murder.
is an arrangement of Camille Saint-Saëns
' Danse Macabre
by Julian Stewart Lindsay
, who also wrote the underscore for the first three series, after which the underscore for the remaining series and two specials was written by Rick Wentworth
.
, starring Bill Bixby
, which aired in 1973-74, and 1986's short-lived Blacke's Magic
, starring Hal Linden
. Other current American series utilising a similar format include The Mentalist
and Psych
, each of which revolves around "mind-readers" who use their skills to help solve crimes and mysteries.
There were two attempts to make a U.S.
version of Jonathan Creek. The first involved Castle Rock
, the production company behind series such as Seinfeld
, but the initial scripts were not felt to be good enough, and David Renwick's scripts were rejected by CBS
. The second attempt, also by Renwick, was for Whoopi Goldberg
and would have included Alan Davies.
Series One was released in Region 1 (US/Canada) in December 2006.
Series Two was quietly released in Region 1 in late 2007.
Series Three was released in Region 1 on 20 January 2009.
Series Four was released in Region 1 on 19 January 2010. A Region 1 release of The Specials is scheduled for 19 October 2010.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mystery series produced by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and written by David Renwick
David Renwick
David Peter Renwick is an English television writer, best known for creation of the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek....
. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches. It stars Alan Davies
Alan Davies
Alan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a magician while also solving seemingly supernatural mysteries through his talent for logical deduction and knowledge of illusionism.
The series ran semi-regularly from 1997 to 2004, airing four series and two Christmas specials, initially co-starring Caroline Quentin
Caroline Quentin
Caroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...
as Creek's collaborator, writer Maddie Magellan. After Quentin's departure in 2001, Julia Sawalha
Julia Sawalha
Julia Sawalha is an English actress well known for her roles as Saffron Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous, Lynda Day, editor of The Junior Gazette in Press Gang and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 television miniseries of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She also played Dorcas Lane in the BBC's costume...
joined the cast as new character Carla Borrego, a theatrical agent turned television presenter. Following a five-year hiatus, the series returned for a one-off special on 1 January 2009, "The Grinning Man
The Grinning Man (Jonathan Creek)
"The Grinning Man" is a feature-length episode of the BBC crime drama series Jonathan Creek, first broadcast on 1 January 2009. The episode marked the series' return to television following a five year hiatus, and saw the return of Alan Davies as the show's titular sleuth...
", which featured Sheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,...
as another paranormal investigator with whom Creek joins forces. A further 90-minute special "The Judas Tree
The Judas Tree (Jonathan Creek)
"The Judas Tree" is the twenty-seventh episode of the British crime drama series Jonathan Creek. The feature-length episode was written and directed by series creator David Renwick, and premiered on BBC One on 4 April 2010...
", was filmed in October 2009 and broadcast on 4 April 2010.
The cult success of the series won it the BAFTA
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
for Best Drama Series
British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series
The British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series is one of the major categories of the British Academy Television Awards , the primary awards ceremony of the British television industry...
in 1998. It was notable for featuring comic characters and sub-plots which lent a lot of humour to the series. Unusually, it was produced by the BBC's in-house Entertainment department rather than the Drama department — this was because Renwick preferred working with people he knew rather than the people at Drama who might not share his vision. It has included guest-stars such as Bob Monkhouse
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...
, Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
, Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
, Jack Dee
Jack Dee
James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
, Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
and John Bird
John Bird (actor)
John Bird is an English satirist, actor and comedian.-Early life:Born in Bulwell, Nottingham, England, and educated at High Pavement Grammar School, Nottingham, Bird briefly joined the Socialist Party of Great Britain, while still at school...
, who are mainly associated with comedy, but who gave straight performances.
The first two seasons were broadcast in the U.S. on a number of PBS stations, while the remainder aired on BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
.
Concept and casting
David RenwickDavid Renwick
David Peter Renwick is an English television writer, best known for creation of the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek....
wanted to write a detective series that dealt with the actual work of detection rather than action, which most crime dramas appeared to focus on at the time. Also, whereas most of these were about who did it (Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
or Taggart
Taggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
) and why it was done (Cracker
Cracker (UK TV series)
Cracker is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The series is centered on a criminal psychologist , Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane. Set in Manchester, it consists of three series which were...
), this new series would be about how it was done with an element of magic thrown in, such as murders committed in locked rooms
Locked room mystery
The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room...
, a person being in two places at once or impossible thefts; finding a culprit would still be part of the detective's job but the emphasis would be on how the crime was committed.
Magic would play an important part of the series, but it would be in the form of tricks and sleight-of-hand used by stage magicians to deceive their audiences. The programme often exposed how such tricks are actually done, the way being quite banal compared to the trick itself.
The series would also focus on the relationship between Creek and his collaborator Maddie Magellan, a writer who often uses dishonest means in order to expose miscarriages of justice. It would be a mainly platonic
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
one, though they do at some stage consummate their relationship only to agree that it must never happen again. (In his early planning, Renwick had thought that Maddie should be Creek's stepmother and that they would investigate crime in memory of his murdered father. However, he decided that the concept of the avenging son was far too "Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
" and in the series Creek's parents are mentioned as having moved to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.)
Caroline Quentin
Caroline Quentin
Caroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...
was Renwick's first choice for Maddie Magellan, but the casting of Creek proved something of a problem. Renwick had wanted Nicholas Lyndhurst
Nicholas Lyndhurst
Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses, Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart, and as Adam Parkinson in Carla Lane's series Butterflies...
, but he turned it down. Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
was also offered the part but was, at the time, busy with stage work (he would later guest-star in a Christmas special of the series). Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
showed a great deal of interest and agreed to take the part, but later turned it down as he could not figure out Creek's motivations for investigating the cases Maddie involves him in, especially when he shows so much reluctance in some of the episodes.
Others who were tried for the part included Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
and Angus Deayton
Angus Deayton
Gordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster. He is best known for his role as Victor Meldrew's long-suffering neighbour Patrick Trench in the comedy series One Foot in the Grave...
, both very popular at the time. Almost a dozen actors were considered before producer Susan Belbin
Susan Belbin
Susan Belbin is a Scottish television director and producer whose work includes One Foot in the Grave, Only Fools and Horses and Jonathan Creek. She often works with David Renwick....
saw Alan Davies
Alan Davies
Alan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
during a rehearsal for a sitcom. Davies was invited round to talk to Renwick and "turned up in his duffle coat
Duffle Coat
A duffle coat, or duffel coat, is a coat made from duffle, a coarse, thick, woollen material. The name derives from Duffel, a town in the province of Antwerp in Belgium where the material originates...
with straggly hair and a broad grin [and] was self-evidently the closest match yet to Creek as we had always seen him".
The role of Adam Klaus was originally cast to Anthony Head
Anthony Head
Anthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
in 1997 in the pilot episode ("The Wrestler's Tomb"). However after accepting the role of Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series), Head was unable to play Adam Klaus in later episodes leaving the way clear for Stuart Milligan
Stuart Milligan
Stuart Milligan is an American actor based primarily in Britain, best known for his recurring role as Adam Klaus in Jonathan Creek.He attended South High School in Denver, Colorado...
to take over the role until the present. This explains why Adam Klaus is missing in episodes 2-5 of series 1.
Present
as of 4 April 2010- Alan DaviesAlan DaviesAlan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
– Jonathan Creek - Sheridan SmithSheridan SmithSheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,...
– Joey Ross (2009-) - Stuart MilliganStuart MilliganStuart Milligan is an American actor based primarily in Britain, best known for his recurring role as Adam Klaus in Jonathan Creek.He attended South High School in Denver, Colorado...
– Adam Klaus (1998-)
Previous
- Caroline QuentinCaroline QuentinCaroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...
– Maddie Magellan (1997–2000) - Julia SawalhaJulia SawalhaJulia Sawalha is an English actress well known for her roles as Saffron Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous, Lynda Day, editor of The Junior Gazette in Press Gang and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 television miniseries of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She also played Dorcas Lane in the BBC's costume...
– Carla Borrego (2001–2004) - Adrian EdmondsonAdrian EdmondsonAdrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
– Brendan Baxter (2003–2004) - Anthony HeadAnthony HeadAnthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
– Adam Klaus (1997)
Guest cast
Many well-known actors have appeared in the series, including Bob MonkhouseBob Monkhouse
Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...
, Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
(who had been considered to play Jonathan) and Jack Dee
Jack Dee
James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
who are better known for their comedy roles.
Other guest stars, both comedy and straight, have included: Steven Berkoff
Steven Berkoff
Steven Berkoff is an English actor, writer and director. Best known for his performance as General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy, he is typically cast in villanous roles, such as Lt...
, Geoffrey McGivern
Geoffrey McGivern
Geoffrey McGivern is an English actor in film, radio, stage and television. He was born in Balham, South London and grew up in York. There he attended Archbishop Holgate's School, where he was made Head Boy...
, John Bluthal
John Bluthal
John Bluthal is a Polish-born British film and television actor, mostly in comedy. He is best known for his work with Spike Milligan and for his roles in the television series Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width and The Vicar of Dibley.-Early life:Bluthal was born in Galicia, Poland, of Jewish...
, Kate Isitt
Kate Isitt
Kate Isitt is an English actress who is best known for her role as beauty therapist Sally Harper in the BBC television situation comedy Coupling....
, Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar, OBE is a British Indian comedian, actor and broadcaster, best known for his work in the BBC Two comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and as host of The Kumars at No. 42...
, Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
, Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
, Hattie Hayridge
Hattie Hayridge
Hattie Hayridge is a British stand-up comedienne and actress, best known for the role of the female version of Holly in Red Dwarf during the third, fourth and fifth series, along with the role of Hilly in Parallel Universe, the final episode of the second series.After graduating from the...
, Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan is a British impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression , which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003...
, Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig is an English actress principally known for two Channel 4 television comedy parts: Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books and Dr. Caroline Todd in Green Wing...
, Katherine Parkinson
Katherine Parkinson
Laura Katherine Parkinson is an English actress and comedian who is known for playing the part of Jen Barber in the Channel 4 comedy series The IT Crowd...
, Colin Baker
Colin Baker
Colin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...
, Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy (actor)
Brian Murphy is a British actor.Murphy was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Although a prolific actor in many films and theatre productions for almost half a century, Murphy's most famous role was as the henpecked husband George Roper in the sitcom Man About the House and spin-off George and...
, Rebecca Front
Rebecca Front
Rebecca Front is a BAFTA Award–winning English comedian and actress best known for her performances in The Thick of It in the late 2000s, and series of critically acclaimed satirical comedies in the early 1990s: On The Hour, The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You...with Alan Partridge...
, Mary Tamm
Mary Tamm
Mary Tamm is an English actress. She is best known for being the first actress to play the character of Romana in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, opposite Tom Baker as the Doctor, from the 1978–1979 season known collectively as The Key to Time.-Early life:Mary Tamm was born in...
, Jim Bowen
Jim Bowen
Jim Bowen is an English stand-up comedian and TV personality. He is best known as the host of the ITV gameshow Bullseye, which he hosted between 1981 and 1995.-Early life:...
, Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
, Maureen O'Brien
Maureen O'Brien
Maureen O'Brien is an English actress of Irish descent and author best known for playing the role of Vicki in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, although she has appeared in many other television programmes as well.She played the part of Vicki in 38 episodes of Doctor Who from 2...
, Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anthony is an English film, television, and theatre actress.-Early life:Anthony was born Lysette Chodzko in Fulham, London, the only daughter of actors Michael Anthony, and Bernadette Milnes....
, Mark Caven, Lorelei King, Geoffrey Beevers
Geoffrey Beevers
Geoffrey Beevers is a British actor who has appeared in many different television roles.Beevers has worked extensively at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond upon Thames, both as an actor ; and as an adaptor/director of George Eliot's novel Adam Bede , for which he won a Time Out Award, and Balzac's...
, Annette Crosbie
Annette Crosbie
Annette Crosbie, OBE is a Scottish character actor.-Life and career:Crosbie was born in Gorebridge, Midlothian, Scotland, to Presbyterian parents who disapproved of her becoming an actor. Nevertheless, she joined the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School while still in her teens...
, Rae Baker
Rae Baker
Rae Baker , is an English actress.-Biography:Born to a carpenter father, her brother Kevin is an electronics engineer...
Doreen Mantle
Doreen Mantle
Doreen Mantle is a South African-born British actress who is probably best known for her role as Mrs Jean Warboys in One Foot in the Grave ....
, Charlie Brooks
Charlie Brooks
Charlene "Charlie" Brooks is a Welsh actress, best known for playing Janine Butcher on the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...
, Maureen Lipman
Maureen Lipman
Maureen Diane Lipman CBE is a British film, theatre and television actress, columnist and comedienne.-Early life:Lipman was born in Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Maurice Julius Lipman and Zelma Pearlman. Her father was a tailor; he used to have a shop between the...
, Paul Blackthorne
Paul Blackthorne
Paul Blackthorne is a British actor on film, television and radio. Although born in Shropshire, England, he spent his early childhood on British Military bases in both England and Germany. Blackthorne broke into acting via television commercials in England...
, Jimmi Harkishin
Jimmi Harkishin
James "Jimmi" Harkishin is an actor best known for his role as shop owner Dev Alahan in Coronation Street. He also featured in the film East is East and also Bhaji on the Beach....
, and Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
(who was also pencilled as the original Jonathan Creek).
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross (television presenter)
Jonathan Stephen Ross, OBE is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2001 until he left the BBC in 2010. Ross began hosting a new chat show on ITV1 starting 3 September 2011...
, Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
and Bamber Gascoigne
Bamber Gascoigne
Bamber Gascoigne, FRSL is a British television presenter and author, most known for being the original quizmaster on University Challenge.-Biography:...
have all appeared as themselves.
Summary
The series follows the exploits of Jonathan Creek and (in the first three series) Maddy Magellan, a pushy investigative journalist as they work together to solve crimes where others have failed.Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
Adam Klaus, and lives in a windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
; his ingenuity and lateral thinking
Lateral thinking
Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic...
usually, if not immediately, lead to an unveiling of the intricacies of the crime.
Magellan is a plausible liar who never seems to have trouble sneaking in to closed crime scenes, and Klaus is a flamboyant performer with a sinister stage persona who is really a dumb-witted, insensitive womaniser. In some instances, his magic tricks go comically wrong.
The programme usually features 'impossible crimes', for example an offence having been committed in a sealed environment from which no criminal could have escaped (a "locked room mystery
Locked room mystery
The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room...
"), paranormal thefts and murders. Creek solves these cases using his knowledge of misdirection and illusion. No matter how fantastic the crime appears to be at first, he always finds a rational explanation, giving the character a passing resemblance to stage magician turned paranormal investigator James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
. Some aspects of the character were inspired by Ali Bongo
Ali Bongo
Ali Bongo was a British comedy magician, and president of The Magic Circle who performed an act in which he was known as the "Shriek of Araby"....
.
As the series progresses, Creek gradually changes from an antisocial anorak
Anorak (slang)
In British slang an anorak is a person who has a very strong interest, perhaps obsessive, in niche subjects. This interest may be unacknowledged or not understood by the general public...
to a man with a great deal of wit and charm. This helps to fuel the romantic thread between him and Maddie. Jonathan's trademark duffle coat
Duffle Coat
A duffle coat, or duffel coat, is a coat made from duffle, a coarse, thick, woollen material. The name derives from Duffel, a town in the province of Antwerp in Belgium where the material originates...
worn in the first series was actually Alan Davies' own coat that he wore to the auditions; it helped him win the role, as the writer and producers thought it suited the character. After the first series, Jonathan's coat was supplied by the wardrobe department. Davies kept the original at his home, and wore it again for the 2009 New Year's special.
For the 2001 Christmas special and thereafter, Caroline Quentin declined to appear, and so a second supporting role was introduced, theatrical agent
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
Carla Borrego, played by Julia Sawalha
Julia Sawalha
Julia Sawalha is an English actress well known for her roles as Saffron Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous, Lynda Day, editor of The Junior Gazette in Press Gang and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 television miniseries of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She also played Dorcas Lane in the BBC's costume...
. After her first appearance, the character married TV producer Brendan Baxter (Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
), and she became a TV presenter.
Part of the humour comes from the fact that Jonathan often does not want to get involved in other people's problems, and has to be pressured into it by Maddie or Carla. In "The Scented Room", which centred around a theft from a critic who had lambasted Adam's act, he took great delight in announcing he had solved the crime but wasn't going to tell anybody how it was done. Initially Jonathan was only brought in to investigate because he was asked by Maddie due to her having a connection to the crime, or because it involved an old friend of hers. As time went on, he acquired a more significant reputation and was independently recruited by such varied contacts as a chief of police or the United States military.
Over time the show became noticeably darker, with Jonathan investigating psychopaths, pimps, gangsters and corrupt policemen, who stood in stark contrast to the duplicitous suburbanites of earlier series. The 2009 special
The Grinning Man (Jonathan Creek)
"The Grinning Man" is a feature-length episode of the BBC crime drama series Jonathan Creek, first broadcast on 1 January 2009. The episode marked the series' return to television following a five year hiatus, and saw the return of Alan Davies as the show's titular sleuth...
contained a hybrid of elements from earlier and later seasons, with the lethal engineering element, somewhat reminiscent of "Mother Redcap", and the torture and murder of a young woman as she is held dangling by a rope in the middle of a room. This theme continued on in the Judas Tree with the murdering of a murderer and her accomplice then being framed for her murder.
Music
The distinctive theme tuneTheme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
is an arrangement of Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
' Danse Macabre
Danse Macabre (Saint-Saëns)
Danse macabre, Op. 40, is a tone poem for orchestra, written in 1874 by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. It started out in 1872 as an art song for voice and piano with a French text by the poet Henri Cazalis, which is based in an old French superstition...
by Julian Stewart Lindsay
Julian Stewart Lindsay
Julian Stewart Lindsay is a musical composer, currently residing in the United Kingdom. He was trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Lindsay has worked with artists such as Culture Club, Stevie Wonder, and The Beach Boys...
, who also wrote the underscore for the first three series, after which the underscore for the remaining series and two specials was written by Rick Wentworth
Rick Wentworth
Rick Wentworth is a BAFTA nominated Film and TV Composer, Conductor, Orchestrator and Arranger.Rick is represented by HotHouse Music.-Composer:...
.
Similarity to other shows
Other television programmes have utilised the same formula of a magician helping police to solve crimes, such as the U.S.-made programmes The MagicianThe Magician (TV series)
The Magician was an American television series that ran during the 1973–1974 season. It starred Bill Bixby as stage illusionist Anthony "Tony" Blake, a playboy philanthropist who used his skills to solve difficult crimes as needed. In the series pilot, the character was instead named Anthony...
, starring Bill Bixby
Bill Bixby
Wilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...
, which aired in 1973-74, and 1986's short-lived Blacke's Magic
Blacke's Magic
Blacke's Magic was a short-lived American TV show about a magician, Alexander Blacke , who, with some help from his con-man father, Leonard , solves mysteries that get in the way of his performances. It ran for one season in 1986 for 13 episodes and featured crimes that tested logic against...
, starring Hal Linden
Hal Linden
Hal Linden is an American stage and television actor and television director, best known for his role in the television comedy series Barney Miller and as presenter on the ABC educational series Animals, Animals, Animals....
. Other current American series utilising a similar format include The Mentalist
The Mentalist
The Mentalist is an American police procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS. The show was created by Bruno Heller, who is also the show's executive producer...
and Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
, each of which revolves around "mind-readers" who use their skills to help solve crimes and mysteries.
There were two attempts to make a U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
version of Jonathan Creek. The first involved Castle Rock
Castle Rock Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment is a film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a subsidiary of Warner Bros...
, the production company behind series such as Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, but the initial scripts were not felt to be good enough, and David Renwick's scripts were rejected by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. The second attempt, also by Renwick, was for Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
and would have included Alan Davies.
Regions 2 (UK) and 4 (AUS)
| DVD | Date |
|---|---|
| Series 1 & 2 | 16 February 2004 |
| Series 3 & 4 & the Christmas Specials | 2 August 2004 |
| Complete Series 1-4 & the Christmas Specials | 29 November 2004 |
| The Grinning Man | 19 October 2009 |
| The Judas Tree | 12 April 2010 |
| Complete Series 1-4 & the Christmas Specials | 4 October 2010 |
Series One was released in Region 1 (US/Canada) in December 2006.
Series Two was quietly released in Region 1 in late 2007.
Series Three was released in Region 1 on 20 January 2009.
Series Four was released in Region 1 on 19 January 2010. A Region 1 release of The Specials is scheduled for 19 October 2010.
External links
- Jonathan Creek homepage
- Jonathan Creek at the British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...