AGATHA RAISIN - EPISODE 3: THE WELLSPRING OF DEATH (SKY 1)

[Spoiler-Free] The chairman of the Ancombe parish council is found dead near the local wellspring. 

He was about to cast his vote over whether to allow the lorries of the Ancombe Water company an access to the water through the village.

Agatha Raisin is back on track after last week's lacklustre and quite worrying Hell's Bells. Directed by Paul Harrison (Trollied), The Wellspring of Death is adapted from M.C. Beaton's novel Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (1998) by Stewart Harcourt. Agatha Raisin (Ashley Jensen) is ready to attend the pub quiz when Roy Silver (Mathew Horne) offers her a well-paid freelance PR gig... for Ancombe Water. She refuses but changes her mind when James Lacey and his new girlfriend Mary Fortune decide to investigate the death of the parish council chairman.

Aggie displays her PR magic to the Ancombe villagers and Ancombe Water boss Guy Freemont is under her spell. Jealous of Mary Fortune, she decides to find the killer before James and Mary, with the assistance of Gemma (Katy Wix). DCI Wilkes is inspired by Inspector Morse, which would be reassuring in some respects but his main suspect is a persian cat. James doesn't like to be Mary's "Watson". Agatha's product launch is ruined by a demonstration and another murder.

Everything you expect from the TV version of the Agatha Raisin books is in this excellent episode: Agatha and her London PR queen manners in the Cotswold equivalent of Midsomer County, her complicated love life, some rural comedy à la Doc Martin, the totally clueless cops, etc. The only one who truly believes he's in your average detective drama is DCI Wilkes (the fantastic Jason Barnett). English actor and singer Jules Knight (Holby City) is very good as Guy Freemont. Let's hope the rest of the series is like this episode.

Also with Jamie Glover (James Lacey), Matt McCooey (DC Bill Wong), June Watson (Mrs Josephs), Daisy Beaumont (Mary Fortune) and Ron Donachie, Elizabeth Hopper, etc. Produced by Mammoth Screen and Free@Last TV for Sky. Michelle Buck and Stewart Harcourt are the executive producers for Mammoth Screen. Barry Ryan and David Walton exec produce for Free@Last TV. Produced by Matthew Mulot. Music by Rupert Gregson-Williams and Christopher Willis. Titles by Light Creative. Distributed by Sky Vision.

http://www.mcbeaton.com/uk/
http://www.agatharaisin.com/

AGATHA RAISIN - EPISODE 2: HELL'S BELLS (SKY 1)

[Spoiler-Free] Amanda Barton is the self-proclaimed leader of the church bell ringers for the visit of the bishop. 

When she's found hanged in the belfry with a suicide note left beside her, Agatha Raisin (Ashley Jensen) is not convinced she took her own life.

The bottom line: Who's the culprit? Colonel Mustard? The source material? The script? The budget? The actors schedule?

Based on a namesake short story by mystery author M.C. Beaton, Hell's Bells, the second episode of the eight-part series, is a bit of a disappointment compared to the brilliant premiere and the wonderful Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (the 2014 Christmas special). Both set the bar very high for the TV version of the Agatha Raisin books but Stewart Harcourt, who penned this second episode, was behind the adaptation of The Quiche of Death. So the lack of vitality, the absence of the usual dynamic between the main characters, and the conventionality of Hell's Bells are quite a surprise.

Agatha Raisin looks rather bored as Carsely's resident Miss Marple, already a seasoned detective after only two cases. The novel Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death was published in 1992, Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley in 1995 and Hell's Bells in... 2013. Maybe the short story was an odd choice for a third appearance of the character on television. Anyway, it's the kind of lacklustre episode you don't expect so early. Should we start to worry about Sky's little gem? At least there are a couple of good lines and, thanks to Katy Wix and Mathew Horne, a nice comedy act by Gemma and Roy in Marlowe's office near the end.

Also with Jamie Glover (James Lacey), Matt McCooey (DC Bill Wong), Jason Barnett (DCI Wilkes), June Watson (Mrs Josephs), Rhashan Stone (Reverend Jez Bloxby), Lucy Liemann (Sarah Bloxby) and Daisy Beaumont (Mary Fortune), Sally Bretton (Amanda Barton), Michael Byrne, etc. Produced by Mammoth Screen and Free@Last TV for Sky. Michelle Buck and Stewart Harcourt are the executive producers for Mammoth Screen. Barry Ryan and David Walton exec produce for Free@Last TV. Produced by Matthew Mulot. Music by Rupert Gregson-Williams and Christopher Willis. Titles by Light Creative. Distributed by Sky Vision. Directed by Geoffrey Sax.

http://www.mcbeaton.com/uk/
http://www.agatharaisin.com/

AGATHA RAISIN - EPISODE 1: WALKERS OF DEMBLEY (SKY 1)

There's a murder near Carsely, a picturesque English village in the Cotswolds region, and former London PR queen turned amateur sleuth Agatha Raisin is on the case.

Agatha Raisin first appeared in a series of mystery novels written by M.C. Beaton (the pseudonym of Marion Chesney), who's also the author of the Hamish Macbeth books. Penelope Keith played the character for BBC Radio 4 from 2004 to 2006. In 2014, Ashley Jensen (Ugly Betty, Extras) starred in the title role of Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, a fun, fast-paced and charming Christmas special aired on Sky 1 (1). Adapted from the first book by screenwriter Stewart Harcourt (Agatha Christie's Marple), this production Mammoth Screen (Endeavour) and Free@Last TV was directed by Geoffrey Sax (Doctor Who).

Following the success of The Quiche of Death, Sky commissioned a 8 X 60-minute series which started this week. In Walkers of Dembley, based on Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley by M.C. Beaton, Agatha Raisin prepares a charity film event for local baronet Charles "Charlie" Fraith. She also pretends to like rambling in order to get close to James Lacey, her village crush, and keep an eye on her potential rival Mary Fortune. Jessica Tarnick, a member of a ramblers group from Dembley, is found murdered on the land of Charlie. DCI Wilkes and DC Bill Wong, the most clueless cop duo in the world, suspects Charles Fraith.

Deborah Camden asks Agatha to investigate because, after all, she's "an expert in these matters". Aggie's gay best friend Roy Silver, who brought from London a very peculiar yoga teacher, provides her with background research. She has a "brainstorming" with her cleaner Gemma Simpson and goes undercover with James as a married couple. What does "Méfiez-vous de l'illusion de la connaissance" mean? How many adults can sit in a wendy house? Directed by Geoffrey Sax (also series consultant) and written by Chris Murray (Midsomer Murders), this return of Ashley Jensen as the colourful detective is a real treat. The cast is excellent, starting with her and Mathew Horne as Roy.

Also with Katy Wix (Gemma), Jamie Glover (James), Matt McCooey (Bill), Jason Barnett (DCI Wilkes), June Watson (Mrs Josephs), Lucy Liemann (Sarah Bloxby), Rhashan Stone and Daisy Beaumont (Mary Fortune), Jason Merrells (Charles), Lara Rossi, etc. Produced by Mammoth Screen and Free@Last TV for Sky. Michelle Buck and Stewart Harcourt are the executive producers for Mammoth Screen. Barry Ryan and David Walton exec produce for Free@Last TV. Produced by Matthew Mulot. Music by Rupert Gregson-Williams and Christopher Willis. Titles by Light Creative. Distributed by Sky Vision.

(1)  Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death was our coup de coeur of the rather bland TV 2014 Christmas season in the United Kingdom. Regrettably we didn't review it due to unforeseen circumstances. In France it was bought by France Télévisions.

http://www.mcbeaton.com/uk/
http://www.agatharaisin.com/