Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek | |
---|---|
Genre | Mystery Drama |
Written by | David Renwick |
Directed by | Sandy Johnson Keith Washington Marcus Mortimer Richard Holthouse Christine Gernon David Renwick David Sant |
Starring | Alan Davies Caroline Quentin (1997–2000) Julia Sawalha (2001–2004) Sheridan Smith (2009–2013) Sarah Alexander (2013–2016) |
Opening theme | "Danse macabre" by Camille Saint-Saëns (arr by Julian Stewart Lindsay) |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 5 |
No. of episodes | 32 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | varies (49-119 mins) |
Original release | |
Network | BBC One |
Release | 10 May 1997 28 December 2016 | –
Jonathan Creek is a long-running British
Production
The series ran semi-regularly from 1997 to 2004, broadcasting for four series and two Christmas specials, initially co-starring Caroline Quentin as Creek's collaborator, writer Maddy 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.[1] A third special, "The Clue of the Savant's Thumb", was shown at Easter 2013.[2] Smith had previously worked with Renwick on his sitcom Love Soup.
Sheridan Smith reprised her role as Joey in both specials. Series 5 comprised three episodes and featured Sarah Alexander as Jonathan's wife Polly. These episodes were shown at 9 pm on Friday 28 February, 7 and 14 March 2014 respectively.
In 2014, conflicting reports surfaced regarding Alan Davies's view of the show. In one article published online he was said to be 'happy to do Jonathan Creek for another ten years' and praised David Renwick's talent as a writer.[3]
On 4 March 2016, it was reported that the series would be returning for another 90-minute one-off special, with filming to begin in summer 2016.[4] This new 90-minute special aired on 28 December 2016.[5] Sarah Alexander returned as Jonathan Creek's wife Polly, alongside guest stars Warwick Davis, Emun Elliott and Rosalind March.[6]
The cult success of the series won it the
The first two series were broadcast in the U.S. on a number of PBS stations, while the remainder aired on BBC America.
Concept and casting
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 audiences. The programme often exposed how such tricks are actually done, but in a way quite banal compared to the trick itself.
The series would also focus on the relationship between Creek and his collaborator Maddy Magellan, a writer who often uses dishonest means in order to expose
Caroline Quentin was Renwick's first choice for Maddy 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 Maddy involves him in, especially when he shows so much reluctance in some of the episodes.[8]
Others who were tried for the part included
The role of Adam Klaus was originally cast to
Cast
Character | Portrayed by | Series | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Series 1 (1997) |
Series 2 (1998) |
Christmas (1998) |
Series 3 (1999-2000) |
Christmas (2001) |
Series 4 (2003-2004) |
Specials (2009-2013) |
Series 5 (2014) |
Christmas (2016) | |||
Main | |||||||||||
Jonathan Creek | Alan Davies | Main | |||||||||
Maddy Magellan | Caroline Quentin | Main | Photograph | Mentioned | |||||||
Carla Borrego | Julia Sawalha | Main | Mentioned | ||||||||
Joey Ross | Sheridan Smith | Main | |||||||||
Polly Creek | Sarah Alexander | Guest | Main | ||||||||
Recurring | |||||||||||
Barry Opper | Geoffrey McGivern | Recurring | |||||||||
Adam Klaus | Anthony Head | Guest | |||||||||
Stuart Milligan | Recurring | Guest | Mentioned | ||||||||
Gideon Pryke | Rik Mayall | Guest | Guest | ||||||||
Kenny Starkiss | Bill Bailey | Guest | |||||||||
Brendan Baxter | Adrian Edmondson | Recurring | |||||||||
Horace Greeley | John Bird | Recurring |
Guest cast
Many well-known actors have appeared in the series, including Bob Monkhouse, 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: Rob Jarvis who made two appearances, each time as a different character, Colin Baker, Sheila Gish, Alistair McGowan, John Bluthal, Lysette Anthony, Simon Day, Selina Cadell, Peter Davison, Pippa Haywood, Dermot Crowley, Deborah Grant, Amanda Holden, Nicola Walker, Francis Matthews, Griff Rhys Jones, Maxine Peake, Rebecca Front, Terrence Hardiman, Michael Brandon, Jim Bowen, Dinah Sheridan, Hattie Hayridge, Steven Berkoff, Mary Tamm, Benjamin Whitrow, Bill Bailey, Sophie Thompson, Maureen Lipman, Celia Imrie, Judy Parfitt, Katherine Parkinson, Paul McGann, Ian McNeice, Joanna Lumley, Paula Wilcox, Raquel Cassidy, Kieran Hodgson, June Whitfield, Josie Lawrence and Warwick Davis.
Cast links to other Renwick productions
Actors Annette Crosbie, Peter Copley, Jonathan Kydd, Brian Murphy, John Bluthal, Hannah Gordon, Nick Maloney and John Bird made appearances, (Bird as two different characters, one of which a recurring role) and all worked with writer David Renwick on One Foot in The Grave. Additionally Bird worked with Renwick again on his BBC Radio 4 miniseries Desolation Jests in late 2016.[9][10][11]
Tamsin Greig, Georgie Glen, Sheridan Smith and Sara Markland worked with Renwick on his sitcom Love Soup.
Adrian Edmondson had a leading role in Renwick's 1993 miniseries If You See God, Tell Him.
Doreen Mantle has appeared in eighteen episodes of One Foot in the Grave, one episode of Love Soup, as well as one episode of Jonathan Creek.
Writer David Renwick himself made appearances in two episodes, something which he also did in two of his other notable productions.
Character development
The series follows the exploits of Jonathan Creek and (in the first three series) Maddy Magellan, a pushy
Creek is a somewhat cynical designer of illusions for stage magician Adam Klaus. He originally lived in a windmill in West Sussex.[a] 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 into closed crime scenes (though she is frequently unceremoniously ejected), and Klaus is a flamboyant performer with a sinister stage persona who is really a dull-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 "
As the series progresses, Creek gradually changes from an asocial
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. A third supporting role was introduced when the show returned in 2009 after a five-year hiatus. From "The Grinning Man" onwards, Creek was assisted by online paranormal investigator Joey Ross, played by Sheridan Smith. As Smith was unable to appear in the fifth series due to other commitments, she was replaced by Sarah Alexander as Creek's wife and newest sidekick.
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 Maddy, Carla or Joey. In "The Scented Room", which centred around a theft from a critic who had lambasted Adam's act, he took great delight in announcing that 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 Maddy due to her having a professional connection to the crime in her role as a journalist, or because it involved an old friend of theirs (such as one case featuring Jonathan being contacted by an old friend of his mother's after her husband was impaled by a sword in a sealed room). As time went on, he acquired a more significant reputation and was independently recruited by such varied contacts as a chief of police or even the United States military.
Over time, the show became noticeably darker, with Jonathan investigating
In the 2013 episode "The Clue of the Savant's Thumb", Jonathan Creek had left the world of theatre and magic and is now a high-powered businessman with a wife, Polly Creek. Despite this, and his disillusionment with his old work due to the lack of real awe received when he made his announcements, he has still returned to his roots when faced with particularly baffling cases, such as a dead man vanishing from a locked room. During the fifth series, he and his wife move into her family's old village house, with Polly attempting to encourage Jonathan to become part of the local lifestyle, but Jonathan is distracted by various minor mysteries, as well as enthusiastic fans asking for his assistance. The Christmas 2016 special sees a similar format to past specials as an old secret — in this case, an apparently demonic ritual where women witness their lovers thrown through the air into a fire — plays a key role in the death of a man Jonathan once cleared of murder (although the subsequent investigation prompts Jonathan to realise that the man actually did commit the crime of which he was accused).
Episodes
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 5 | 10 May 1997 | 7 June 1997 | |
2 | 6 | 24 January 1998 | 28 February 1998 | |
Special (1998) | 24 December 1998 | |||
3 | 6 | 27 November 1999 | 2 January 2000 | |
Special (2001) | 26 December 2001 | |||
4 | 6 | 1 March 2003 | 28 February 2004 | |
Specials (2009–2013) | 1 January 2009 | 1 April 2013 | ||
5 | 3 | 28 February 2014 | 14 March 2014 | |
Special (2016) | 28 December 2016 |
Music
The distinctive
Broadcast
Ratings
Series | Series premiere | Series finale | No. of episodes |
Avg. UK viewers (in millions) |
Most watched episode | UK Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 May 1997 | 7 June 1997 | 5 | 8.43 | "Jack in the Box" | 9.35 |
2 | 24 January 1998 | 28 February 1998 | 6 | 9.70 | "Mother Redcap" | 10.92 |
3 | 27 November 1999 | 2 January 2000 | 6 | 10.69 | "Miracle in Crooked Lane" | 11.45 |
4 | 1 March 2003 | 28 February 2004 | 6 | 8.97 | "Angel Hair" | 9.9 |
Specials | 1 January 2009 | 1 April 2013 | 3 | 8.43 | "The Grinning Man" | 9.91 |
5 | 28 February 2014 | 14 March 2014 | 3 | 7.36 | "The Letters of Septimus Noone" | 8.09 |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | BAFTA TV Award
|
Best Drama Series | Susan Belbin, Sandy Johnson, Marcus Mortimer, David Renwick | Won | |
Best Design | John Asbridge, Jonathan Taylor | Nominated | |||
Best Sound (Fiction/Entertainment) | Terry Elms, Craig Irving, Laurie Taylor, Lee Crichlow, Ben Norrington | Nominated | |||
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Writer's Award | David Renwick | Won | ||
National Television Awards | Most Popular Drama Series | Won | |||
Most Popular Actor | Alan Davies | Nominated | |||
RTS Awards | Newcomer - On Screen | Alan Davies | Nominated | ||
1999 | BAFTA TV Award
|
Best Drama Series | Verity Lambert, Keith Washington, David Renwick, Sandy Johnson | Nominated | |
British Comedy Awards
|
Best TV Comedy Drama | Episode: "Black Canary" | Nominated | ||
RTS Awards | Best Drama Series | Won | |||
2004 | British Comedy Award
|
Best TV Comedy Drama | Nominated |
Adaptations and possible return
Similarity to other television programmes
Other television programmes have utilised the formula of a magician helping police to solve crimes,
Attempts at remakes
There have been three 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.[17] The second attempt, also by Renwick, was for Whoopi Goldberg and would have included Alan Davies.[17] A third attempt by Renwick, in which Alan Davies would reprise his role and where his character would be gay, was rejected by Netflix in 2022.[18]
Possible return
In 2021 Alan Davies commented that David Renwick "wouldn’t tell me if he had written a script. But if he did write one, I would do it, out of loyalty to him. I can’t see it happening, but who knows."[19]
In a 2021 interview David Renwick discussed his retirement from television and referred to Daemon's Roost as "the final Jonathan Creek",[20] suggesting an end to the series. Alan Davies and Caroline Quentin, among other former cast members have made clear that they would return to the show if invited.
Stage adaptation
In September 2022 it was reported that David Renwick had written stage adaptations of the show and that Alan Davies and Caroline Quentin had shown interest in reprising their roles. The project however has been on hold since the Covid-19 pandemic.[21]
Home media
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 (gold-coloured) | 29 November 2004 |
The Grinning Man | 19 October 2009 |
The Judas Tree | 12 April 2010 |
Complete Series 1–4 & the Christmas Specials (blue-coloured) | 4 October 2010 |
The Clue of the Savant's Thumb | 6 May 2013[22] |
Series 5 | 17 March 2014[23] |
Daemons' Roost | 6 February 2017 |
The Complete Collection (Series 1-5 plus six specials) |
6 February 2017 |
- Series 1 was released in Region 1 (US/Canada) in December 2006.
- Series 2 was released in Region 1 in late 2007.
- Series 3 was released in Region 1 on 20 January 2009.
- Series 4 was released in Region 1 on 19 January 2010.
- The Specials were released in Region 1 on 19 October 2010.
Footnotes
- ^ The actual windmill used is in Shipley, West Sussex[12]
References
- ^ "Jonathan Creek, The Judas Tree". BBC One. 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ Brown, David (5 December 2012). "Jonathan Creek to return for new episode". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ Jeffery, Morgan (28 February 2014). "Alan Davies: I want to play Jonathan Creek for another 10 years". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ Wightman, Catriona (4 March 2016). "Jonathan Creek is returning to BBC One for a new special". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- ^ Dowell, Ben (29 November 2016). "What time is the Jonathan Creek Christmas special on TV?". Radio Times.
- ^ "Jonathan Creek returns to BBC One". The Daily Telegraph. 2 August 2016. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards (1998)". imdb.com. 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-0563551355.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Desolation Jests - Available now". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ "Desolation Jests Series and Episode Guides | TV from". RadioTimes. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ Born: 22 November 1936, Nottingham, Notts. (22 November 1936). "John Bird". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Shipley Windmill". www.shipleywindmill.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ alandavies1 (10 March 2009). "Thanks for all tweets regarding ..." twitter.com. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
Thanks for all tweets regarding Ali Bongo's passing. He was a great inventor of tricks & the inspiration for J Creek, nice man.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Wylie, Ian (18 December 2008). "Jonathan Creek gets creepy". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ "Ban on eating and drinking on buses is just the ticket". Sunday Mirror. 15 June 1997. [dead link]
- ^ Corcos, Christine Alice (27 April 2004). "The Magical World of Jonathan Creek". Picturing Justice: The On-line Journal of Law and Popular Culture. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Jonathan Creek - The American Series". BBC. September 2005. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ "Radio Times Week 45 by Immediate Media Company London LTD. - Issuu".
- ^ Fletcher, Alex. (2021). "Alan Davies TV Passions: The As Yet Untitled star talks Strictly, Taskmaster and the future of Jonathan Creek". bt.com. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ Richardson, Jay. (2021). "David Renwick on resurrecting Victor Meldrew interview". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "One Foot in the Grave could become a West End musical".
- ^ "Jonathan Creek - The Clue of the Savant's Thumb DVD". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ "Jonathan Creek: Series 5 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 17 February 2014.