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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Jonathan Creek-Christmas Specials (1997)
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Jonathan Creek-Christmas Specials (1997)
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Released 12-Nov-2008
This review is sponsored by
Details At A Glance
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Plot Synopsis
British TV makes absolutely little sense to me. I don't understand why TV seasons tend to last only 6 episodes (give-or-take), nor why it can take years to see a completed series air. I'm also tremendously baffled as to why various series occasionally have movie-length Christmas specials with little warning nor reasoning, but there's no point in complaining when so many of these are stunning examples of excellence. After a five year absense, the dawning of 2009 found the series return of cult classic Jonathan Creek in a new Christmas special, The Grinning Man, focusing on the mysterious attic of an old magician's house where anyone who would stay the night would disappear by the morning, never to be seen again. Despite mixed reactions from the critics, the new special featured an excellent new assistent (companion, perhaps?) for the central character, as well as plenty of hilarious moments and an absolute corker of a mystery. With the focus of the series being on impossible and often terrifying locked-room mysteries it was great to see a fascinating and well-devised literal locked-room at the centre of this special, along with a wonderfully shocking and grotesque reveal at the resolution.
But long before this, when the show was in its prime, two separate Christmas Specials bridged the latter two seasons. For the uninformed, Jonathan Creek follows investigative journalist Madeleine "Maddie" Magellan (Caroline Quentin) who partners with brilliant magician's assistant Jonathan Creek (Alan Davies) to solve unsolvable mysteries; a modern-day answer to Agatha Christie's Marple and CSI, the show's clever and devious mysteries are offset by clever humor and hysterical situations, the likes of which only creator David Renwick can write. The first special, Black Canary, finds Jonathan and Maddie investigating the apparent suicide of a well-known fellow magician, whose body was long dead before she was seen taking her own life with a shotgun in the snow. A phenomenal and perfectly-paced mystery with clever plotting, engaging drama and hilarious comedy (a Prestige-like twist is played for both horror and dark humor) this is the quintessential Jonathan Creek episode, and is worth buying the set for alone.
The second special, Satan's Chimney, is great viewing but not quite up to scratch with Black Canary, and begins an unfortunate downward twist for the series, which would later go on to receive its worst ratings with the fourth season. With Caroline Quentin absent, the wonderful Maddie is replaced by the much less likeable Carla Borrego (Julia Sawalha), a sensationalised and over-the-top foil for Jonathan's cool intellect and wit. While the two central mysteries - a sealed-off derelict cell that impossibly burns any captives to death, and the impossible shooting murder of an actress in a locked set - are as engaging and clever as anything else seen in the series, the main storyline is similarly sensationalised and over-the-top, featuring ridiculous soap opera characters, murky pacing, forced humor and an unlikely reveal involving multiple killers staging an elaborate scene for no one to see. While still satisfying and fun to watch, the major tonal shift feels strange and out of place, and was unfortunately built upon in the following series, leading to the apparent end of the cult classic.
Fortunately, it seems like we may see a revival of the once-great series, with the new special taking record ratings. Whether we see more of Jonathan's adventures onscreen is yet to be decided; for now, this is a solid set featuring two engaging feature length episodes, and despite the change in quality, both are must-watch. Having them both available together in this nifty set is a treat, and a must for the fan and completist.
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Transfer Quality
Video
The video is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.
Like the previous Jonathan Creeksets, the video transfer is very varied, featuring a high level of grain throughout the specials and unfortunate variation in sharpness and detail. There are frequent though minor film artefacts. Brightness and low level noise are both fine, fortunately, with strong detail in dark scenes (61:11). To be fair, the second special is a lot sharper and more detailed than the first, though its still not perfect, with occasional hideous interlacing and some frustrating and noticable film artefacts. This could have been a much cleaner transfer, and the show deserves it. These are dual-layer discs, with the layer change occuring between the specials.
There are English subtitles, which are accurate based on the sample of scenes I viewed with them.
Video Ratings Summary
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Audio
The audio is presented in English Dolby Digital 2.0 (Stereo). Jonathan Creek features effective but unexceptional sound, with the excellent main theme booming lovingly through the stereo speakers as each episode begins before taking a backseat to the superb, perfectly-synced dialogue. All audio is well mixed and audible, as is important in a show like this in which the small details can make a big difference. Although full surround would be better, its absense is not noticable.
The distinctive theme tune is an arrangement of Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre by Julian Stewart Lindsay, who composes the excellent, often intense orchestral underscore throughout the series.
Audio Ratings Summary
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Extras
Animated Menus with Sound
The menus here feature the Danse Macarbe theme over still shots of the stars, and is nice enough. Production Notes Booklet
The only Extra across the set is this full colour booklet, with plot summaries from the specials as well as a few paragraphs about the show with photos of the cast from the episodes. As nice as this is, couldn't a featurette or two have been afforded on how this show was made and constructed?
R4 vs R1
NOTE: To view
non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually
also NTSC compatible.
The R1 editions of this set is not yet available, although all features appear to be identical. The set is also available in R2 by itself, or featuring the third and fourth seasons; the first and second seasons were included in an initial R2 set, and finally the R2 received a phenomenal entire series set, featuring all episodes, specials and extra features, which would be the best buy to my mind.
Summary
Jonathan Creek remains an exceptional, unique mystery television show, with elements of drama and comedy mixed in with unforgettable characters. Although these two Christmas specials have big changes in quality and tone, I still cannot recommend them enough. Both the video and audio transfers are fine but not exceptional.
Booklet aside, there are no extras.
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© Ryan Aston (Bioshock)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
| Review Equipment |
| DVD | Sony Playstation 3 (HDMI 1.3) with Upscaling, using Component output |
| Display | Philips 47PFL9732D 47-inch LCD .
Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
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| Audio Decoder | Logitech 5500 THX.
Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL).
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| Amplification | Logitech 5500 THX |
| Speakers | Logitech 5500 THX |
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