Tue 19 May 2009
THE LAST DETECTIVE. Pilot episode for the British ITV series of the same name; first telecast on 7 February 2003. Peter Davison, Sean Hughes, Rob Spendlove, Emma Amos, with Joanne Frogatt, David Troughton, Rachel Davies. Based on the book Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective by Leslie Thomas. Director: Nick Hurran.
As far as the literary world is concerned, there are only four books in the “Dangerous Davies” series, but there were 17 episodes of this television series, spread out over four seasons, all part of the box set of DVDs I recently purchased, and I’m glad I did.
This, the first episode, was adapted into a TV movie once before, a production with the same title as the book, Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective (1981), written and directed by Val Guest and starring Bernard Cribbens as Davies. I’ve not seen it, but it is included in the box set. (A sad note about the earlier movie is that it marked the last screen appearance of Bernard Lee, long-time “M” of the James Bond series.)
So far as I know, Dangerous Davies never has had a first name, and the reason he is called “Dangerous” is that as a policeman, he isn’t. He’s slow, he’s methodical, the punks in the suburban town outside (or just inside) London don’t mind being arrested by him — he doesn’t resort to violence or racial epithets as the other coppers do — and he’s called the last detective, as he’d be the last one in the station house to be given a case of any significance.
It’s not really clear how he fell so far in the opinions of his fellow officers or Inspector Aspinall (Rod Spendlove), his superior officer, as there are no flashbacks to tell the viewer (the writers of the TV series may want to hold that back for a while) and of all of the accents of the players involved, it’s those of his fellow policemen which I found the most difficult to translate.
Davies, as I see I haven’t mentioned it so far, is played by Peter Davison — or should I say underplayed, as he’s certainly the gentlest and most patient of police detectives I have ever seen on TV. (This may be why he gets on the nerves of his fellow officers.) Davison, of course, also played Dr. Who for a while in his long acting career, as well as a shorter stint as Albert Campion, Margery Allingham’s stalwart but enigmatic hero.
Assigned a nothing job to see whether a known hoodlum is coming back to England from Spain, and if so, why, Davies sidetracks himself onto another case, one that been open and unsolved for 20 years — that of a 17-year-old girl who went missing one night, her body never found.
Reopening the case means wounding the girl’s family all over again, her mother, her father, and especially the girl’s sister, who came along only after her older sibling disappeared. Joanne Frogatt plays both parts, Josie in the present, and Celia in the past.
She’s cheeky, sexy and vulnerable at the same time, and as Josie, at point slyly (but almost shyly) makes a play for Davies. It’s a wonderful performance.
Davies, though, is married, but only barely. Emma Amos plays his wife, exasperated by Davies, unable to live with him, but there’s a sense that she still loves him, and if so, I imagine this is a thread that will play its way out over the course of the series. (They do have a large dog in common.)
Stand-up comedian Sean Hughes plays Davies’ buddy Mod, who assists him on his cases, very much unofficially, while holding a number of real jobs, including dog-walker and door-to-door interviewer about the sex lives of senior citizens — and not very successfully.
The ending is bittersweet, as Davies’ approach, low key but effective at the same time, is to persuade the killer to confess. Thus justice is done, but with no fanfare and at the same time embarrassing the department — slipshod and ineffective policework was done at the time — and thus getting himself into a deeper hole on the job.
Episode Two now awaits me. While I’m not likely to be reporting on more, I am more than ready for the task. Eager, in fact. After a while, watching endless car chases on The Rockford Files eventually become boring, no matter how much you enjoy James Garner as Rockford.
May 21st, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I appreciate British TV because they don’t run a show into the ground like us rebels in the colonies. This sounds superb and I will check it out after my DVD viewing pile dwindles down. Thanks.
May 21st, 2009 at 4:08 pm
David
You’re right. There’s a lot to be said for the British system, with an emphasis on quality over quantity. Some of the cable-only networks are following the same pattern here in the US. If you follow the over-the-air networks only, you miss a lot of interesting shows.
(Even so I suspect that there’s the same amount of dreck over there that we don’t hear about here.)
— Steve
PS. One thing you said that’s remarkable: you have a DVD viewing pile that dwindles down? I could use one of those!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
You won’t be disappointed with the rest of the series. I bought the complete DVD series some months back and thought it would take me a while to watch, but I found it hard to resist wanting to put in another episode after finishing each one.
The stories are often bittersweet and slightly melancholy with a bit of welcome quirkiness thrown in. No slick masterminds or clever CSI-type investigations here. And the revolving cast of criminals, victims and incidental characters seem like people you would actually meet if you walked down the street in Willesden.
This is most certainly a character-driven program and, indeed, the regular cast of characters remain compelling over the 4 seasons (or series as they call them) as relationships evolve. You already had that sense with Dangerous and his wife with the course of their marriage–they may eventually find their way back back to each other, but the path takes several detours along the way. Even more interesting and surprising is the dynamic relationship between Davies and his “guv” DI Aspinall, beautifully played by Rob Spendlove. The scenes between him and Davison are in many ways some of the most touching. And Sean Hughes is a wonderful foil–the give and take between Mod and Dangerous is always a welcome respite from the sometimes dark stories.
Of course, Peter Davison is the glue that holds the whole bit together. He manages to keep Davies’ dignity intact, even as it is assailed from all sides. He is one of those actors who can say volumes with a sad smile, a lifted eyebrow or a slumped shoulder. In a word, brilliant.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Beautifully said, Ellen. Thanks! I’ve not gotten back to watching the programs yet, but I’m itching to. (Sometimes when a series is good, I feel as though I ought to be stretching them out, so as to make them last longer.)
Foolish, hey? I guess you’re right.
— Steve
October 16th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
can anybody identify the dog breed in “the last detective” series?
October 26th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Hello. The dog originally used was a Newfoundland (possible mixed with a St. Bernard). They replaced the dog later with a St. Bernard. I don’t know why they switched the dogs? Anyway, I LOVE the show and really wish they made more!
September 11th, 2015 at 10:01 am
Dog in first series is a newfoundland.
June 28th, 2016 at 11:01 pm
I was also wondering why they changed dogs. It was obvious that they switched from a Newfoundland in the first series to a St. Bernard in the second. Very strange.
September 30th, 2016 at 11:31 pm
Knew it was a st. Bernard looks like Newfoundland mixes with English setter
? Thanks
November 17th, 2016 at 9:06 am
Mod Lewis is so hot
February 21st, 2021 at 8:29 am
The Last Detective was one of those shows that was like a comfy pair of slippers.
The characters are distinctively average, credible, the sort of person you and I might actually know.
Set in an unfashionable part of London by an unfashionable regional TV company, it was never going to pull any shots.
It was a summer’s evening show that you watched if you just happened not to be going out that night.
It didn’t matter if you missed it because you wouldn’t be missing much anyway.
The characters are likeable with no hardened criminals to upset your stomach while you were eating your supper.
So many other detective shows from the era lasted so much longer but I guess the politics of ITV companies being bought up and merged at the time marginalised national exposure for the smaller TV companies.
A few years later, the popular DCI Banks was dropped due to internal politics and this may have fallen for similar reasons.
It is a good watch with gentle humour ably performed by the much-missed Sean Hughes with the hapless but unambitious Peter Davidson generally being on the receiving end of the jibes and jokes.
A good show while it lasted.