Sat 3 Jul 2010
A British TV Series Review by Geoff Bradley: CRACKER, Series One.
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[6] Comments
CRACKER. ITV [UK]. 27 September to 8 November 1993. Robbie Coltrane, Geraldine Somerville, Kieran O’Brien, Barbara Flynn, Lorcan Cranitch, Christopher Eccleston. Series creator and lead writer: Jimmy McGovern.
The big success of the moment is Cracker. There have been three stories, all written by Jimmy McGovern, the first with two episodes, then three and finally two again.
The main character is Fitz, a psychologist, played by Robbie Coltrane. In the first story, “A Mad Woman In The Attic”, a student of Fitz’s is killed and he is asked to help by the parents. The gimmick here is that although Fitz can uncover what makes other people tick, he cannot cope with his own life.
He is a compulsive gambler, a heavy drinker and, during this first episode, his wife walks out on him when she finds out he has squandered all the family money. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the girl turns out to have been the victim of a serial killer, but this turns out to be a taut and entertaining tale.
The second story, “To Say I Love You”, deals with a stammering youth who, meeting up with a girl, eases his frustration by going on a lawless rampage with her. The ending is tense and exciting.
The third story, “One Day A Lemming Will Fly”, had, perhaps, more of a message, but I found it the least satisfying of the three. Overall though a series well worth looking out for. Following its overwhelming success, a new series is planned for next year.
Editorial Comments. Not only was there a new series the next year, but there were four in all, plus (I believe) two standalone made-for-TV movies. Repeats were shown in the US on the A&E cable network, and a US version lasted four months in 1997-98, this one starring Robert Pastorelli (of Murphy Brown fame). All of the above are available on DVD, and the likelihood is high that I will soon persuade myself that I can’t live without them any longer.
Comments on the US version are welcome. I never saw it. Perhaps very few people did.
July 3rd, 2010 at 6:08 pm
From Wikipedia:
In 1997 a 16-part US version of Cracker — directed by Stephen Cragg and Michael Fields — was made, starring Robert Pastorelli in Coltrane’s role. The original UK story lines were transferred to Los Angeles. The series finished after the first series, and was regarded by critics as a poor copy of the original. It was said that the storylines failed to translate well into an American version.
From the one or two I saw, I’d have to agree.
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:24 pm
The American version of CRACKER suffered from a problem suffered by American television in general — the need to make the protagonist likable — even lovable — turning Archie Bunker into a positive role model. HOUSE is one of the few series to escape this — and only because it has an English star I suspect who won’t allow it.
The William Conrad NERO WOLFE was a good example of this. In the adaptation of the MOTHER HUNT, not only is the child victim not killed, but Wolfe leaves the Brownstone to take him an orchid in the hospital! It’s this sort of childish sentimentality that keeps most commercial television from doing anything like CRACKER in this country (the exceptions are usually on AMC, HBO, or some other cable venue). Every character has to be reduced to the level of a moron to be accepted.
You get the feeling that should American television do an adaptation of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES it would end with Holmes making the spectral hound a guide dog for Max Carrados.
Even when they do allow for a bad person who is the protagonist on an American series its a cartoon like J.R. of DALLAS or Alexis on DYNASTY. And as long as that mentality dominates American television we will seldom get anything as good as CRACKER.
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Jeff and David
I was trying to think of an American TV series with the main character having as many flaws as Cracker has, and never having watched House, I couldn’t come up with one, so thanks for that example.
It seems to be a specialty of British TV, though. In the US, thank goodness for cable. That’s where 90% of the intelligent shows are. (I don’t think I’m exaggerating, am I?)
— Steve
July 3rd, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Even when American television does come up with an interesting character they always end up softening them for general consumption. It comes from aiming at the lowest common denominator. Fans of the legendary British comedy STEPTOE AND SON can tell you how sanitized it was for it’s American incarnation as SANFORD AND SON.
It’s not that nothing good is done on commercial television, only that it remains fairly bland because of the need of producers and advertisers to appeal to that wide audience — and because they are trying for an impossible demographic that everyone likes they fail more than they succeed.
But it’s rare for a series like HOUSE to be on the air as long as it has and maintain it’s main character as an egotistical, rude, drug addicted, manipulative jerk — who just happens to be a genius — of course the fact he’s Sherlock Holmes solving medical mysteries helps (he even lives on Baker Street — in Boston), and the fact the role is played by Hugh Laurie is no small part of the appeal (Laurie also wrote a damn good thriller 1997’s THE GUN SELLER).
But by and large American television will always end up giving us pap because they think pap is all we will tolerate even when good programs do succeed. After all, PBS is still rerunning Lawrence Welk — pap sells.
July 4th, 2010 at 6:29 am
One correction: HOUSE is set in New Jersey – not Boston. Otherwise, I agree with what David said, including how entertaining Hugh Laurie’s book was to read.
July 4th, 2010 at 10:28 am
Jeff
Shows how much attention I was paying — but in fairness I haven’t watched regularly for a couple of years. I totally forgot the Princeton in the hospital name.
Still nice to know someone else read Laurie’s book. I still have hopes he’ll do another when HOUSE eventually wraps. Ironically, his old comedy partner Stephen Frye wrote a pretty good thriller too, REVENGE, a modern take on THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. Turns out Bertie and Jeeves could both write.