The
lowdown: 'The Mrs Bradley Mysteries' starred Diana Rigg as Mrs
Adela Bradley, a criminologist and
author who also happens
to solve crimes with the aid of her chauffeur, George Moody. The series
is set in
the 1920s and based on the
books by Gladys Mitchell. Five episodes (including the pilot episode) were
made
and broadcast on BBC1 between
31 August 1998 and 6 February 2000. Peter Davison featured as Inspector
Henry Christmas in three
of the episodes.
The
episode: 'Death at the Opera' was the first episode of the regular
series, and was first broadcast on
16 January 2000. It sees
Mrs Bradley return to her old school, the Hadleigh Heights Academy for
Young
Ladies, to deliver the annual
lecture. However, one of the teachers dies during a student performance
of
'The Mikado', and although
it seems to be a simple case of heart failure, the police are called in
when the
deputy principal is found
gassed to death in the school's kitchen. As with all British mystery dramas,
there
are a number of suspects,
including the music teacher, Max Valentine (David Tennant), the principal
Mrs
Simms and her husband, and
a number of students, including the scholarship girl, Plum Fisher, whom
Mrs
Bradley takes a shine to
(perhaps because they have similar hairstyles). Inspector Christmas thinks
it is a
simple case of suicide,
but Mrs Bradley is not convinced. She uncovers a number of secrets perhaps
best
left unrevealed, including
lesbian relationships and the fact that Max Valentine is not who he claims
to be.
The
verdict: 'The Mrs Bradley Mysteries' is an interesting crime/drama
series that is very compelling.
Being a BBC period series
it pays close attention to the clothing and fashions of the era, while
the casting
of Diana Rigg as Mrs Bradley
and Neil Dudgeon as George Moody are inspired. Indeed, Diana Rigg proves
age has not diminished her
acting skills and she is still a pleasure to watch as much as she was during
her
years on 'The Avengers'.
While the series is similar to the Miss Marple ones in terms of the premise,
the
producers quite wisely opted
to avoid direct comparisons by injecting a lot of humour into the show.
The plots
tend to be more over the
top than any crime Miss Marple ever investigated, while Mrs Bradley frequently
talks
directly to the camera with
her wry observations. While the series is more lightweight than many British
crime
offerings, it is well worth
a look and should please fans of the genre. However, Peter Davison has
a very brief
appearance in this episode,
and the character of Inspector Christmas adds little to the plot, although
his role
was expanded in some of
the later episodes.
Quote:
Mrs Bradley: Henry Christmas. Unusual name.
Christmas: The novelty wears off, believe you me.
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