Approaching this review of the first season of BBC America’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (adapted from the Douglas Adam novels), it’s hard to know where to begin because it has to have one of the most complicated story lines of all time. But first things first, a spoiler warning: because this is a review of the entire season, there will be some spoilers. I’m trying to keep those to a minimum, but if you haven’t seen the season yet you might want to avoid and come back.
The show follows the same general concept of Adams’ work, but
with many liberties taken. That concept is that Dirk Gently is a holistic
detective who uses the “fundamental interconnectedness of all things” to solve
crimes rather than going the conventional route of gathering evidence.
A previous adaptation was done (just titled Dirk Gently) by Itv, in 2010, and
featured Stephen Mangan in the lead role. Mangan brought a wonderful level of
arrogant humor to the role and the show was surprising delightful (though it
aired only 4 episodes).
In comparison, this version dials the humor back slightly
(though there were many moments where I was laughing) and ups the weird levels
considerably. To give a quick overview of the world’s most complicated plot:
Todd, a bellhop, played by Elijah Wood (who is perfect here. Just as he is
perfect in everything), who becomes involved in Dirk Gently’s latest case and
is quickly claimed by Dirk Gently to be his best friend. It involves: Lydia
Springs the kidnapped daughter of a billionaire, soul swapping, a corgi, murders
committed by a shark in a hotel room, an illness that causes sensory
hallucinations, a kitten, a group of perpetrators of chaos who go by the name
The Rowdy 3 even though there are four of them, an assassin who is aided by the
universe, puzzles that involve booby traps, and more.
Dirk is played by Samuel Barnett, who I admit I struggled
with in the first few episodes. He plays Gently in a hyper-child sort of way
and is more annoying than funny. However, to give Barnett credit, by halfway through
the series he was showing the layers beneath the surface read of the character
and by the end of the season I was fully on board. In his take on the
character, that hyperness and obnoxious quality covers up how fundamentally
lonely Gently is at heart.
And bringing up Barnett, moves me on to the phenomenal
casting of this show. I came for the Douglas Adams’ material, the presence of
Elijah Wood, and the corgi I saw in the trailers (the corgi actor’s name is
Bentley!). However, I was surprised by how much I came to enjoy each character.
The real find though, to me, is Jade Eshete as Farah—a security officer working
for Lydia’s father. Farah is a badass and Eshete’s performance is pitch
perfect. There are several highlights of the character, but using a bra’s
underwire as a lock pick might take the cake.
Again, though, it’s hard to single out just one of the
characters/actors because the show is stuffed with excellent ones. Neil Brown
Jr’s Detective Estevez has an excellent emotional arc from beginning the show
as a confident detective set on finding the missing girl and being a good cop
to a man who’s whole world is thrown into disarray. Brown plays both sides of
this continuum skillfully and in a scene
where he basically flips out because he just wants to know what’s going on his
face registers confused anger and resignation in a subtle shift.
To move away from the acting, the show also uses music very
well. Each chosen song seemed perfectly placed—particularly a surprisingly
effective use of Neon Tree’s “First Things First.” The direction, camera work,
and set design also all aid the show. It’s as clever looking as the show’s
premise. Also, props to the costume designer, who has a smart, smart move with
Dirk’s outerwear (that I won’t mention as to avoid a major spoiler).
And now on to the weaker elements of the show: basically not
everything works. It’s an ambitious show in terms of what it’s trying to do on
a story level, but the elements don’t always add up and the pacing is a mixed
bag-- sometimes too slow and sometimes too disorientingly fast. There are also
a lot of moments where characters explain crucial elements of the plot in order
to help the audience get to the “aha” faster which sometimes bog it down.
That being said, I’d have probably scored the show somewhat
lower if I had done it before the finale. The finale is almost surprisingly
excellent: not only does it tie up the story threads in clever and fitting ways
but it also pulls off some surprisingly emotional scenes. However, there is one
death that I found extremely upsetting. I think it works for the show:
emotionally and in terms of what the episode is doing at the very end, and yet,
I find myself actively fighting against agreeing with the decision to do so.
Here’s hoping for a season two!
Some random things I noted as I was watching the show:
--One of the villains, Gordon Rimmer, is played by a fairly
gruffed up Aaron Douglas. When I realized, I actually shouted “Chief!!” at my
computer screen. (For those of you who aren’t BSG fans, whatever, I don’t need
you to understand my excitement).
--The Interconnected Assassin, Bart, is played by Fiona
Dourif. She is Brad Dourif’s daughter. So Frodo is united with Wormtongue sort
of.
--A wordless shrug shared between two characters in the
final episode is maybe the best television shrug ever.
--I didn’t even mention the story arc between Elijah Wood’s
Todd and his sister, Amanda (played by Hannah Marks). It’s one of my favorite
things in the show because of how well done it is.
--The fight scenes are all really well done.
The Math
Baseline Assessment: 7/10
Bonuses: +1 for a corgi being in every episode, +2 for a standout finale that makes the show feel much more complete, +1 for some fun call backs to the Adams’ novels
Penalties: -1 for pacing issues, -1 for that death (because I’m bitter), -1 for some issues of explanation
Nerd Coefficient: 8/10 “well worth your time and attention”
***
POSTED BY: Chloe, speculative fiction fan in all forms, monster theorist, and Nerds of a Feather blogger since 2016.
POSTED BY: Chloe, speculative fiction fan in all forms, monster theorist, and Nerds of a Feather blogger since 2016.
Reference: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, BBC
America, 2016
