Jonathan Creek

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Jonathan Creek

Jonathan Creek's intertitle
Format Drama
Created by David Renwick
Starring Alan Davies
Caroline Quentin
Stuart Milligan
Julia Sawalha
Adrian Edmondson
Country of origin Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
No. of episodes 25
Production
Running time 60 minutes (Series 1 & 4)
50 minutes (Series 2 & 3)
2 x 90 minutes
1 x 120 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel BBC
Original run 10 May 199728 February 2004
External links
IMDb profile

Jonathan Creek is a British mystery television series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It ran for four series and two Christmas specials from 1997 to 2004. The series is primarily a crime drama — its cult success won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series in 1998 — but features comic characters and comic sub-plots. Somewhat anomalously, it was produced by the BBC's in-house Entertainment department rather than the Drama department. The distinctive theme tune is an arrangement of Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre by Julian Stewart Lindsay, who also wrote the underscore for the first three series and the two specials. In keeping with the mysterious allusions that pervade Jonathan Creek's investigations, the name of the series is itself a cryptic translation of the German composer Johann Bach, who in his final composition encoded his own name in the notes of the musical score.

Contents

Several well-known actors have appeared in the series including three who are better known for comedy playing rare straight roles, Bob Monkhouse, Rik Mayall and Jack Dee.

Other guest stars, both comedy and straight, have included: Steven Berkoff, Geoffrey McGivern, John Bluthal, Nigel Planer, Kate Isitt, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Griff Rhys Jones, Hattie Hayridge, Alistair McGowan, Tamsin Greig, Colin Baker, Jim Bowen, Peter Davison, Maureen O'Brien, Lysette Anthony, Mark Caven, Lorelei King, Mary Tamm, Geoffrey Beevers, Annette Crosbie, Maureen Lipman, Paul Blackthorne, Jimmi Harkishin, and Bill Bailey (who was pencilled as the original Jonathan Creek).

Jonathan Ross, Michael Grade and Bamber Gascoigne have all appeared as themselves.

See also: List of Jonathan Creek cast members

The series follows the exploits of Jonathan Creek, a designer of illusions for a stage magician, and — in the first three series — Maddie Magellan, a pushy journalist, as they work together to solve baffling crimes where others have failed to do so.

Creek contributes his superb lateral-thinking brain, and Magellan is a plausible liar who never seems to have trouble sneaking in to closed crime scenes. The programme usually features 'impossible crimes', for example a mysterious crime having been committed in a sealed environment from which no earthly criminal could have escaped (a "locked room mystery"). Several episodes deal with apparently paranormal thefts and murders, which Jonathan solves using his knowledge of misdirection and illusion, giving the character a passing resemblance to stage magician turned paranormal investigator James Randi. Creek gradually changed from an antisocial anorak to a man with a great deal of wit and charm. This helped to fuel the romantic thread between him and Maddie. Jonathan's trademark duffle coat was actually Alan Davies' own coat that he wore to the auditions; it helped him win the role, as the writer and producers thought it suited the character.

Creek's employer is the amoral and ambitious Adam Klaus, a flamboyant performer with a sinister stage persona who is really a drug-addled, comically insensitive womaniser. In some instances, his magic tricks go comically wrong. The character appears on camera infrequently, his shenanigans usually revealed to or by Jonathan in conversation with other characters. Some aspects of the character were inspired by Ali Bongo.

For the 2001 Christmas special and thereafter, Caroline Quentin declined to appear, and so a second supporting role was introduced, theatrical agent Carla Borrego, played by Julia Sawalha. After her first appearance, the character married TV producer Brendan Baxter (Adrian Edmondson), and she became a TV presenter.

Part of the humour comes from the fact that Jonathan often doesn't want to get involved in other people's problems, and has to be pressured into it by Maddie or Carla. In "The Scented Room", which centred around a theft from a critic who had lambasted Adam's act, he took great delight in announcing he had solved the crime but wasn't going to tell anybody how it was done. Initially Jonathan was only brought in to investigate because he was asked by Maddie due to her having a connection to the crime, or because it involved an old friend of his, but as time went on and he acquired a more significant reputation, he was independently recruited by such varied contacts as a chief of police or the United States military.

Toward the end of the show's run the tone became noticeably darker, with Jonathan investigating gangsters, drug dealers, slave traders, psychopathic serial killers and violent pimps as opposed to the more whimsical (if no less murderous) characters he crossed wits with in earlier episodes. The tone of the show also became more adult, with coarser language and even on one occasion full-frontal male nudity creeping into the show by series four.

The 2003 and 2004 series were made up of three episodes each but were released on DVD as a single six-episode series.

# Title Running Time Writer Director Original airdate
1 "The Wrestler's Tomb" 90 minutes David Renwick Marcus Mortimer 10 May 1997

Maddie is investigating the murder of an exuberant artist found dead in his studio, but was he shot by his wife- who went into her office but lacks anyone to prove she was in there at the time of the death-, his lover- who was apparently tied up in the room where his body was found-, or a burglar? After a chance meeting at one of Adam Klaus's shows, she recruits the initially reluctant Jonathan Creek to provide her with some ideas about how the killer could have escaped the scene of the crime. 

2 "Jack in the Box" 60 minutes David Renwick Marcus Mortimer 17 May 1997

After Maddie successfully campaigns to free a man she believes to have been wrongly imprisoned for murder, the elderly husband of the victim, a retired comedian, is found shot dead in his nuclear fall-out shelter. The otherwise empty bunker is locked from the inside, so apparently he shot himself, but everyone insists he had crippling arthritis in his hands, and couldn't even pour himself a drink, much less pull a trigger, so how did he actually die? 

3 "The Reconstituted Corpse" 60 minutes David Renwick Marcus Mortimer 24 May 1997

A famous cosmetic surgeon is shot dead at his home after an altercation with his ex, Zola, on television about her recent autobiography. Zola is the prime suspect, thanks to one of her earrings being discovered at the scene of the crime, but when Maddie investigates she finds Zola has a watertight alibi (thanks to camcorder footage apparently made by her stalker). Although the case is seemingly resolved, the next day Zola's body falls out of Maddie's new wardrobe, despite the fact that she saw it was totally empty moments before. 

4 "No Trace of Tracy" 60 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 31 May 1997

Tracy, a teenager who loves seventies rock music, goes to visit her idol, retired rock star Roy Pilgrim (Jonathan is also a fan). She is clearly seen entering his house but then vanishes. Roy protests his innocence, insisting he never invited her in the first place and what's more had been knocked out and handcuffed to a radiator at the time and never even saw Tracy enter. Jonathan sets out to find Tracy and clear Roy's name, but what connection does Tracy's disappearance have with the Creed of Eden, an Earth-loving cult that Roy is a member of? 

5 "The House of Monkeys" 60 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 7 June 1997

A respected cancer doctor is found impaled on a samurai sword in his locked study, having apparently been yelling and hurling books at someone mere seconds before. His wife, an old family friend of Jonathan's, asks Jonathan and Maddie to help find his killer. Suspects include the rather odd son, the air-headed daughter-in-law and assorted monkeys used for research, but what role does an envelope containing a copy of his book play in the investigation? 

# Title Running Time Writer Director Original airdate
6 "Danse Macabre" 50 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 24 January 1998

A well-known horror writer is shot dead on Halloween by a man in a skeleton costume who subsequently takes her unconscious daughter hostage and escapes to the garage. The police surround the garage but when they open the door the killer has vanished, leaving only the daughter who has no memory of the incident. With Jonathan otherwise occupied due to Adam currently being blackmailed by a barmaid he spent the night with, Maddie must tackle the case with only limited access to Jonathan's expertise. 

7 "Time Waits For Norman" 50 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 31 January 1998

A friend of Maddie's asks Maddie and Jonathan to discover what her husband, Norman, has been up to after reliable independent witnesses place him on both sides of the Atlantic only minutes apart (Jonathan, meanwhile, has to deal with a rather awkward romantic encounter with a bald tax inspector). 

8 "The Scented Room" 50 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 7 February 1998

A priceless painting disappears from a locked room and the owner demands Jonathan help him, but Jonathan refuses due to his dislike of the man after he published a negative review of Adam's show; the only hint he will give Maddie is that a spam sandwich is involved in the solution. 

9 "The Problem at Gallows Gate (Part 1)" 50 minutes David Renwick Keith Washington 14 February 1998

A young rich eccentric apparently commits suicide by jumping off a balcony after discovering his girlfriend in bed with someone else, but three weeks later, during Jonathan's badger watch, he is witnessed strangling her in her kitchen by Adam Klaus's older sister, Kitty. 

10 "The Problem at Gallows Gate (Part 2)" 50 minutes David Renwick Keith Washington 21 February 1998

Their attempts to prove their own innocence hampered by the police's dislike of Maddie after the publication of her recent book (as Maddie grows increasingly frustrated with Jonathan's s-less typewriter), Jonathan and Maddie begin to realise that not only may Kitty not have witnessed a murder after all, but that the man she saw may not have even died in the first place. Jonathan, meanwhile, is convinced that the removal of the woman's stockings plays a more important role than they initially suspected. 

11 "Mother Redcap" 50 minutes David Renwick Keith Washington 28 February 1998

A judge on a police protection programme is killed by a rapier blade to the heart after a brief struggle, but only his wife, who insists she's innocent, was in the room at the time, and the only evidence at the crime scene is a torn fingernail. As Jonathan investigates the murder, Maddie and a new friend are investigating the derelict Mother Redcap Inn, where seven men apparently died of fright after looking out of a window in the same room. A connection between the cases is drawn when Maddie discovers the body of a vagrant woman - missing a fingernail. 

# Title Running Time Writer Director Original airdate
12 "Black Canary" 90 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 24 December 1998

A famous illusionist (whose twin sister died when an escape trick went wrong and she was partially sliced in half) is found in her back garden, having apparently been witnessed shooting herself by her husband. However, the post-mortem reveals that she had already been dead for several hours, and there are no other footprints around the body despite her husband seeing someone talking to her and fleeing before she pulled the trigger. Jonathan and Maddie are prompted to investigate by the dead woman's daughter— an old flame of Jonathan's— with the help of the debonair Gideon Pryke, the police officer officially in charge of the case, whose attitude annoys both Jonathan and Maddie. Back at the theatre, Adam has apparently fallen in love with a virgin woman from Austria in her thirties, but she may have more layers than even he knows. 

# Title Running Time Writer Director Original airdate
13 "The Curious Tale of Mr Spearfish" 50 minutes David Renwick 27 November 1999

A man who claims to have sold his soul to the Devil has a remarkable run of good luck— ranging from finding ancient treasure in his backyard to surviving a point-blank range shooting— but Jonathan and Maddie believe his success may be coming from a more Earthly source than Hell. Adam, meanwhile, has to deal with a rather awkward court case where a woman claims he asked her to perform unnatural acts with a kipper. 

14 "The Eye of Tiresias" 50 minutes David Renwick Keith Washington 4 December 1999

When an old woman apparently experiences dreams of the future, including the murder of a prominent Swiss businessman and an apparent prediction of a car crash, Jonathan must find out what is happening before her dreams of being attacked by a one-eyed man with a sword come to pass. 

15 "The Omega Man" 50 minutes David Renwick Keith Washington 11 December 1999

Maddie is contacted by a man who makes a living investigating the existence of aliens, who claims to have found a real alien skeleton. The US army intervenes and takes the skeleton, but it vanishes on the way to the military base, leaving Jonathan to try and find out where it went. 

16 "Ghosts Forge" 50 minutes David Renwick Richard Holthouse 18 December 1999

An old friend of Maddie wants she and Jonathan to investigate the house 'Ghosts Forge', as she is having an affair with a man who keeps muttering about it in his sleep. Investigations reveal that the last owner of the house was found dead several years ago and the house is now being rebuilt into flats. As Jonathan looks into the man's real identity- his only clue being a package in the attic containing six books by Gerald Eastland-, Maddie takes the chance to pull off an illusion of her own. 

17 "Miracle in Crooked Lane" 50 minutes David Renwick Richard Holthouse 28 December 1999

A former nude model, now living quietly with her rich, older husband in the countryside, is seriously injured when her shed explodes, leaving her badly burned. However, a reliable, independent witness insists she spoke to the unharmed woman several hours later as she went to church. Jonathan investigates with the help (and hindrance) of his rapidly growing fan club, all of whom dress exactly like him; two of them even live in windmills. 

18 "The Three Gamblers" 50 minutes David Renwick Keith Washington 2 January 2000

A drug dealer and criminal who was shot six times in the head somehow climbs up the stairs from the cellar in the intervening time between his body being dumped and it being investigated later. Three months later, Jonathan and Maddie try to investigate, but things are hampered by the killer's belief that his victim has supernatural powers and will kill him from beyond the grave. 

# Title Running Time Writer Director Original airdate
19 "Satan's Chimney" 120 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 26 December 2001

With Maddie gone to America on a book promotion tour, Jonathan teams up with Carla Borrego, a theatrical agent representing an escapologist who is being hired for Adam's show, to investigate how a well-known actress could have been shot through a window without the glass having been broken during the filming of her latest movie. The investigation also turns up an old secret used to kill blasphemers in a castle owned by the film's producer, as well as the fact that the actress was pregnant twice... but only had an abortion the second time around. 

# Title Running Time Writer Director Original airdate
20 "The Coonskin Cap" 60 minutes David Renwick Christine Gernon 1 March 2003

After an awkward break-up some months ago, Jonathan and Carla- now married to a television presenter- unite to investigate the mysterious 'Daisy Chain Killer', a killer wearing a Davy Crockett hat who apparently strangles women named after flowers. However, when the killer shoots at policemen and subsequently escapes from an upstairs window in full view of the police, and a policewoman is apparently strangled in the middle of a school gym with no way for the killer to escape, things take on a new dynamic. 

21 "Angel Hair" 60 minutes David Renwick Christine Gernon 8 March 2003

A pop star's husband is baffled as to how his mistress can regrow a full head of hair barely two days after she apparently had it all hacked off for a fake kidnapping video. Meanwhile, Carla is jealous of Jonathan's relationship with a make-up consultant on the show, believing that the woman is in a rebound relationship after the death of her dog

22 "The Tailor's Dummy" 60 minutes David Renwick Christine Gernon 15 March 2003

A well-known designer apparently commits suicide by jumping out a window after reading a bad review of his work, but that leaves the question of why he chose to throw his treasured parrot out the window first. Subsequent events, with a man apparently changing his physical appearance in a matter of seconds while threatening the journalist who wrote the review, also prompt several questions. To answer these, Jonathan must work out what the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Marx Brothers video, and a drawer full of socks have to do with the solution to the mystery. 

# Title Running Time Writer Director Original airdate
23 "The Seer of the Sands" 60 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 14 February 2004

A man who investigates 'supernatural' occurrences apparently kills himself by crashing his boat after receiving a fax from his lover. However, the fact that the fax was good news (his lover's husband was agreeing to a divorce), the disappearance of his body from the scene of the accident, and some Gypsies claiming to be in contact with his spirit with a message for his visiting lover, provide several questions that Jonathan must answer. 

24 "The Chequered Box" 60 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 21 February 2004

When a top detective is photographed apparently laughing at the body of a lawyer who's been hanged in her office (and whom possessed evidence that incriminated his daughter in a drug-smuggling ring), Jonathan and Carla must clear his name of murder, when the only prominent clue is a piece of chewing gum that moved from one potted plant to another. 

25 "Gorgon's Wood" 60 minutes David Renwick Sandy Johnson 28 February 2004

A priceless porcelain monk (said to have a curse on it that will bring nothing but evil to its owners) is stolen in front of several witnesses, prompting Jonathan and Carla's discovery of a major case of sibling rivalry, a disfigured prostitute who resembles another person involved in the case, and (apparently) a torrid affair between the owner of the statue and his own niece. 

There were two attempts to make a U.S. version of Jonathan Creek. The first involved Castle Rock, the production company behind series such as Seinfeld, but the initial scripts were not felt good enough, and David Renwick's scripts were rejected by CBS. The second attempt, also by Renwick, was for Whoopi Goldberg and would have included Alan Davies.

DVD Date
Series 1 & 2 16 February 2004
Series 3 & 4 & the Christmas Specials 2 August 2004
Complete Series 1-4 & the Christmas Specials 29 November 2004

Series One was released in Region 1 (US/Canada) in December 2006.

Preceded by
EastEnders
British Academy Television Awards
Best Drama Series

1998
Succeeded by
The Cops
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