geekyA man is found dead in his Cold War era underground bunker. He's apparently committed suicide, the gun in his hand. Lending to this theory is the fact the door is locked from the inside, and had to be opened via cutting a whole in the metal door. Yet, the evidence doesn't hold up--the man's arthritis was so bad he could hardly hold a pencil, let alone shoot a gun. There is no way a killer could possibly have escaped, though. So, how did it happen?
What makes this mystery show so interesting is the fact it asks something entirely different of it's audience. It doesn't look for the who or why of a crime, it looks for the how. And let me say, these are some of the most mind-bending hows out there. For once, you aren't sitting though an hour of program to see if you were right about who you thought did the deed five minutes into the show. Lateral-thinking required if you hope to even guess at the devices of the act before our heroes.
Another great facet to this show is those heroes. Funny, clever, and totally refreshing, Jonathan Creek and Maddy Magellan are a nice break from dumb cops and private eyes. If the mystery doesn't keep you watching, the interaction of these two characters will.
Sadly, the newest season of this show hasn't made it over from the U.K. yet. However, the first two seasons were shown on PBS, and are an absolute jewel of British programming. I was watching it when I first got AIM on my computer, years ago, and it helped me choose a screen name, I was so enamored with it. It's just a GOOD SHOW.
By the by, I also have any American live production rights should anyone want to help me make it into a play for anything "short of Broadway," direct from the creator. Yeah, I asked for them, and he gave them to me. David Renwick, the said creator, is one hella cool guy. Just another reason to watch what I think is one of the finest shows of the twentieth century.
