Jonathan Creek 502: 'The Sinner and the Sandman' REVIEW

Series Five poster
After last weeks' promising series opener, this week's episode remains with the flaws of the first. There seems to be no real reason for the lack of a dufflecoat, which is something that bugs me. Its iconic like Sherlock's coat and Tom Baker's scarf. It should be in the series, there is no reason for it not to be. I know its a small thing, but it really does bug me.
This series has been quite funny so far, but it's gone over the fine line between being a funny crime drama to a comedy with some drama and crime elements involved. There are so many scenes that are completely irrelevant to the actual mystery going on and any potential mysteries are ruined.
Take the mysterious green-eyed creature sub-plot for example. It's set up as a sort of Hound of the Baskervilles, but (SPOILER ALERT) it is revealed to be a New Zealand-er with a baby monitor. What a waste of a story.
Also, Polly (Jonathan's wife, superbly played by Sarah Alexander) reminices about her childhood (again), particularly focussing on the Sandman that used to haunt her in her nightmares. This story goes nowhere and ultimately comes to nothing. But one definite positive is that the nightmare sequences are brilliantly directed and are very sinister and the true revelation does make sense.
Then there is a sub-plot about a man who won the lottery and that an ex-magician (who failed in his career) supposedly predicted. This is the only sub-plot that goes anywhere, but it feels so irrelevant to the actual episode that its a little odd.
Most of the episode is spent on the village and what happens there, almost to the point of it being a soap or sitcom, but with the mysteries centred around these characters. This isn't Jonathan Creek! It's...well, I've got no idea what!
The opening is quite amusing and Jonathan Creek-esque, although I fail to see its relevance to anything in this episode, even if it paves way for an amusing ending scene (which is slightly ripping-off RED).
Overall, this episode is a bit messy in terms of plot-lines. It delivers in some areas, but ultimately feels disappointing. I hope this new style changes, although from the pre-reviews of Episode 3 I doubt we're going to see such an improvement until Series Six at the earliest. 5/10

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) - Movie Review

Image
The Mission: Impossible franchise has experienced a mixed reception across its four prior installments, with the most popular being 2011's Ghost Protocol. I'm not entirely with the series, only that its pretty much Tom Cruise and co pulling off dangerous missions with some cool action and a catchy theme music, although I did end up watching Ghost Protocol one random night. Despite this, I have very little recollection of the actual film, and it obviously didn't leave much of an impression on me. Suffice it to say though that Rogue Nation is the first Mission: Impossible film I saw the trailer for, liked the look of and went to the cinema to see it, and my expectations were pretty reasonable - cool action, good stunts and an entertaining watch. I guess I got what I expected. The story follows the disassembling of the IMF, while Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is pursuing The Syndicate - a rogue nation that causes havoc across the world. Hunt teams up once again with Benjamin Dun
Read more

Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor (2022) - Review

Image
And with that, the Thirteenth Doctor's era has come to a close. It's easy for regeneration stories to be overshadowed by the programme's future - understandable given the show's constant change and renewal - but suffice it to say that The Power of the Doctor makes for a fitting conclusion to this era of the programme. Kicking things off with a heist on a space train, we're reintroduced to the Cybermasters, returning from The Timeless Children back in Series 12. It's good to see them return, even if their ultimate roles in the narrative serve mainly as cannon fodder more than anything else. Their Cyber-converted planet, which I'd speculated to Gallifrey, was a nice idea even if it served as a backdrop to the events unfolding rather than playing a significant role. Quite why Ashad and his Cyber Warriors were brought back, other than fan popularity, I'm not sure. An off-hand comment about the Master cloning Ashad doesn't quite resolve the character'
Read more

Doctor Who: Eve of the Daleks (2022) - Review

Image
For Who the bell tolls... As 2022 begins, this year marks the beginning of the end for the current era of Doctor Who , with a trilogy of specials concluding Jodie Whittaker 's run as the Thirteenth Doctor, alongside faithful companion Yaz ( Mandip Gill ) and showrunner Chris Chibnall . The first of these, Eve of the Daleks , makes for the third in a trilogy of Dalek-centric New Year's Day specials from the current production team ( Spyfall : Part One wasn't technically an NYD special after all...), and in a strange quirk of timey-wimey-ness airs fifty years after the iconic Day of the Daleks - the metal meanies first appearance in colour! After the convoluted shenanigans of Flux , and following on from two fairly solid Dalek specials, is Eve of the Daleks worth a watch - or does it deserve to be exterminated...? In short: it's fine. A perfectly solid, watchable hour of television that's standalone enough to satisfy a more casual audience not caught up with Flux ,
Read more