| < ott | DRAMA | COMEDY | FACTUAL | CHILDREN'S | LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT | FEATURES | INTERVIEWS | REVIEWS | BLOG | search > |
| DALZIEL
AND PASCOE BBC1 reviewed by Cameron Borland |
August
2001
|
|
|
|
|
With imperceptible stealth, the dramatisations of Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe novels on BBC1 have caressed and adorned our screens now for just over five years. Whilst Morse and Frost garner the accolades and the ratings, the unholy trinity of Dalziel, Pascoe and Wield have quietly and quite brilliantly moved their wonders to perform. And perform them with awesome magnificence they indeed do. The novels of Hill are superior to those of Dexter and Wingfield - more intricate, more human, more genuinely suspenseful and believable - but, thankfully, unlike Colin Dexter, Hill shows no sign of killing off his most famous creations. Like the Frost novels, Dalziel and Pascoe are rooted in the very early 1970s. The first full novel, A Clubbable Woman, dates from 1970 and despite finally coming to our screens 26 years later, the two main characters, just like Jack Frost, are no worse off for being rooted in the present day. Unlike most crime novels, whatever the genre or sub-genre, Hill has resisted the temptation to have a sole character or double act as the major protagonist(s). Perhaps the only major quibble between the novels and the screenplays is the downplaying of the role of Sergeant Wield on television. Throughout the works of Hill, they are referred to as "The Holy Trinity" and this is somewhat diluted on screen. Yet, lest we forget, this is against the backdrop of arguably one of the worst original dramatisations in television history. On Saturday 9 April 1994, Yorkshire Television introduced us to the unlikely coupling of Hale and Pace as Fat Andy and Peter. Never have two people been so hopelessly miscast or has an original novel been so badly adapted. Thankfully, Gareth and Norman did the decent thing and skulked off with their acting tails between their legs, never to darken our dramatic doorsteps again. However, that distant nightmare memory set blissfully aside, the wonderful BBC adaptations of Hill's novels have been an absolute joy to watch. Warren Clarke in particular has taken the role of Fat Andy and memorably made it his own. Adhering to the character so beautifully written by Hill, Clarke makes the page come alive when reading a D&P novel. This is truly one of the great characterisations by an actor, and is far superior to Thaw's take on Morse and Jason's on Frost. This characterisation is the rock around which the screenplay is hung. Supported by Colin Buchanan as his degree educated, liberal sidekick Pascoe, David Royle as the taciturn, enigmatic Wield and Susannah Corbett as a wonderful female counterpoint of Ellie Pascoe, these four characters interact and hit off each other joyously on screen. Like Frost, Dalziel and Pascoe is at its best when dealing with the everyday aspects of the character's lives or the sequential and consequential aspects of police investigations. Wield's homosexuality is a given and occasional snide, homophobic comments from his colleagues for instance or, the reaction to the death of a child in "On Beulah Height" deliver moments of profound reality. The partnership of the two main characters is clearly central to the plot and is sensitively handled by both Buchanan and Clarke. Adherence to the novels of Hill is also another factor in the success of the show. Obviously there must be changes made to the original novel when transferring to the small screen but by and large, the screenplays are relatively faithful to Reginald Hill. We never find ourselves in the ludicrous position of, say, "A Remorseful Day", in which the screenplay totally butchered the ending of the final Morse and completely ruined it. (Mind you, in the original Morse novel, "Last Bus to Woodstock", Lewis is considerably older than Frost - you couldn't see that working on screen now, could you?) Dalziel and Pascoe is at its weakest when it's an original screenplay, not an adaptation of Reginald Hill's work. That said, the last two novels by Hill, Arms and the Woman and Dialogues of the Dead showcase Hill at his imperious best and is proof of the regard he is held within the crime writing community. Ideally, Arms and the Woman should not be screened as one off two hour dramatisation but as, perhaps, two 90 minute episodes. There is certainly enough in the written work to merit this step, but whether BBC would take it on is another matter. In my opinion, Dalziel and Pascoe is overlooked, cruelly so, when awards and praise are doled out. It is an outstanding programme, with an outstanding cast and the technical production is excellent. The photography is outstanding in certain episodes ("An April Shroud" and "On Beulah Height" spring to mind) and the narrative is always taut and well handled. This is a gem of a show and ranks amongst the finest detective shows shown on television. Let's hope fate does not cruelly bestow a visit upon the Fat Controller & co for some time yet. |
|
|