One of the less - likely television detectives of the 1990s is D.I Henry Crabbe(the late Mr Richard Griffiths - massively missed),awaiting a well -earned retirement in order to run a small restaurant with his wife(the sublime Miss Maggie Steed). For somewhat contrived reasons he is forced to continue as a police officer and thus combine his new career with his old one. Cooking on TV?There's a novel idea.....well,it was before we were inundated with hundreds of appalling cheaply produced cooking programmes that dominate our schedules 20 years later. So Mr Griffiths gets to sniff wineglasses knowledgeably, and play with a military - sized oven with every appearance of huge enjoyment. Oh,and do a bit of detecting too,whenever the police are baffled,which they appear to be with worrying regularity. He is a gentle,contemplative soul,not given to saying "You're nicked sunshine" at every opportunity nor bending his captives' arms up behind their backs whilst snarling in their ears - indeed,one wonders why he became a detective in the first place. But still,the whole façade comes tumbling down if you think too hard about it. Best to go along with the flow and watch two lovely actors having fun without breaking into a sweat. Sadly the rest of the regular cast are put in the shade by Mr and Mrs Crabbe in every episode,so much do they dominate the screen. "Pie in the sky" is lovely,quirky TV,I doubt it could be made today let alone be allowed to thrive in this era of plastic - wrapped interchangeable "product" where to be "different" is to be cancelled after the pilot.
Review of Pie in the Sky
