In which a stalwart police sergeant and his long-suffering, impressively bearded assistant solve a variety of dastardly crimes.
Made with obvious gusto, "Cribb" is an enjoyable and entertaining series notable for its original plots, its careful recreation of the Victorian era and its Dickensian delight in creating colorful characters. There is also a dry wit at work, which manifests itself at various levels. Even the clues can be witty : in one of the episodes, for instance, a blushing bride shows a remarkable experience at throwing away her bouquet, just like her sister shows a remarkable experience at catching. (Turns out both cold-hearted sisters have entered into a diabolical scheme, together with their equally cold-hearted mother, in order to live in modest financial comfort. Brrr !)
"Cribb" is a series for a culturally literate public, which has no difficulty in recognizing names like Jerome K. Jerome or Lillie Langtry. Topics range from music-hall entertainment over spiritism to boarding schools for boys. One of the recurring themes is the class system and its attendant injustices. For instance, destitute workmen staring at a naked woman appearing on stage are mischievous lechers ; well-heeled aristocrats doing the same thing are connaisseurs admiring the beauty of the female form. Policemen should feel free to kick in the door of any cheap brothel, but beware the insensitive lout who dares to disturb the velvet quiet of a private gentlemen's club...
As far as I can tell the series makes for a fine adaptation of Peter Lovesey's books, but I'm not familiar with all of his work.
If you like "Cribb" you may want to cross the Channel, so to speak, and take a look at the French television series "Les brigades du tigre".
Made with obvious gusto, "Cribb" is an enjoyable and entertaining series notable for its original plots, its careful recreation of the Victorian era and its Dickensian delight in creating colorful characters. There is also a dry wit at work, which manifests itself at various levels. Even the clues can be witty : in one of the episodes, for instance, a blushing bride shows a remarkable experience at throwing away her bouquet, just like her sister shows a remarkable experience at catching. (Turns out both cold-hearted sisters have entered into a diabolical scheme, together with their equally cold-hearted mother, in order to live in modest financial comfort. Brrr !)
"Cribb" is a series for a culturally literate public, which has no difficulty in recognizing names like Jerome K. Jerome or Lillie Langtry. Topics range from music-hall entertainment over spiritism to boarding schools for boys. One of the recurring themes is the class system and its attendant injustices. For instance, destitute workmen staring at a naked woman appearing on stage are mischievous lechers ; well-heeled aristocrats doing the same thing are connaisseurs admiring the beauty of the female form. Policemen should feel free to kick in the door of any cheap brothel, but beware the insensitive lout who dares to disturb the velvet quiet of a private gentlemen's club...
As far as I can tell the series makes for a fine adaptation of Peter Lovesey's books, but I'm not familiar with all of his work.
If you like "Cribb" you may want to cross the Channel, so to speak, and take a look at the French television series "Les brigades du tigre".