This as much a review of a review, than the series, as I've just read the earlier reviews and must correct the outpouring of pretentious nonsense from 'mdjedovic'.
In that he (she?) lambasts the first 6 episodes of the Gambon Maigrets, but praises the other 6, all done with heavy doses of pretentious name-dropping. This criticism is pointless, and frankly ludicrous. All the shows are great, plenty budget compared to the much-loved Davies versions done by the BBC in the early 60s, a good team faithful to the books, and lots of good support acting.
Far better than the later (& big budgeted) ones done 20 years later with Rowan Atkinson turning in a rather glum, taciturn Maigret.
And THAT brings me to the French Bruno Cremer version, which I see gets praised in some quarters. Atmospheric, sure. The lead is a good actor, sure. BUT - these are not really true to Simenon's stories, Cremer does almost everything himself, the team appears rarely (Lucas is only in a handful of episodes - ridicuous!!) and Mrs Maigret is similarly hardly ever seen. Plus, the hero is far quieter and not really true to the book impression, Simenon's hero has a sense of fun, and cracks the occasional joke. This is readily evident with Gambon, who apparently read some of the books, presumably along with the directors and producers?!
In that he (she?) lambasts the first 6 episodes of the Gambon Maigrets, but praises the other 6, all done with heavy doses of pretentious name-dropping. This criticism is pointless, and frankly ludicrous. All the shows are great, plenty budget compared to the much-loved Davies versions done by the BBC in the early 60s, a good team faithful to the books, and lots of good support acting.
Far better than the later (& big budgeted) ones done 20 years later with Rowan Atkinson turning in a rather glum, taciturn Maigret.
And THAT brings me to the French Bruno Cremer version, which I see gets praised in some quarters. Atmospheric, sure. The lead is a good actor, sure. BUT - these are not really true to Simenon's stories, Cremer does almost everything himself, the team appears rarely (Lucas is only in a handful of episodes - ridicuous!!) and Mrs Maigret is similarly hardly ever seen. Plus, the hero is far quieter and not really true to the book impression, Simenon's hero has a sense of fun, and cracks the occasional joke. This is readily evident with Gambon, who apparently read some of the books, presumably along with the directors and producers?!