Oh dear. Where to start? Firstly, I applaud them for trying something different, but it didn't come off. I understand a lot of the humour was supposed to come from the hapless Sherlock Holmes character coming up with his outlandish theories, (and yes, he does look remarkably like a young David Tennant), but as Jonathan never got to publicly debunk his theory, what was the point?
Much of the pleasure of watching Jonathan Creek was in trying to figure out how something might have happened, all of that fun was taken away when we were shown the sequence of events unfold at the beginning.
The subplot of the disappearing ashes went nowhere - a waste of Paula Wilcox's talent. Even worse was the other subplot about the love letters, there was no actual mystery for Jonathan to solve.
This is not the JC I know and love, they have neutered him by making him more mature and teaming him up with a woman who brings absolutely nothing to the show. I've seen rocks with more life in them. Maddie, Carla and Joey all had an energy about them which is sadly lacking in Polly. Are we really supposed to believe he was attracted to her? There's absolutely no chemistry between them.
I'm half wishing they hadn't bothered to bring it back, as this diminishes my memories of a once great show. Even worse was to follow.