Missing Persons

This TV movie was made as the pilot for a "Hetty Wainthropp" series, but six years elapsed before the series was made, and the pilot was never broadcast in the US. Although Patricia Routledge was brought back to play the title role, the series is markedly different from the pilot. Here the character of Hetty is edgier, and her social milieu is seedier - think Daisy and Onslow, rather than Hyacinth and Richard. The narrative style is more elliptical, and the actual "detection" often takes a back seat to other themes, especially toward the end. But for just that reason, it's worth seeing if you're a fan of the series. It's Hetty Wainthropp as she might exist in a parallel universe.