Payment in Blood

This episode is about a play being written and mysteriously changed right before its production. It's a bit hard to follow, but the fact that BOTH Idris Elba AND James McAvoy are in it compelled me to watch it. This is actually the second appearance of Lynley's love interest and future wife, Helen Clyde, played in THIS episode by Lesley Vickerage (she was played by Emma Fielding in the very first episode, A Great Deliverance. She is played by yet a third actress in later episodes). It was difficult to understand how Lynley could stand her in this episode, but then again, he himself is boorish and arrogant moreso than usual here. Another actor familiar to fans of British TV, Ronald Pickup, features prominently in this episode and is always fun to watch (even when he mangled the Italian language when he played an Italian priest in an episode of Lewis: Wild Justice, S5,E2).

This is my introduction to Inspector Lynley, and I liked it. The series stars Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small as Lynley and his partner Sergeant Havers.

In this episode, Lynley and Havers go to a Scottish castle where a play is being rehearsed to investigate the murder of the playwright, who was killed after making changes in her script.

Of course the place is loaded with suspects, starting with the owner of the house, Sir Stuart Stinhurst (Ronald Pickup) and continuing to the young handyman in love with Stinhurst's daughter (John McAvoy). He is grieving for his mother, who has recently committed suicide. To complicate matters, an ex-girlfriend of Lynley's, Helen (Lesley Vickerage), who is now the lover of one of the suspects (Jonathan Firth).

My understanding is that this isn't a particularly good episode, but I liked it well enough. I spent a lot of time studying Nathaniel Parker's face. A little Keanu, a little Clive Owen, a little Jon Tenney, somehow handsome but not as good-looking as those mentioned above. He's very good, and has the aristocratic looks and air befitting the role. Small is a great contrast his middle-class partner.

Catching the killer isn't easy in this one, and Parker has a few misses along the way. It's an episode that will keep you guessing.

This is the second Lynley I've seen, and the first that introduces the future love interest, Helen.

Now that I've seen several of these, I've gotten over the upset that the experiment in the books — that rather bold inversion of the detective role — has been completely flattened and replaced by a long-extant BBC template.

That inversion has us examining the detectives, by episodes discovering more and more about them. The mysteries exist in the books, but only as a series of events for us to reveal the inner depths of these folks and their situations.

Here, they are the standard: confusingly complex, undetectable if you try and wrapped up in clean knots by the end.

As with all BBC series, the creative crew is different for each episode which means some are good — on their own terms — and some bad.

This is a bad one. Its paced all wrong. The cinematic storytelling is muffed.

There is a core that's interesting, from the book. What we see is a BBC, wherein a murder takes place that involves and is prompted by a play. Suggested changes in the script suggest insight into a previous murder and prompt more.

Its a simple fold, perhaps the most common in detective fiction. Unfortunately, in the book it is not handled as elegantly as is usual, and the peccadilloes of the players and others are irrelevant.

As with all George's stories, the main sweep is one of complex fathering and lost children. All the components in George's work are fueled by black forces. Its not my thing after one. But here you have many of the motions without the demons. So its all watered down.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

I've now seen a number of these episodes and read a couple of the original books. The books were ho hum but the series is consistently interesting and quite extraordinarily well-cast. Sharon Small as Det Sgt Havers is a delight to watch and lifts each episode whenever she appears. It was nice to see Mr. Tumnus of Narnia (James McAvoy) in an early role.

One caveat, Leslie Vickerage as Lynley's love interest Helen is beyond awful - fast-forward through her bits.

Nathaniel Parker always delivers and almost makes one believe the preposterous premise that he is - in civilian life - an earl with a large estate and a private fortune. Lord Peter Wimsey he is not but he is enjoyable.

An Author does, the suspects include the producer of the forthcoming stage play, and members of the cast.

It's a good solid mystery, a very traditional whodunnit, it's a little bit slow to develop, but good when the story opens up. This one is all about the cast, fair play to the casting director, Idris Elba and James McAvoy in the same production!

I continue to enjoy the dynamic between Lynley and Havers, he's debonair and suave, she's more rough and ready, they're from different worlds, but find a way to make it work.

Helen makes her first appearance, you can't fault Lesley Vickerage as an actress, but the character was so sullen.

Very good. 7/10