Jack in the Box

Ironically for me this episode starts with the old comic actor John Bluthal, as the character Jack Holiday 'King of Slapstick'. Who is viewing his appearance in an advert, but complaining to his agent about his representation.

Ironic why? Because I know him as a standout stalwart of one of my absolute all time favourite comedy shows, Michael Bentine's It's a Square World from 1961 to 1963. In his career he appeared in numerous TV comedies including Spike Milligans TV Q Series, these involved zany off beat and often slapstick style humour. Looking through his Filmography on IMDb his career spanned an amazing period, from 1958 to 2018, involving TV and film work.

This episode sees Adam Klaus absence explained away by a freak accurance, which leaves him incapacitated.

Maddy uses this as an excuse to get Jonathan's assistance, on a case she is upto her neck in.

This Case has shades of the Edgar Allan Poe tale The Cask of Amontillado, why do I say this?

Well I won't give away the denouement of either this episode or of the Poe tale, I'll just suggest watching the episode and reading the story to see what I mean.

Jack in the Box is a brilliant episode, it has so much crammed in, mystery, intrigue, humour, great acting, true quirkiness, and so much more. The brilliance of David Renwick's writing always shone through, never more so then in the magical first series. The story is baffling, intelligent, sad, clever, with a conclusion that's unexpected and smart. The chemistry between Davies and Quentin is phenomenal, the pair just great, understated acting, all done with a glint in the eye. Great guest performances, John Bluthal is great as Jack, Helena McCarthy was always such a sweet actress to watch, and of course Doctor Who Legend Maureen O'Brien as always is a joy.

Utterly baffling, utterly brilliant. 9/10

I am a big fan of British detective series, and this one is totally unique. It is the only detective series without a detective. Instead of Holmes and Watson, there is Jonathan Creek (who creates magic tricks for a big time magician) and Maddie (an investigative journalist).

There is humor, and all the typical scenes for a mystery (e.g. interesting characters, eating unusual food, interesting settings, sarcastic comments, sexual tension, etc.) but the solution to the crimes are the best of any series I have ever seen. I have said out-loud while watching an episode, "There can't be any solution to this." And then, once you see the solution, it is so obvious, you can't see how you couldn't figure it out.

Clever, funny, unusual, and unfailingly fascinating, it is a first rate mystery series.