The Shadow in the North

This is not at all what I expect from "Mystery!" Unless intended as farce, in which case it did not succeed either, I found the production far-fetched, and fraught with 21st century sensibilities and laxity.

Why did Sally only wear a hat to visit the villain? Was it 1875 when she was investigating, but 1970 or later in the rest of the story? I would have expected her to cover her head whenever she went out, with the exception of emergency.

And though very funny (*Was* it an attempt at farce?), during the scene at the Patent Office, I wasn't sure whether the Anglo-Asian clerk was befuddled by Sally because she was a woman or ineptly flirting with her.

To quote Sherlock Holmes, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." This production eliminated none of the impossible, and so we are left wallowing in disbelief at what we are expected to accept as the "truth" of the story.

Not being a reader of Pullman, I cannot comment on how true it is to the book on which it was based. Perhaps Mr. Pullman deserves the blame for my incredulity?

In THE SHADOW IN THE NORTH, BILLIE PIPER is an implausible choice to play a Victorian lass who is so bold, sensual and modern looking that she makes all the authentic detail look hopelessly jarring because she's so 21st Century in appearance and manner. On the other hand, JARED HARRIS is completely convincing as an evil industrialist who has taken charge of a destructive machine designed to be the ultimate weapon.

Piper is menaced by this evil tycoon from the very start but matches him for boldness every step of the way. He comes to admire her gutsy behavior (especially for a Victorian woman), and therein lies his downfall. Instead of agreeing to marry him, she has revenge on her mind for the way he has engineered the death of her sweetheart.

It's an interesting story, a bit convoluted in the manner in which it unfolds, but heavy with Victorian atmosphere and settings.

An enjoyable mystery, nicely played by most of the cast, but I found the whole story somewhat disconcerting because BILLIE PIPER looked and acted entirely too modern.

After watching the first episode I was very much looking forward to seeing this episode. What a letdown. It went all Hollywood the focus changing from the story to an overdose of relationships including the required sex scene. It lost the story. It failed to tell the tale, something episode one was so great at. Bah, Humbug.

I have only recently read the books, and if anything my admiration for this adaptation actually grew having finished it. It would have been easy to veer away from the book, but it's such an accurate adaptation.

Piper shines once again as Sally, she is joined by a terrific cast, some real talent on display here, Julian Rhind Tutt, Richard Clews and of course Jared Harris.

I'm so glad this was adapted, the first was lucky enough to have a masterclass from Julie Walters, this one relies more on the story, action and humour.

The action scenes at the end are terrific, the humour comes from Dona Croll, who is so funny.

Terrific production values, it looks sensational, some of the costumes used here are tremendous.

Overall, I loved it, 9/10.

"The Shadow in the North" is one of those films that, even though it is set in another time, has a modern feel to it. It's not quite up to Masterpiece Mystery standards.

Former singer Billie Piper, a beautiful young woman and a fine actress, is Sally Lockhart. Sally is an investment adviser, but one of her clients has gone broke thanks to her advice. A ship with the commodities she invested in on board disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Lloyds of London refused to settle her claim.

Sally promises the woman that she will get every cent of her money back. She goes to see the ship owner, Axel Bellmann (Jared Harris), and demands that he return the money. He refuses.

Sally asks her friends, Fred Garland and Jim Taylor, who are detectives, to investigate for her. Bellmann turns out to be a ruthless arms merchant who has developed a steam gun that is very powerful and can be used against civilians.

Someone suggested that this movie is for young viewers and hence, the modern touches. Sally is a very independent and free-thinking woman who looks about as if she belongs in the Victorian era about as much as Miley Cyrus does. The full lips, the lack of deportment, her plain speaking, her boldness - not of the era. Also she's not a big one for wearing hats. Ethnic types abound and seem to be accepted by society. I have to to think all of this was to make it palatable to teenagers. I have no objection to that - it's a well acted if confusing story (magicians and spiritualists play a role in the plot as well), and Sally is indeed all about girl power. I would love to see Billie Piper in something else, maybe something truly modern.