Death Valley review – Timothy Spall's quality new detective drama is a cosy, witty joy
By some curious dint of mathematics, one of life's greatest pleasures is coming across something that is just a little bit better than it needs to be. It's such rarity, such a treat – and to pessimists, such a shock to the system – that it becomes disproportionately, though still genuinely, delightful.
Such a phenomenon is Death Valley, a new Sunday night comedy drama in which an amateur sleuth helps the police solve crimes in a bucolic village – usually English, this time Welsh – with an astronomically high murder rate and a suspect under every gooseberry bush and felt hat. So far, so Gently cum Midsomer cum Marple cum Agatha Raisin cum pull-up-a-chair-and-a-teacake-and-enjoy.
And it does hit that cosy spot. Timothy Spall, who I suspect was looking for a way to recharge his actorly batteries after putting every bit of power he had into his performance as Peter Farquhar in 2023's harrowing The Sixth Commandment, stars as the amateur sleuth, John Chapel. Chapel is a retired actor (if there ever is such a thing, darling!) who made his name in a long-running police procedural series as its eponymous detective, Caesar. The first episode opens, as the first episodes of new cosy crime series should, with a case so clear it couldn't possibly be anything else: dead property developer slumped over his desk, a gun in his hand, obviously having killed himself.
But is it obvious? Why would a man planning such a thing have a lunch in his diary for the next day and a holiday booked for Dubai? DS Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth), treading the fine line between perky and infuriating with nary a wobble (Chapel calls her 'scintillatingly irritating', which is both a perfect description and a mark of the writing quality), reckons she should at least ask the neighbours if they saw anything suspicious on the day he died. As a devotee of Caesar, she is awestruck when the first door she bangs on is answered by none other than Chapel himself. And Chapel knows it was murder. How? 'Because actors observe.' The victim was an orderly man – a gunshot was too messy. And because 'action is character' – and the victim was a considerate man, who designed bespoke birthday cards for his cleaner's son and would never have left her to find his body when she was due in the next day.
Janie visits the deceased's high-maintenance wife – 'I shouldn't cry. Just had my lids done' – to find out if he had any enemies. 'Any beef with anyone? Doesn't have to be big beef. Small beef. Mince?' Not even a meatball's worth, is the reply.
And we're off. A few red herrings scent the air but Chapel and Janie remain undeterred for long in their hunt for clues. ('I'm the inspiration,' says Chapel to Janie as he brings his actorly powers to bear on the evidence. 'You're the perspiration.')
Why would a man who fired an electrician for wonky socket work in a show home not also fire a decorator for missing a patch of wall? Why would a woman with a love of traditional tea towels want to buy a new-build? A cancelled bacon delivery here, an empty foxglove bed there, a chance remark from a child of uncertain parentage over the way and soon the threads are drawn together to find the means, motive, opportunity – and the murderer (by the end of the hour). Their next adventure involves a member of Janie's mum's walking group dying in an apparent fall (guess what!) and is worth watching for many reasons, not least Mum's description of the dead woman: 'Too thin by half. And stubborn eyes.'
Within each case scenario are the longer arcs involving Chapel's grief for his late wife and Janie's struggles over the loss of her best friend, which season the jollity with something a little more piquant.
So, it's Midsomer Murders –with jokes. It's Rosemary and Thyme – but good. Or a pastoral Old Dogs New Tricks, if you prefer. Take your pick. It's also witty and fun and bounces along with enough verve to get you past any footling objections you have to either form or content before they can make their way from brain to mouth. Not everything has to be The Wire. Sometimes you can just relax and enjoy a different thing done very well indeed.
Death Valley was on BBC One
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Port Talbot's Michael Sheen on how late dad Meyrick inspired him
Actor Michael Sheen said his late father inspired his philanthropic nature, as he paid tribute to him following his Sheen, who was well known in his home town of Port Talbot for working as a Jack Nicholson impersonator and for his contributions to the community, died last month at the age of 85. Speaking about him for the first time since his death, his son described him as "an extraordinary character" and said he and his family had received "an outpouring of love and messages".Sheen said his father's coffin was carried into church for his funeral earlier this week by six people, each from an organisation his dad was involved with and passionate about. In Port Talbot, there is a mural of Michael Sheen and, the day after his dad died, his sister saw someone painting his dad's face on the wall too, next to his. He said that for his 83-year-old mum Irene, who met his dad when she was 14, it was an "extraordinarily emotional moment", adding it was now somewhere he would take his children."It's quite difficult to talk about and process for young children, the passing of someone, the death of a grandparent," he said. "But to be able to take them to see this picture of their grandfather on the wall, it's very moving." Sheen has recently co-written his first book for children, called A Home for Spark the said he jumped at the chance to create something his children would be able to read, and that could also be about issues he is passionate the story, Spark, who Sheen said "had to be a red dragon", has his nest destroyed in a storm. The book treads the line of raising the difficult issue of homelessness - an issue extensively campaigned for by Sheen - while offering an entertaining, engaging tale."I thought this was a really great opportunity to be able to address issues around what a home is and homelessness in a way that creates, maybe a context for children to start having those conversations with the adults in their life," he said,"Maybe start to understand it, and have a frame of reference to talk about it, and ultimately, to do something about it." Sheen has a 26-year-old daughter Lily and two younger children - Lyra, five, and Mabli, aged has seen his children's shocked reaction to seeing homeless people living on the street and said we should all still feel that way."When my own children have seen someone who's in a tent or on the street, in a doorway or whatever, there's a kind of a sense of disbelief that they have. "We as adults, have become numb to it. The appropriate response is to go, how on earth can that be possible? "And so there's something about a child's reaction to it that I think we can actually learn from."He recalled reading his girls the book for first time and said he gave it his all to win their favour, admitting it was "probably the performance of my life".
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Hear Our Voice: How choir helps Post Office scandal victims
A singer in a choir made up of victims of the Post Office scandal and their families has described it as the "most joyful" experience which has seen their confidence grow since having their wrongful convictions Brentnall, from Roch, Pembrokeshire, was among hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses prosecuted after its Horizon computer system incorrectly recorded financial said they previously had met only at "horrible events like public inquiries or court dates" in the years it took to clear their names, so some decided to start the choir, Hear Our charity single will help colleagues and their children with many still seeking compensation. A Post Office spokesperson said it "apologised unreservedly" to the victims of the Horizon IT scandal and was focused on paying redress as quickly as Brentnall said: "It's been absolutely fantastic to get to know this group of people even better and do something so positive together. "It's given people something to focus on, and you can certainly see in the group, people have really grown in confidence, not just happiness," he told BBC Radio Wales' Breakfast."It was, it still is, the most joyful thing that I've ever done." The choir reached the finals of ITV show Britain's Got Talent last weekend which Mr Brentnall described as a "fantastic" and "crazy" experience which was "terrifying for everybody"."Everybody stood up and applauded us which was amazing," he added. Mr Brentnall explained the Horizon scandal had not yet been resolved with him and other former postmasters and mistresses trying to settle compensation claims."My claim, and everybody's claim, is not plucked out of thin air - it's put together by forensic accountants and people much cleverer than I am."You submit it and the Post Office and their legal team go through it and come back with a cost minimised claim."Then you have to rewrite it, resubmit, and it's a fight to get to somewhere that's acceptable where, if there was a will, they could just pay everybody's claims tomorrow."
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
TV tonight: the BBC opens a Billy Joel treasure trove
8.40pm, BBC TwoIt's basically a Billy Joel night for megafans to get lost in on BBC Two, with his 100th show at Madison Square Garden last year and a vintage recording from 1978 airing later in the evening. But first: a warm-up with these archive clips of Joel performing over the years, with the likes of Uptown Girl, Piano Man and Just the Way You Are, along with interviews and appearances. Hollie Richardson 7pm, BBC Three What a series ender – with Ncuti Gatwa saying goodbye to the Tardis and Billie Piper making a grand return. But for Whovians in need of more, the two stars join David Tennant and Karen Gillan in this documentary to celebrate the magic of making the Whoniverse come to life in Wales. HR 8.20pm, ITV1If you thought booking eight famous people for each edition of Pointless Celebrities was a big job, how about this? The charity version of Lee Mack's addictively unpredictable lateral-thinking quiz starts with 100 sports stars competing to see who's the smartest. Can anyone win £100,000 for a good cause? Jack Seale 9pm, BBC Four'In five days, we will go back to being an investigation team. But we will make the most of those five days.' Kramer and her exhausted squad hit day 100 of the Stefanie Berghoff investigation in the final double bill of the German true-crime drama. Then a breakthrough links the murder weapon to a specific truck. Ali Catterall 9.30pm, BBC OneIt's time for creepy Mr Finch to get his comeuppance – that is, if we don't count the breadboard incident. So Sophie and Veronika concoct a plan to prove their theory about Enigma's parentage. The annual family party could provide the perfect cover for this ruse. There's certainly enough underlying tension to keep everyone distracted. Ellen E Jones 10.30pm, ITV1We finally see things from dodgy Joe's perspective in this dating-app-disaster drama. Surprise, surprise: he's been telling a few fibs, including another girlfriend who he's in couples counselling with, and a wife for whom he refuses to sign divorce papers. HR Piggy (Carlota Pereda, 2022), midnight, Film4 Small-town Spanish teenager Sara (Laura Galán) is nicknamed 'Cerdita' (Piggy) by her mocking peers, being overweight and the daughter of the local butcher. Their bullying reaches a peak at the outdoor swimming pool but, fatefully for them, a stranger (Richard Holmes) witnesses it and makes them pay. Carlota Pereda's smart horror thriller teases a common cause – even a twisted desire – between Sara and the malevolent mystery man as kids go missing, the community descends into panic and Sara painfully discovers her inner fighter. Simon Wardell Women's Challenge Cup Rugby League: St Helens v Wigan Warriors, 11.15am, BBC TwoThe final at Wembley. Followed by the men's final, Warrington v Hull KR, at 2pm on BBC One. Racing: The Derby, 12.45pm, ITV1At Epsom, with the Derby at 3.30pm. Tennis: French Open, 2pm, TNT Sports 1The women's singles final. The men's final is on Sun at 2pm. Premiership Rugby Union: Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks, 2.45pm, TNT Sports 2The second semi-final. Men's World Cup Football: Andorra v England, 4.15pm, ITV1Harry Kane captains the visitors in a qualifier in Barcelona, followed by a friendly in Nottingham against Senegal on Tue, 7pm, ITV1. Plus on Monday, Liechtenstein v Scotland is at 4.45pm on BBC Two; Belgium v Wales at 7.30pm on BBC One.
