Bergerac, episode 1, review: you'll recognise the name, setting and car – but you'll miss the Eighties fun
So there's this new TV show called Bergerac (U&Drama). It's about a detective on the island of Jersey. Wears a brown leather jacket and owns a Triumph Roadster. Great idea. If only someone had thought of it before.
Yes, the 1980s series has been reborn, rebooted, reimagined, or whatever they're calling it. Obviously, this is a good marketing ploy, because you will spot the name, be hit by a wave of nostalgia, and tune in. And what you will find is a competent, well-acted series with a good leading man. But it's not Bergerac.
John Nettles was a heartthrob who could hold his own in an action scene. His Bergerac was a recovering alcoholic but had a twinkle in his eye. The new Jim Bergerac, Damien Molony, is far less rugged and extremely miserable, grief-stricken over the recent death of his wife (Nettles's character was divorced and had a succession of gorgeous love interests).
Old Bergerac cruised along the coast in that beautiful car. New Bergerac has the car on bricks in the garage, and travels by taxi. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Nettles generously said of his successor: 'I was like Cliff Richard. He's more Clint Eastwood,' but in fact it's the other way round.
Meanwhile, the character of Charlie Hungerford, once Bergerac's roguish father-in-law played by Terence Alexander, has been transformed into a no-nonsense mother-in-law played by Zoë Wanamaker. She swoops in to take care of Bergerac's 14-year-old daughter while he sorts out his drink problem.
The original show made Jersey seem thrillingly glamorous; I remember it always being bathed in sunshine, but perhaps that's a false memory because I dipped into an episode the other day and the skies were grey (to be fair, Bergerac launched in the same year as Triangle, a drama set on board a North Sea Ferry, so Jersey really was glamorous by comparison).
The new version doesn't promote the island in the same way. Jim does live in a house perched enviably above the beach, so it's not all bad. The police force is lovely and diverse, and run by a female chief, which I suspect may not be a facsimile of real-life Jersey.
Molony is the best thing about this new iteration, quietly impressive in the starring role, while his rivalry with fellow officer Barney Crozier (Robert Gilbert) sparks nicely. The murder mystery – which spans the whole series, rather than the old crime-of-the-week format – is serviceable, featuring Philip Glenister as a businessman whose daughter-in-law is found dead at their home. But it's lacking any sense of fun.
What they've done here is taken the name, the location and the car, and attached them to another detective drama. And the theme tune? It has survived, but only just, in such a wishy-washy form that they shouldn't really have bothered.
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