Like most people in the U.S., I'd never heard of Dominic Monaghan before Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. After playing valiant hobbit Merry, he went on to portray Charlie Pace on LOST,
which cemented him as one of my favorite actors. While several of his
co-stars from both ventures have appeared in films and on television
recently, I had to content myself with a single guest appearance on Chuck and the promise that eventually, I could see him in Wolverine and the zombie flick I Sell the Dead, if I thought I could stomach it. Then I discovered that Dom had a whole series predating both LotR and LOST.
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
is a BBC mystery series that ran from 1996 to 1998. Created by John
Bowen and David Cook, it follows the adventures of plucky Hetty
Wainthropp (Patricia Routledge), who decides to open up a detective
agency to bring in some extra money and help exercise her "gray cells"
after her husband Robert (Derek Benfield) retires. She can't do it on
her own, though; she'll need an assistant, and she finds one in Geoffrey
Shawcross (Monaghan), a lovable imp of a teen she catches shoplifting
in the first episode, The Bearded Lady. He's all too glad to hang up his grocery store apron in favor of more exciting work, so their partnership begins.
Aside from the fact that every episode revolves around a missing or
deceased person, the show is fairly light-hearted. Routledge and
Monaghan have a wonderful rapport. Hetty has clearly earned Geoffrey's
respect, and he treats her accordingly - though the affection between
them is such that he also feels secure in poking fun at some of her
idiosyncrasies. And he's useful, too, always knowing people who might
provide pertinent information for their current case ad willing to do
whatever it takes to get the job done, whether it involves taking
painstaking notes or going undercover. Meanwhile, he's unafraid to speak
up if he feels that to pursue an assignment would challenge his
integrity. Hetty serves as his mentor, but sometimes he needs to rein
her in a bit and remind her of what's really important.
Routledge looks about the same to me as she does on Keeping Up Appearances,
a BBC series that I've caught on PBS before, but a couple of years make
a big difference at Dom's young age. He was 20 when the series first
aired, but he looks about 15, with a boyish haircut and lanky frame. He
certainly carries himself like a teenager, a down-on-his-luck urchin
with a heart of gold. Like Charlie and Merry, Geoffrey is mischievous
but good-hearted, and as a wingman, he's hard to beat. In the first
season, there are no opportunities for him to sing; I'm hoping those
might turn up later in the series. Interestingly, in the episode A High Profile, Geoffrey enters the room of a young man who has disappeared, and hanging on the wall is a poster of Lord of the Rings;
I did a double-take when I saw it and had to rewind it to be sure, but I
have that very poster hanging on my wall. I doubt that he knew yet at
the point when this was filmed that he would be playing Merry; if he
didn't, it's a nifty coincidence, but if he did, I presume it was
planted there intentionally as an Easter egg.
As is typical of
a procedural series like this, most of the characters come and go, but
Robert is a constant presence, and I enjoy the banter between him and
his wife. He's a long-suffering fellow, and while Hetty is very likable,
poor Robert does come across as a bit hen-pecked. He doesn't
necessarily hold with all of her ideas, but she always seems to get her
way in the end. In this season, he has the most to do in Widdershins,
an episode that takes him back to the tiny town where his beloved but
long-estranged uncle recently died. This allows for considerable
character development as he works through his grief and guilt over how
he handled their relationship, ultimately leading him to take on a more
paternal role in the life of Geoffrey, whom he initially distrusts. The
other recurring character at this point is D. C. I. Adams (John
Graham-Davies), a police detective who is simultaneously amused,
impressed and exasperated with Hetty's independent efforts. He pops in
occasionally to offer advice or warnings and mostly serves as an ally
and a bit of comic relief.
The first season has only six
episodes; four of them are about an hour and a half long, while the
other two clock in at about 50 minutes each. The mysteries are
satisfying, often with a twist or two, though the show sometimes leaves a
few more loose ends than I'd like. Though there is at least one death
in every episode, not every death is a murder; uncovering the reasons
behind these occurrences is intriguing regardless of how they happened.
In the course of their investigations, Hetty and Geoffrey stumble into
some unusual territory. They infiltrate a gathering of witches and get
tangled up with the Mafia, and at one point, Geoffrey dresses in drag to
provoke a reaction from a suspect. The show also broaches serious
subjects such as elder abuse, the foster case system and the treatment
of the mentally challenged. Each episode has a good balance of character
and plot.
Of course, I watched primarily for the characters,
and I'm glad I have three more seasons in which to get to know Geoffrey,
Hetty and Robert. Maybe I won't have to resort to I Sell the Dead after all...
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