David Pirie Movies
The focus of this two-part British drama was not on the fictional Sherlock Holmes but on his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. Set in 1878, the story found young physician Conan Doyle (Robin Laing) working as an apprentice to Edinburgh forensic specialist Dr. Joseph Bell (Ian Richardson). In keeping with the conventional wisdom that Bell was the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, the doctor and his youthful assistant attempt to capture a serial murderer through the means of scientific deductions. The script was full of amusing "inside" jokes referencing future Holmes short stories and novels, while the cast was surprisingly topheavy with comic actors. Originally seen over the BBC2 service on January 4 and 5, 1999, Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes aired on American TV as a single two-hour "movie" on May 18, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Along a dark country road in Cumberland, England, a ghoulish woman in white steps from the shadows to confront a foot traveler, Walter Hartright (Andrew Lincoln), bound for Limmeridge House three miles off. She asks senseless questions: "You don't suspect me of wrong, do you, Sir? Why do you suspect me of wrong?" Hartright assures her he suspects her of no wrong, but she gibbers on. When a carriage happens by, the woman dissolves into the darkness and Hartright accepts the offer of a ride the rest of the way to Limmeridge House, a mansion where eccentric esquire Frederick Fairlie (Ian Richardson) has arranged for Hartright to tutor his nieces -- half-sisters Marian and Laura Fairlie -- in the art of drawing. Soon, Hartright falls in love with Laura, a wealthy heiress. Strangely, she is the near mirror image of the woman in white. Laura, in turn, falls in love with him. Marian, who wants only the best for Laura, approves of the romance. Unfortunately, Hartright loses his job when falsely accused of bad conduct. Before he leaves Limmeridge House, he warns Laura that she and her sister are in grave danger. Deeply disappointed in him, Laura ignores his caveat and fulfills a pledge to marry Sir Percival Gylde (James Wilby). He seems amiable and even invites Marian to live with him and Laura after the wedding. But when Laura returns from the honeymoon, she is melancholy and morose, hardly speaking a word to Marian. Glyde and a sinister visitor named Count Fosco (Simon Callow) are the reasons. Apparently, they are plotting to seize her inheritance using the tidiest of stratagems: murder. Meanwhile, dark secrets unravel involving Glyde's family background and the mysterious woman in white, and Hartright returns in an attempt to save the sisters and exorcise the evil possessing Limmeridge House. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tara Fitzgerald, James Wilby, (more)
- 1992
The title of this British miniseries referred to the prevarications dispensed to the British population by various processed-food corporations. The hero, Andrew Fell (Bob Peck), was an ad executive who stumbled upon a cover-up involving the "wholesomeness" of certain food products. When his former girlfriend died mysteriously just before making public the facts about Mad Cow Disease, Fell swung into action -- risking his own life in consequence. The three 50-minute episodes of Natural Lies were aired by BBC1 (significantly a non-commercial TV service) from May 31 to June 14, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Nathaniel Parker plays Desmond Thane, a young journalist in 1939 London. Much against his will, the wide-eyed Thane becomes embroiled in a murder case. Though the constabulary insists that everything is under control, Thane can't shake the feeling that something bigger is at stake. He suspicions are confirmed when several strangers with foreign accents and short tempers express an interest in the diary he has in his possession. Originally telecast on British television in 1989, Never Come Back premiered in the US over the A&E cable network on December 13, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
