With the help of his right-hand man, TV John, police constable Hamish Macbeth (Robert Carlyle) keeps the peace in Lochdubh's mean streets in his own idiosyncratic way, with little regard for police regulations and every intention of avoiding promotion. Promotion would mean leaving his police home, the wild, beautiful Scottish countryside, and Wee Jock, his beloved West Highland terrier. So the less his superior officers in Inverness know of his policing activities, the better.
I own all the books in the series and was very disappointed that the BBC series did not honor the books or the characters readers have grown to love. Aye, it's a disgrace to M. C. Beaton, laddie!
This is the worst adaptation of a novel I have ever seen. The writers and producers owe M. C. Beaton and apology, a big one. The character of Hamish MacBeth is nothing, I mean NOTHING like the charter in the novels.
I think Robert Carlyle is an outstanding actor. I liked him in both "Full Monty" and "Angela's Ashes," but he's NOT Hamish Macbeth. I've read every one of the books, and the TV series is a disappointment. Carlyle's Hamish is too dark, too intense, not fun at all. I won't watch another one.