The Curious Tale of Mr. Spearfish was the first episode of Jonathan Creek’s third season. The episode featured a dark contract and some dark deeds. In this podcast Gerry and Iain take a look at why money cannot solve all ills.
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Andrew Tiernan featured as the titular Mr. Lenny Spearfish, a man whose luck turns on a dime when he signs his soul away to a mysterious man in a curiosity shop. His troubled wife, Alice, is portrayed by Rachel Power while there are significant cameos for Adjoa Andoh as a guardian angel type figure and for Griff Rhys Jones as a prosecutor as Adam Klaus goes to trial in the episode’s B-plot.
There is a small role for a young Maxine Peake as a hotel cleaner exposed for blackmailing high profile guests, while Debbie Arnold and Brett Fancy also appear.
The Curious Tale of Mr. Spearfish was again written by the show’s creator, David Renwick. Keith Washington directed while Verity Lambert remained as producer.
The Curious Tale of Mr. Spearfish was released in 1999. It is 50 minutes long and originally aired on the BBC. The episode can be viewed on Netflix in the UK and Ireland and the entire series is available on DVD in the UK and other countries, including a comprehensive box set of all the episodes up until Christmas 2016, released by the BBC.
Hi guys! I apologize for being quiet lately. Work = busier than a one-armed paper hanger.
I have been listening though!
I agree this was a terrible episode. Where to start? The Jewish thing…I knew someone who was mistaken for being Jewish. Had NOTHING to do with Jewish comedians. People said she has a “Jewish” nose. Complete and utter anti-Semitism. So they’ve normalized anti-Semitism and sexual harassment (Adam) in the episode. Just because he wasn’t guilty this time doesn’t mean he’s not guilty of it. Can I use the word douche on your website?
The deeply frustrating thing is that the selling the soul to the devil thing was totally cool. Loved that idea. The execution however…
And who paid for all the surveillance. Taxpayers? Well not me…I’m Canadian, but YOUR tax dollars?
Your annual stipend for not reverting to British ownership probably covered it.
Hi-ho, guys. Gerry, I hope the wager’s over and you’re back into your caffeine by now. Did you win the wager and was it worth it?
As for this episode of JC, the missus and I actually enjoyed it for what it was (while you two obviously did not!). It certainly was silly and unbelievable but as watchers of things go, we tend to take shows/characters we love warts and all and enjoy the lesser efforts along with the greater. There are limits, of course. A few of those later Columbos came out too warty even for our taste.
Anyway, enjoyed this week’s podcast.
As for the TV episode itself, it first had me thinking 1960s Mission: Impossible with such an outlandish plot. You know the kind they’d have: “We just need to drug him, get him into the oversized mock-up of a sardine can, then convince him he’s been transmogrified into an actual sardine so he’ll give up the state secret”! That was when I was of the mind that MI5 (or whoever the fake investment counselor worked for) had actually set up a fake shop with a fake old caretaker, lured Spearfish in to sign a fake devil document, and set up the hotel/poolside thing themselves.
By show’s end, I’d realized/decided the whole devil shop, document, hotel and pool things were flukes he stumbled into on his own and was incidental to MI5 planting the buried treasure and trying to protect the couple, etc. The story becomes a BIT less ridiculous if you don’t assume the government was setting a guy up to believe he’s been made immortal by the devil.
And we all agree that Lennie was quite an unlikable fellow–not sure that the wife wouldn’t be better off without him, millions or not.
Here’s hoping The Eyes of Tiresias is a step up. Been too long since I saw it last to remember off hand.
Thanks Salty. There are good episodes ahead. Not convinced Tiresias is one of them!