I am not sure if I am watching the Petherbridge/Walter series in the correct order. Perhaps "Strong Poison" or "Gaudy Night" go first. I will be renting the bloody lot - and "...Carcase" was certainly bloody! Having watched Ian Carmichael's buoyant '70s series, I was rather brought up short by the less ebullient Wimsey of Petherbridge, not as jollifying and ingratiating as Carmichael's. But there's plenty of room for differences! Petherbridge's preoccupation with Harriet, his consuming passion, this is a switch. Carmichael bounded about with such satisfied zest and interest in other mysterious matters, houseman Bunter perfecting his Lord's environmental whimsies, and, when amour reared a merry tendril, Lord Peter would simply plop his elbows on a couch behind, say, Phyllida Law, and jauntily demand, "NOW what shall we do?" and Phyllida's eyes would POP! Not so Petherbridge's wooing of Harriet Vane. He is her love captive and she - for reasons I could not determine in this episode - does not wish to be dependent upon him or anyone and she resists him mightily, sending him off with limp spirits and dashed hopes on successive occasions. But his valiant repartee is so convivial and his banter so droll, Harriet succumbs to laughter if not kisses. Petherbridge has a marvelous mouth, sort of Cupid's bow, and an arch proboscis that marks his aristocracy. This is a great series for mystery lovers and I plan to see them all,from the archives. BBC knew how to present fabulous fare! I was compelled to view all four episodes in one heady sitting and then leapt into the car to drive, in rush hour traffic, to a friend's home, leaving the DVD with her, who sports an ankle cast from a recent accident, that she might, although deaf (and unfortunately, these older TV masterpieces are not captioned!), sit and lipread what she can and drink in the scenery and costuming and demeanor of the sterling cast! See them all. There are not enough of these, both Carmichael's and Petherbridge's. One of life's glories! Correction: my deaf friend did indeed have captions for this program! Good news. Her TV set was set to provide them and it worked! Even later addendum: Recently I have seen "Strong Poison" and "Gaudy Night." And now I can say that this Lord Peter Wimsey is irresistible and definitive. This series is seductive "Strong Poison!" "Gaudy Night" is cerebral - how will the captions capture all that rich pedantic dialogue? And to think, I have yet to read Dorothy L. Sayers! THAT will be remedied because one wants more, more, MORE!
Review of Have His Carcase: Episode One
