User Reviews

Have always adored detective dramas/mystery series. This has been apparent from an early age, half my life even, when getting into Agatha Christie through Joan Hickson's Miss Marple and David Suchet's Poirot and into 'Inspector Morse'.

Whether it's the more complex ones like 'Inspector Morse' (and its prequel series 'Endeavour') and anything Agatha Christie. Whether it's the grittier ones like 'A Touch of Frost' (though that is balanced brilliantly with comedy too) and particularly 'Taggart'. And whether it's the light-hearted ones like 'Murder She Wrote'. 'Rosemary and Thyme' is an example of a light-hearted detective mystery series and always gives me a lot of pleasures and banishes the blues when watching. It is a shame that it didn't last longer because it deserved to.

"The Invisible Worm" for me is not one of my favourite 'Rosemary and Thyme' episodes, but there is a huge amount to like here as with any 'Rosemary and Thyme' episode. At no point does it feel dull, it has its surprises and is not a case of not being enough suspects.

Its conclusion is not one of the show's most plausible and the supporting character development is sketchy. Parts are a touch contrived.

Visually, "The Invisible Worm" looks wonderful, beautifully photographed, vibrant in colour and as always with the show with a stunning setting, have always been envious of the gardens seen on the show. The music has a lot of charm with a main theme tune that is soothingly folksy that matches the whimsy of the setting appropriately.

The writing is engaging and suitably light-hearted without being frothy. Some of the dialogue for Laura and especially Rosemary is very funny. The story is suitably twisty without on the most part being too convoluted, and is entertaining and with a relaxing vibe without being simplistic.

Similarly the characters engage, with Rosemary and Laura already being interesting and distinct in personality, and the chemistry between the two sparkles. Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris are simply great, individually and as a sparkling double act, love Kendal's fire and feistiness and Ferris' more restrained and thoughtful approach. The supporting cast are hard to find fault with too, with gleefully enjoyable Anthony Andrews coming out on top.

In conclusion, well worth watching. 8/10 Bethany Cox

FELICITY KENDAL and PAM FERRIS are the snoopy gardeners who uncover a dead body in the rose garden and promptly go about solving another crime. ANTHONY ANDREWS has fun with the role of a schoolmaster who refers to his pupils as "little maggots" who can't be left alone for a second lest they turn the classroom into a riot zone.

It's all prettily photographed in English countryside settings that look awfully inviting in color, but the style is so British and everyone talks in that clipped British manner that had me searching for the caption feature after the first five minutes.

It's one of those mysteries that isn't that hard to follow but the characters are pretty thinly developed and the whole story just seems to be a contrivance that doesn't add up to much. Most enjoyable performer is ANTHONY ANDREWS who hams it up at every opportunity.

It's not Christie, but it's fun.

With roses dying in their beds at Stagford Lodge Preparatory School, classics master, Richard Oakley, calls upon Rosemary and Laura to help resolve the problem. Their arrival coincides with a mysterious ritual being held before the last day of term, in which a member of staff causes mischief while dressed as the Stag. However, things turn sour when Simon Todd, the geography master, is found dead in some undergrowth the next day, killed by a harpoon fired from the headmaster's prized harpoon gun. The sleuthing gardeners soon find themselves wondering what the motive was for Simon's murder..

A little dull and confusing at times, but an interesting enough episode with some perplexing mystery, good atmosphere and an excellent hammy performance by Anthony Andrews.