I loved this series with Carolyn Quentin as Maddy. However, after she left, it simply wasn't as charming. Maddy provided comic relief and believability in her character as unique and "real folkes". I watched the entire series. I am American and we seldom see really Smart TV series. Unlike most UK Series that I watch repeatedly, (on my 5th viewing of New Tricks & Dalziel) for their character driven shows, JC sold out after Maddy was replaced with a different type of female lead. Maddy and Jonathan were quirky and unique. As the show progressed it became "a sell-out" to American type-casting, pretty blondes all in a row. The following UK Series illustrate the wonderful beauty of realistic, "non-blonde stereotyping" and/or "pretty people" characters that I love. You can't beat Warren Clarke as Andy Dalziel in Dalziel & Pascoe, truly rare and beautiful in my eyes. Alum Armstrong as Brian in New Tricks. New Tricks, an older mature character driven series gives us a real Blonde role model. (America has only come close in The Closer and Major Crimes). Blonde Amanda Redman as Sandra was not at all typical, she was a real tough, non apologetic, non whinning, non flirting, character. Endeavor, Morse, Lewis, Frost, George Gently and more...all of these intelligent series have flawed real people as characters as real people. Jonathan Creek lost that when Maddy left the show. Jonathan turned into an odd unrealistic sham of a character after that and the show suffered. I finished the series only in hope that Maddy would return and Jonathan would return to his original "nerdiness" Maddy made the series and required me to research her SWEET choices in life.
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Starting watching this after being gifted a Britbox subscription, and the first three seasons are excellent. Well-thought out problems/plots, interesting, 3 dimensional characters with an odd but palpable chemistry between the main 2, great acting, humor, etc. Season 4, not only is the chemistry between the 2 leads odd, but the mysteries are further out there. What I liked about the first 3 seasons is that you could actually figure out the mysteries - you might not know the why, but you could sometimes figure out the how. Fair mysteries, where the viewer really was given most of the pertinent information. This starts to ebb as we hit season 4. I just watched the first episode of season 5, and yeah, so far, it's the worst. I guess it just jumped the shark.
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TheLittleSongbird27 August 2017Having always had a fascination for detective mystery dramas, 'Jonathan Creek' has always been a very enjoyable series and for four seasons was a favourite.
There is a consensus that 'Jonathan Creek' wasn't the same post-Season 4 and when Julia Sawalha replaced Caroline Quentin. Thought that Sawalha did a very good job considering the big daunting shoes she had to fill, but it is difficult to not compare her to Quentin who was so amazing in her tenure and her chemistry with Alan Davies stronger. The post-Season 4 episodes were also a little daft, suspense-lacking and sometimes implausible and Jonathan wasn't as interesting or as likable, the way he was written like somebody else entirely.
At its best however, 'Jonathan Creek' was fantastic. Davies has never been better as Jonathan, and Quentin was amazing. The guest stars are uniformly excellent.
Visually, 'Jonathan Creek' is a stylish and atmospheric show, always beautifully photographed and with scenery that has a lot of atmosphere. The use of Saint Saens' "Danse Macabre" for the theme tune is a masterstroke and suits the mysterious nature of the show itself with its mix of magic and mystery.
Much of the script writing is taut and entertaining, while a vast majority of the story lines, when the show was in its prime years, are very clever with impossible crimes told in a way that challenges the viewer but never alienates or insults them. The characters are interesting and well drawn.
Overall, while post-Season 4 has not been as strong as before the show is still excellent because of how good it was in particularly Seasons 1-3. 9/10 Bethany Cox -
For years now, I've heard my friends and relatives in the UK singing the praises of "Jonathan Creek". Unfortunately, I had never gotten the chance to experience the genius that is this show. But thanks to BBC-America, I can savor each and every mystery on Thursday afternoons (we get 2 episodes back-to-back!). I realize that, especially in the past 3 years, American television has consisted of a lot of very bad reality shows, and little else. Anything of substance is quickly taken off the air.. so that two more Real World/Survivor/Bachelor clones can take its place. There are millions of Americans who are starving for intelligent, thought-provoking entertainment. Of course Americans can handle "Jonathan Creek" -- why else would BBC-America continue to air it? This is an amazing show, and I truly wish our television big-wigs would realize that these kinds of shows work. Alan Davies is the ultimate anti-hero. Davies is gorgeous as the shy, rather nerdy, Jonathan. (I've developed a bit of a crush on him, to be honest :D) Maddy, played by the amazing Caroline Quentin, is the kind of role-model American women need: a tough-as-nails every-woman, who looks nothing like the malnourished actresses and models we see every day. The Americans who love this show are intelligent and witty, and we know good television when we see it.. and this is by far the best show I've had the pleasure of watching in a very long time.
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Metalfairy19 January 2005I was hooked on this programme when it first came out and now I have it on DVD, I can see just how fantastic this series is. Its a completely different take on the usual crime solving programme and the solutions to puzzles are absolutely amazing. I was constantly baffled and thought it was very clever the way Jonathan worked out some of the clues. Alan Davies and Caroline Quentin were absolutely fantastic in their parts, and I thought perfect for their roles. When Julia Sawahla replaced Caroline, I was dubious at first but she too was great in her role, despite not being the ultimate replacement for Caroline. I did not think any of the mysteries were at all daft, just very very clever and the chemistry between Alan and Caroline was fantastic.
The guest stars were great in their roles, Annette Crosbie was particularly good in the House of Monkeys episode and it was a joy to see Bill Bailey pop up in the later series. I think, providing the mysteries keep coming, this programme can continue for maybe one or two series more. -
silver178 February 2004I think Jonathan Creek is a wonderful show. The mysteries are excellent, much better than boring police dramas, and the charaterisation is superb. Obviously some episodes are better than others, but they are always good.
I can't really see many reasons for people not liking the show. It's funny and cerebral at the same time which keeps you interested, also the way the story builds up very slowly is clever. The clues are always there for you to see, but I rarely ever get the mysteries before Jonathan tells me at the end. Jonathan and Maddy are the best team, and hopefully the next series will feature mainly Jonathan and Maddy solving the mysteries. -
Gubby-Allen19 June 2001Barring two or three sitcoms it is the best show ever made in the UK.
Words can't really describe how good this show is. In fact it is the only show made in the last ten years in England that would make you give up an entire Saturday night out for. Staying in to watch it would make it worthwhile.
It keeps you on the edge of your seat from the start, continually guessing and playing detective and how Renwick comes up with the a different storyline each week is as incredible as his talent to do the same with One Foot In The Grave.
To the people who were gripped by Sixth Sense and failed to guess the ending. Watch this and you'll see proper suspense. If you don't enjoy Jonathan Creek I really don't know what you expect from a TV programme. This show covers so many genres. -
Sleepin_Dragon19 January 2020It's 2020, and I think this once great show has now officially come to an end, there seems to be no news of any new episodes.
At its best it was the best thing on TV, essential viewing which was bold, funny, creative and always managed to deliver the unexpected.
For me the best years were those with Caroline Quentin, the early years, the standard was amazingly high, although my favourite individual episode was Satan's Chimney, which featured Julia Sawalha. There are some wonderful guest performances, Maureen Lipman and Anette Crosbie stand out.
The shine did come off a bit in later years, but I always hope for more. One Foot in The Grave is my all time favourite sitcom, and you can see David Renwick's influence here, hilarious at times.
I'd love to see more. 9/10 -
Johnny_West30 January 2024The first 18 episodes featuring Caroline Quentin as the lead are very well written, with lots of outstanding dialogue. Even though Jonathan Creek (Alan Davies) is the star, the show started out from the point of view of Maddy the crime writer (Caroline Quentin). She would contact Creek to help her out with solving mystery stories for her books.
The background for Creek was ingenious, as his job was to devise magic acts for his employer, a magician originally played by Anthony Head, then by Stuart Milligan for the next 16 episodes. Milligan was great at the nuances of a D-List playboy celebrity.
Davies and Quentin had a great comic chemistry together, and their lines were sometimes more awesomely funny because of how they reacted to each other. This is not a comedy show, but it has some great moments of humor and irony in the process of depicting two average people sorting out crimes in the midst of living their daily lives. -
blanche-27 February 2013How I love this show, and how excited I am to find there are other programs in this series beyond the original four years. I have only come across the four years on rental disc but have just ordered the rest.
I was attracted originally to "Jonathan Creek" because of the description and put it on my lists of films to see. It is fabulous. Jonathan (Alan Davies) is, of course, the genius behind the illusions of a womanizing magician, Adam Klaus.
He teams up with Madeline Magellan (Carolyn Quentin), an investigative reporter, who originally is looking into a cold case. She sort of falls for Jonathan -- to be honest, I thought the two made a great team but were unsuited for one another, and I couldn't see bringing any suggestion of romance to the team.
The two work on lots of cases together, with Jonathan coming up with some ingenious ways these seemingly impossible, locked-room mysteries could have happened, as well as the way they really did.
In season 4, Quentin left the series and Jonathan winds up working with an old girlfriend (Julia Sawalha), to me almost totally unrecognizable as a blond, who is a television reporter, now married. Quentin was better as Jonathan's sidekick, whose personality is showier and more fun than what is written for Sawalha.
The mysteries are so clever, so fresh, so well done - I watch these episodes absolutely glued. Alan Davies underplays, showing the thoughtful, cerebral side of his character. He was a nice juxtaposition to Quentin, who plays a nosy, direct, and somewhat flamboyant woman.
I hope this series continues to do specials (as they have announced a new one with Joanna Lumley), but I also would like to see it come back, as Alan Davies has hinted it might. That would be incredibly fantastic. -
britdelia19 May 2021The first two seasons - I think - were great until Maddy became a real pain in the neck with JC. He is still interesting and the story lines are good.
But you lost me with Maddy. -
zsinka23 August 2018Hooked up on the series quickly, very funny and love how they are thinking through the impossible crimes. However after Quentin left it's not as funny anymore.. She made Creek interesting. Otherwise I would have given a 10.
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lookintx1 November 2018I loved the first three seasons when Caroline Quentin was his costar, I would have rated it 9! It was funny, there was a bit of sexual tension, just all around more imaginative and interesting. After she left the series he was given a now married ex-girlfriend as his sidekick and it was such a let down. Then he gained a ton of weight, got married and it slid even further downhill. Boring, unimaginative and hard to watch.
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epc-1228 June 2020Loved all 4 seasons of Jonathon Creek with his quirky female "helpmates"- some more than others. Upon finishing season 4 with THE GRINNING MAN, and THE JUDAS TREE we zipped into Season 5!!!! What the heck? Jonathan is MARRIED, has smoother gray hair and is married to some sort corporate wealthy woman. Hey, Jonathan Creek writers? Did you ever hear of "continuity"? How the heck this all happen? What happened to Jonathan to get to this point? How did he meet this woman to whom he finally gave his heart? Sure are wondering! This is a huge (once great series) disappointment which we are not continuing after all this time. You have made a huge blunder by taking a slip- shod way out in absolving yourselves from the creative process in continuing that which was once a charming and also gripping mystery series. You have made a mega mistake and sold yourselves and your faithful audience down the river in a leaky boat.
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liammurphy117 August 2003This has to be the best series made by the BBC for many years. The stories are well written, the acting by Alan Davies is great considering he's a comedian rather than a proper actor. The stories keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing till the very end.
The earlier episodes are the best with Caroline Quentin as his tough as nails sidekick. The more recent episodes with Julia Sawalha from ab-fab fame are still good but they have become more predictable and silly at times - with the writers seeming to run out of ideas and Davies seems to be getting bored with it all, which is a shame because theseries is one of the most watched shows in Britain and is a change from the usual mind-numbing Saturday night crap:Pop idol, Blind date, Lotto show, casualty and many others.
Please let this show continue for many years to come!
My rating for earlier episodes 1997-2000:-10/10
MY rating for recent episodes 2001-present :- 8.5/10
Overall 9/10 -
stevenm-071172 January 2020David Renwick had demonstrated his talents for writing intricate, dark comedies with One Foot in the Grave and transferred those qualities to the murder mystery genre for Jonathan Creek.
Comedian Alan Davies had never done any acting prior his casting in the central role, but he made the perfect choice as the friendly yet cynical, calm yet occasionally incredulous, somewhat eccentric yet popular magician's creative genius with a talent for solving complex locked room killings and time shift slayings.
The show did decline in quality after the 2010 special 'The Grinning Man', but only the three episode fifth series is truly worth avoiding. -
Dr_Coulardeau11 September 2010This series is in the English tradition of the « independent » investigator who helps the police solve some bad criminal cases essentially with their mind power and their observation power. The great model of them all is Sherlock Holmes but many more were invented and developed in detective story literature, especially female specimens like those of Agatha Christie. In this case the main mind, Jonathan Creek, is associated to a woman who is a reporter or writer of some kind. They are only interested in complex cases, especially having to do with some surreal or super-real elements. Jonathan Creek is by profession the technical inventor of a very successful magician, a certain Adam Klaus. So there is always the disappearing of a criminal or of some artifact, or some illusion that has to be placed back in context, and that cannot be explained at all with normal physical considerations. In other words magic. Then the stories always add a personal element about the victims and the people around the victims that is strange too and has to do with some kind of mysterious business often shown as a scam. The object here is to show that most "magicians" are nothing but crooks who pretend they are performing something supernatural, only when they are performing a sham, an illusion, a treacherous dishonest act. The stories are extremely inventive and the situation in which Jonathan Creek and his female associate finds themselves are often hairy and frightening. Generally it ends up in the hands of the police except from time to time when they decide it is worth a special treatment. The second Christmas special is typical at that level. Satan's Chimney really is Satan's Chimney. Of course not the Satan you may think of, but quite a different one that has not been living since the Middle Ages, but one of blood and flesh today. That Satan is so perverted that he leads some people into doing some so unnatural things that the name of Satan is by far miles away from his reality. The second quality of this series is that, being a BBC production, it has no advertising and an hour is an hour. I must say that is slightly different from the one hour American series that are reduced to a small 45 minutes, when so much, because of the advertising that is interspersed in the show. The extra fifteen minutes gives the story some depth because they just have the time to build that depth and there is only one enigma in each episode which makes it possible to concentrate on the details, and that once again is a major difference with American series in the field, today imitated by some European series, particularly French series. That's definitely a positive point. If you add to that the acting that is perfect, even at times more than perfect you nearly have a totally admirable picture. But in fact there is another essential element that is 100% British. It is humour (note the spelling of course). At times it is gross, at times it is subtle, or sexual, or political, or whatever but it is humour all right and it gives the series a catching look that you cannot miss. You laugh in the midst of the worst details of the worst crimes you can imagine. Finally we will note the police is practically always shown under a non-negative light, often positive, and some times not too swift. There is a nasty copper from time to time just to spice up the vision. This series is worth the numerous hours it covers at least 1,000%.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID -
carolann-5243026 October 2018First 3 episodes were great. I loved the series. Boring with the last two characters of Adam and Joey disappeared and up popped a wife. Disappointed after that. I could only watch a couple season 5 episodes. The appeal and chemistry of characters vanished.
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altereggo12321 October 2023The first two seasons of this show, featuring Carolyn Quentin as Maddie Magellan, are just about perfect -- a combination of absurd humor and intriguing "impossible" crimes. The character of Adam Klaus as a oversexed, narcissistic Vegas style magician is also hilarious, even with a change in actors over two seasons. The solutions to the crimes are intriguing, and even when they are a bit over-the-top, they are still good entertainment. The not-quite romantic relationship between Creek and Magellan doesn't always make sense, but they have a quirky chemistry and their ups and downs make for some good comedy.
Seasons 3-5, without the Magellan character, are not quite as strong. There is a weird love-triangle in seasons 3-4 involving Jonathan Creek, an old flame, and her husband, who is not at all jealous of the two of them and admits to having been briefly gay. It's odd but not funny--just awkward. There are still some very funny moments, e.g. An episode in which a woman whose pet dog has died starts to date Jonathan Creek but goes for walks with him, plays fetch with him, and generally uses him as a dog-substitute.
In season 5, Creek gives up his frumpy magician assistant persona and becomes a suit-wearing executive in The City. He has an attractive but drearily respectable wife who detests his interest in magic and crime-solving. This new conformity doesn't fit his character at all and the marriage seems unlikely--it's hard to believe the two would get past a first date.. The crimes become increasingly farfetched, though there is still some amusing dialogue and wordplay.
As a whole, the series isn't without flaws--it did go downhill after Carolyn Quentin left, especially in the final season. But the first two seasons were so strong, they outweigh the weak points of what followed. Even the worst episodes of this series are better than most current viewing options.. -
jhmoondance23 December 2021Well......I have just delved into this series n I forgot how brilliantly it is written n the stories are amazing n the plot is spotless. There is not as much tension n suspense as you would expect but the shear amazing way in which each episode unfolds is enough to keep you on your toes.
The acting is superb n the characters are charismatic n bounce off each other.
The endings are always superbly n smoothly executed.
I highly recommend this series especially if you like mysteries n great drama. -
matt-279920 March 2008Jonathan Creek is an excellent British Television series - all about mystery and the why's and how's. It was written by the great, David Renwick, who wrote One Foot in the Grave and like that he manages to make unlikely scenarios very believable! Full of comedy - this is true classic Renwick humour and true classic British humour.
Creek is a laid back unassuming man, who is the clever mind behind a magician's illusions. His friend, Maddie is an investigative journalist who seems to walk into mysteries, persuading Creek to work it out for her. The part of Jonathan Creek is played by the well known stand up comedian, Alan Davies, who can be seen in the quiz show QI and Maddie is played by another well know comedian, Caroline Quentin. This makes very clever TV with some very clever plots and mysteries.
Well worth watching this programme on one of the repeat channels or buying on DVD -you'll love it. -
Excellent show as far as the plots and the way they solve the mysteries! BUT the weird relationship those two had was hard to stomach every episode. She looks about 10 years older than he is....and plays games with him like a teenager instead of a grown woman who is supposedly a famous writer! I mean, she knows he's shy and on the autistic spectrum (most likely) yet she just can't bring herself to let him know she loves him!? Instead she lies to him continuously, gets jealous like a school kid, and they get close to having sex more than once YET can't pick up where they left off!? I could hardly take watching a nice looking guy, smart, kind, and intelligent being jerked around by a pudgy, not very attractive, nor intelligent woman who is contstantly stuffing her face and eating in a very disgusting way! What he ever saw in her was a total mystery?! So, their relationship was just annoying. Had they just been "partners" in solving crimes it would've been great and their individual characters with all their quirks would've been wonderful!
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ronbell-2398421 June 2020The one tarnish is the last few episodes when they married him off to a snob, ditched his windmill, tidied him up I mean that's just not Jonathan Creek.
I still rate this a 10 as the vast majority of the show is excellent, good characters and very imaginative stories. -
dnlmonaco28 April 2019The "Magician detective" is an idea that's been done to death but never done quite as well as when it was done by this show. This is mostly due to the main character's shyness and retiring nature, played to a "T" by Alan Davis. He would be perfectly happy just sitting at home planning tricks for his self absorbed boss but instead keeps getting dragged all over England to confront the British Isle's criminal population, all of whom are unbelievably well versed in stage magic techniques that are elaborately applied to rather unbelievable crimes. The writing is good enough to keep your disbelief dangling on a tight rope.
The downside of the show comes from every character who isn't Creek.
Take the British police who alternate between appreciating Creek's input to being abusive bullies. It's hard to understand how the main character is placed in the universe in the show when that same universe accepts or rejects him depending on whatever inconvenience is needed for the plot.
Then there's Adam Klaus, the magician who Creek works for. In the first season, he's played by Anthony Stewart Head who manages to make a repugnant sex obsessed narcissist seem charming and despite the fact that Tony Head can't do an American accent to save his life, you find him fascinating. But for the rest of the show the character is played by an actual American, Stuart Milligan who doesn't do my home country very proud when he somehow makes Adam Klaus so repellent that his scenes are actually a bear to watch.
It gets worse in the first three seasons with Maddy, played by Caroline Quentin. Maddy is the female lead of the show and Jonathon Creek's possible love interest but they never actually seem to close the deal, either out of neurosis or bad luck. The problem with Maddy is the opposite for the other characters: she's TOO well written, she's too human and broken. Unlike most female leads on tv, Maddy is a real woman with a real human body and down to earth looks. That's great and fun, she's smart and motivated and a great character. But she's also manipulative, cruel, and rather mean to Jonathon and after the first two episodes their "will they, won't they" becomes "God, why should they?"
Maddy's attitude makes sense when you learn her backstory but it's not much of an excuse for the generally cold blooded way she leaves Jonathon to twist in the wind. Also, despite NEVER actually being a real couple and acknowledging that Jonathon is free to be with who ever he wants, she essentially harangues him mercilessly when he does meet someone.
Maddy leaves after the third season and gets replaced with a series of other female assistants but that's a huge hit to the show because none of the successive assistants are A) As well written and B) getting prettier and prettier to the point that Sarah Alexander plays "Mrs. Creek" at the end of the show and it almost seems like a slap in the face to Caroline Quentin to replace her with, well, go look at a picture of Sarah Alexander. Maddy isn't a very GOOD person but she's definitely the soul of the show and it loses something when she's gone.
Alan Creek is also a prime example of the dumbness of British TV's "scheduling gaps" between seasons because by the end of the show in 2016, so much time has passed for Alan Davis that he looks like he's melted into a blob of Jonathon Creek shaped goo. It's hard to pull off "Boyish charm" when you lack, well, boyish looks.
All in all, the show is saved by the fantastic writing and excellent plots that remain consistently good throughout. -
hal-926-75828321 April 2018Only just watching this now on Netflix. Didn't see it first time round on the BBC. The first couple of episode were ok-ish, but very quickly the series has descended into over-acted, absurdity. I've got to give the show credit for finding some wonderful locations, but really when the locations are the best thing about a program that is hardly a recommendation. I've reached the point where I can't bear to watch any more. The Maggie character (Caroline Quentin) is so awful I'd be quite happy for her to become the victim of a gruesome murder. What it most reminds me of is TV dramas of the 1960s with very theatrical style of acting. Alan Davies doesn't fall into this style, to his credit, but this just emphasizes the caricatures that everyone else is playing. It's obvious from many reviews that it is a program with an appeal to some, but definitely not to me.