Series description: 'Adapted from book series by James Runcie; Cambridgeshire clergyman Sidney Chambers finds himself investigating a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small village of Grantchester.'
Episode description: 'After a mourner at a supposed-suicide's funeral confides her suspicions of murder to young vicar Sidney Chambers, he joins forces with Inspector Geordie Keating.'
Now, before I've even started watching the show, it already has two qualities that appeal to my tastes;
1) It's a British mystery, and if there's one specific genre in all of television history that I adore, this would be it. Who-dunn-it's make me happy.
2) It's set in the early 1950's, and being extremely fond of early to mid 20th century aesthetics, this also tickles my fancy.
And so, wary but hopeful, I dive in. And I am not disappointed!
From the very start, it becomes clear that the main character is of a quirky nature, but extremely likeable. The array of secondary characters are somewhat less quirky, but definately manage to reach varying stages of likability during the few minutes each of them gets to contribute to the story.
The sets are wonderfully done up, and props to the make-up department for finding such a long disused lipstick colour as the garishly orange worn by the grieving widow.
As for the plot, it definately lives up to the expectations created by it's introductory blurb on IMDB. It's essentially 45 minutes of light-hearted storytelling involiving murder, infidelity and other minor sins.
My favourite part throughout the episode however was the wonderfully well written and colourful dialogue that on several occasions made me laugh out loud.
All in all, I look forward to continuing with this series.
