Lynley Review – Consider it the ultimate indulgent TV | television

HHe’s a Balliol gentleman, a gentleman in a suit as sharp as his cheekbones. He’s unusually orange for a buchou, but that’s because he’s played by Leo Sutter, who was Harald Hardrada in Vikings: Valhalla until about 10 minutes ago, and clearly still has a protein shake to use.

She’s a working-class Norfolk girl (“Swaffham High, Swaffham Tech”) who wears sturdy boots and a utility jacket and is in the last-chance saloon, job-wise, due to her habit of talking to her bosses. She’s played by Sophia Barclay, best known as Dr O’Sullivan in Ted Lasso, but she doesn’t get to use her comedic skills here, because you don’t have to be funny in front of the Balliol men. They find it very awkward and have to be taken off to lie down.

Together, they are Detective Inspector Tommy Linley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers in what is described as a contemporary update of the original novels by Elizabeth George. Now look – I know what you’re saying, but no. In fact, there has been no contemporary update recently. That was The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, starring Nathaniel Parker as the eponymous hero and Sharon Small as his rambunctious sidekick, which began airing a quarter-century ago and ended in 2008. I’m sorry. We are all much older than we think. However, strangely enough, we are younger than we feel. I blame the years from Brexit to Trump for that.

anyway. Now that we’ve paused to shake our heads in disbelief, let’s get back to the battle. This new endeavor – not to be confused with Endeavour, the Morse spin-off on ITV which was not Lewis, although the original Parker/Small show was designed to compete with both, so I hope that’s clear – is simply titled Lynley. Which is as contemporary as All-get-out already, before the credits even roll.

Havers was appointed to the new DI of London. She’s not looking to “play nanny to the fresh-faced city boy who doesn’t know his ass from his elbow.” But wait. What is this that comes behind it? Is it the wardrobe that took a wrong turn at the reception? No, it’s her new boss, very tall, very experienced, “This is my butt, this is my elbow and I have no trouble telling one from the other.” Fortunately, she’s so feisty — a word I feel in my marrow that’s capitalized in the text — that the humiliation doesn’t last long.

They soon investigate a body found on the island’s beach – a man apparently killed by being bitten in the head. He is Jay Broward (Dave Anders), a very rich man who owns the entire island and, it is gradually revealed, likes to do things you would expect a very rich man who owns an entire island to do. He also has a wife, Ruth (Wendy Nottingham), who is dying of cancer and is largely cared for by his housekeeper, Valerie (Amanda Drew) and groundsman Paul (Angus Cooper), as well as a son who expects to inherit the place. No spoilers, but the son is married to an attractive woman, there’s a pretty student who’s prospecting for finance on the property and Valerie’s little niece is also hanging out at the place for the summer.

You can see from this that a lot of the plot is about to happen, between Linley dropping bits of Latin into the conversation at every opportunity, and being pushed along with a sure hand and a steady pace. Everything happens for a reason, every Chekhovian weapon, from sex tapes to pieces of pottery, explodes, every loose end tied up. Whenever we want to stay in narrative suspense for a while, we get a glimpse into the private life of the central pair. Linley barely talks to his parents. He may have left behind some professional or personal problems in the capital; And his love interest, Helen Clyde, will be played by Niamh Walsh, but not yet. His new boss (Daniel Mays) hates him for reasons yet to be determined. It may be Latin. They probably have real beef. Or maybe the boss just wants to look like a dresser himself. Time will tell.

Havers visits her parents frequently but it is clear that there is a secret sadness plaguing them all. It’s only the second bullet, so I guess there’ll be more about it later.

In short, everything is as it should be – for book lovers, for fans of old series and for fans of indulgent television. Thank you very much.