I watched the Detective drama George Gently last night. Its not something I'd normally watch, the words, Sunday night and 1960's always bring to mind twee dramas like Heartbeat, but a certain Mr Richard Armitage was donning his leather again to play Ricky Deeming, the leader of a biker gang in the North East. I was pleasantly surprised. Gently was entertaining, good bits of tension at the end and has all the ingredients to go on to be a very good Detective series. The pair of detectives, Gently (Martin Shaw), the world-weary London Detective, sickened by the corruption all around him, and the eager Geordie Sergeant John Bacchus (Lee Ingleby), who can't wait to get away to the bright lights of London, and who's not afraid to bend the rules and go on instinct, make a very good double act.
The story is taken from Alan Hunter's Gently novels, in this case Gently Go Man. George Gently's wife has just been killed in a hit and run accident and he believes his nemesis, gangster Joe Webster (Phil Davis) is behind it. Sickened by the corruption rife in the Met Police which allows people like Webster to get away with their crimes, he decides to retire. He then learns that Webster was seen at the funeral of a teenager in Northumberland. His curiosity is piqued, when he learns the boy's death is being treated as suspicious and he asks for the case. Travelling to Northumberland, he teams up with local Detective Sergeant John Bacchus to investigate. When another murder follows, Gently is convinced that Webster is involved, but why would a London gangster be interested in a group of Bikers in the North East?
Ricky Deeming, leader of The Durham Defenders biker gang was close to the murdered boy and whilst Bacchus thinks he's a suspect, Gently thinks Ricky may be in danger himself. Could the boy's death be linked to his homosexuality, and what was his exact relationship with Ricky.
The main cast were excellent, Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby make a great double act. There's a very funny scene in the lobby of a hotel, where Bacchus is expressing his thoughts on homosexuality (bad) and Gently is questioning him on his views, whilst winding him up, in front of a very interested waiter. Phil Davis plays the psychotic Webster with relish and thanks to Peter Flannery the writer, who gave him some great one liners. Yes there were a few police cliches thrown in - Gently to Bacchus, when Bacchus is egging him on to shoot Webster - "there's supposed to be a difference between them and us" he says, before putting away his gun. But on the whole it was well written. Flannery again showing his knowledge of the North East in times gone by (see Our Friends in The North).
Richard Armitage did well in the role of the slightly spiritual and poetic, hint of homosexuality, biker. His accent was a bit ropey, but I am sure his many female fans would have forgiven him that, especially when he fufilled a few female fantasies by being yet again tied up. Leather and being tied up, is this to be a recurring theme for RA?
Hopefully this did well enough to warrant a whole series, but here's hoping they don't go back to the books and Gently's earlier cases, but continue with the excellent partnership with Bacchus. It did appear that this would be the case from the hints in the ending.
