Yet another adaptation of Maigret, starring.... Rowan Atkinson (no, really!)

[Ron Obvious]

We watched this last night, and it was pretty good!

I confess that it would never have occurred to me to cast rubber-faced Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean, Blackadder) as the passive, inscrutable Maigret, but I think he pulls it off quite well.

The pacing is right (slow), and the casting and production values (Budapest stands in for 1950's Paris) are marvellous.

It's lacking something, but I haven't been able to put my finger on what exactly yet. It might get addressed in future episodes/movies, which we'll definitely keep an eye out for.

Recommended if you like e.g. Morse, Endeavour, Touch of Frost, Midsomer Murders, that sort of thing.

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[Boldine]

1. thanks for the recommendation, will give it a try. eom

[sharp_stick]

2. I'd like to give that a watch

Do you know if it's available in the US somewhere?

[Ron Obvious]

3. I don't know

I watched a recording from ITV myself, and I have no idea if there are even any plans to show this in the US at the moment. I don't think Simenon or Maigret were ever that big in the US or that any of the previous TV incarnations were ever shown here.

It used to be that A&E would show something like this, but that channel has rather gone downhill in recent years.

Sorry...

[mackerel]

4. A couple of times my local PBS played the orignal

Maigret. This was about 6-7 years ago. I've never been able to find it again.

[Ron Obvious]

5. Which version was that?

There have been several over the years, including several European versions.

I'm aware of two English versions (in addition to the new one), the 1992 Michael Gambon version and the 1960 version with Rupert Davies. Both were excellent in their own way.

[mackerel]

9. I'm not sure which version it was.

It was in French with English Subtitles. I didn't know there were English versions of it.

This looks like I could be the version I saw:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167644/

[csziggy]

7. The Michael Gambon version is on YouTube for free.

First episode:

[Ron Obvious]

13. I like those

There's a subtle sense of humour which is ironically lacking in the Rowan Atkinson version. Maybe that's what I felt was missing.

[csziggy]

14. Are the Atkinson versions out yet? I thought there was only a trailer?

Maybe they are only showing the more serious parts to offset Atkinson's history of comedy roles. I'll wait until I can see an entire episode or two before I decide.

Meanwhile I will probably try to watch the Gabon versions or try to pick up some of the books. I haven't read any of the Maigret mysteries in at least forty years!

[Ron Obvious]

15. Yes, there's one episode out

It's "Maigret sets a trap". A second episode, "Maigret's Dead Man", is apparently completed but not yet broadcast.

I hadn't read the books in at least thirty, possibly forty years as well, but the details of this story came to me midway through the episode. We subsequently watched the Gabon version of the same episode, and it's really quite similar.

Maybe that's what I felt was missing from the Rowan Atkinson version, a real reason for the remake. The Michael Gabon version is from 1992 only, and they're both set in the past anyway, so there's no real issue of it being dated or anything. I don't think the Rowan Atkinson version added anything new or different. Maybe future episodes will be better.

[csziggy]

16. They probably would have done better to emulate the Sherlock remake

Bring the characters and the stories into the modern world. That might have had more appeal.

It's been too long since I've seen the Gabon versions and while I liked them I didn't watch them closely. They were shown here while we were building a new house so my attention was definitely not on any TV show.

While I am waiting for the Atkinson version to arrive here, I will watch the Gabon version to refresh my memory.

[UTUSN]

6. Long live Rowan ATKINSON!1 n/t

[Xipe Totec]

8. Awesome! But where's Baldrick? nt

[Ron Obvious]

10. It would have been interesting to see him as an inspector

Though he's too short to have been a police officer in real life, of course.

True story: a friend of mine was flicking through the channels one day and came across Tony Robinson (Baldrick) playing a slimy televangelist in his own inimitable style. My friend was laughing and laughing but eventually thought it went on rather a long time.

Turns out it wasn't a movie or a humorous TV series at all but an actual religious programme, and it was all meant to be taken seriously.

I was rather hoping there would be a character called 'Bob' in this episode of Maigret. It would have been interesting hearing Rowan Atkinson say that name without immediately sounding like Edmund Blackadder.

[progressoid]

11. What channel?

[Ron Obvious]

12. It was a recording sent to me by a nephew in the UK who had recorded it off ITV

I hope it will be on TV here some time, but there's no guarantees.

[HeiressofBickworth]

17. I've watched a couple of the 1991 French episodes

on MhZ TV. Although I like foreign TV series, this one wasn't one of my favorites. MhZ runs a lot of Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, and now Dutch TV series I like better.

I like Atkinson so when this one comes out, I'll try to find it.