First the good news for fans. WHITSTABLE PEARL will be returning for a second series. Based on the series of novels by Julie Wassmer, it stars Kerry Godiman or to her fans, Ricky Gervais dead but ever-present wife. She plays as Pearl who loves solving crimes and dreams of being a detective. Who wouldn’t, in a town with so much crime going on in it. She decides to pursues her lifelong dream and starts a private detective agency. Running it from her family restaurant in the coastal town of Whitstable. Many people come to her for her expertise. Which upsets new DCI Mike McGuire (Howard Charles, Shadow and Bone), as he tries to settle into the town and stop its apparent crime wave in its tracks.
As a fan of daytime murder mystery as a form of either comfort blanket in or harsh times or as a way to decompress post life, it is always a joy to find something new. You can find yourself a little worried about things being staid. Luckily, I always find it easier to believe things like this could happen in places like the seaside town of Whitstable. Forgetting its 16th century beauty or its wide expanse of surf, it is more convincing for me due to another reason. This is the same place that was, until his death, inhabited by Peter Cushing. Yes, the man who thwarted Dracula and played as Dr Frankenstein. His presence alone here, gives the place a darker hue. A subtle menace if you will.
The series delivers waves of, short, sharply scripted episodes. These are all well-structured, functional and above the standard of say a MIDSOMER MURDERS or FATHER BROWN. They have intelligent performances, with much of the emotive drive coming from outside cast. The core cast are given bits to work with and Godiman in particular delivers a rath of one liners and ‘I know better’ sentences, that would tire in other hands. This could be because she has a presence or more likely it is director Oysten Karlsen skill at making the ordinary, exemplary. He is the captain of the LILLYHAMMER ship, and that sense is in here. Thanks in part to this, I found WHITSTABLE PEARL, a more attractive proposition.
The bad news for fans is this. It has only been commissioned for 6 more episodes. So, it will be as short and swift an exit, as many of the cadavers in the series.
Until then, you can watch this DVD set of series one.
