Jonathan Creek: Christmas Specials (2008)

Jonathan Creek: Christmas Specials (2008)

2 episodes, approx 90 minutes / 120 minutes, respectively.

There are more specials than what's included on this particular DVD release, but they weren't made until after its release (2008), so you'll either need to buy them separately if you want them or save yourself some cash and buy the recent 14-Disc Complete Collection (2017) box set - the latter isn't really a good option for me seeing as how I bought the individual releases in a more timely manner, so I'm reviewing them this way.

What you do get are two feature-length specials: Black Canary (1998), which takes place sometime between Series II and Series III, and Satan's Chimney (2001), which takes place sometime between Series III and Series IV.

There's two new characters introduced; one in each of the two episodes. Firstly, there's Gideon Pryke (Rik Mayall) in Black Canary. Gideon is Jonathan's equal in some ways. He didn't become a regular but does make a subsequent appearance in the show, and if things had worked out differently he could've been a great recurring addition. He's woven into a story that involves someone from Jonathan's past reappearing and, of course, needing a head-scratchingly complex murder mystery solved.

The second new face is Carla Borrego (Julia Sawalha). Carla gets her introduction in the Satan's Chimney episode. Unlike Gideon she would become a regular, replacing Caroline Quentin's Maddie Magellan in the subsequent Series IV. There's always been an element of the macabre lingering in the background of the show, but the episode turns it up a notch higher.

Both episodes are unequivocally suited to the Jonathan Creek format, but they have two different approaches: one has the usual 'inside a locked room' scenario, while the other is outside in the open, which doesn't make the deductions any easier.