Back to the well?
As yet another iteration of Gallic sleuth Maigret is announced, is UK television trapped in a Groundhog Day of TV remakes?
After both Michael Gambon (1992-3) and, more recently, Mr Bean (Rowan Atkinson, 2016) failed to pull in viewers, producers are going back to the Maigret well yet again.
The character and material will need an infusion of energy and a touch of Nordic Noir to ginger up George Simenon's slowly paced, contemplative character-driven tales. But, by doing so, they will probably ruin Maigret’s unique appeal, who is unlikely to be seen leaping over car bonnets, cracking suspects skulls in or indulging in furtive Matt Hancock-style knee tremblers in his 18th arrondissement office.
Back in 1988, producers took a chance casting aging hellraiser Richard Harris as the cerebral detective, in a story updated to the then present day. Perhaps unsurprisingly, critics were not kind.Comments included:
‘As played by Harris, he is a big, shambling figure, with a battered hat, glasses, scruffy blonde hair and a croaky Irish accent. Harris even gives him an Irish name, McGrey. He also calls his Peugeot a Pewjo.’ (Patrick Waymark, The Times)
Readers of The Daily Mail and TV Times weren’t happy either: 'Why for goodness sake was the action set in modern times? why did Richard Harris find it necessary to portray Maigret as a shambling, scruffy individual with his trousers hanging down, his shirt hanging out, often wearing his hat back to front and needing a good haircut?’F. R. Wilson of Orpington (DM)
In the letters page of the TV Times, Joe Wright of St Leonards-on-Sea stated ‘The mysteries are solved because Maigret knows his way round the French character. To project him as a comic Irishman is an absolute betrayal of the life's work of a fine writer.'
Critics and readers of the 75 Maigret novels (and 28 short stories) generally agreed with Simenon when he said of the classic Rupert Davies (BBC1, 1960-63) interpretation: "At last, I have found the perfect Maigret!"
The recent lacklustre and miscast ITV reboot of ‘Smoke and a pancake’ Dutch detective Van der Valk was another lesson in ignoring the actual literary character to churn out another generic policier. VdV was last seen on our screens in the early 90s - when, to his credit, Barry Foster revisited his 1970s hit to some success.
In terms of Brits playing European sleuths, David Suchet of course was an excellent Poirot, and Ken Branagh (who is now the big screen iteration of the Belgian investigator) made a decent fist of Left Bank Pictures’ take on Swedish dick Wallander.
And yer actual Frenchman Tchéky Karyo (actually he is of Greek/Turkish Jewish origin and was born in Istanbul) has enjoyed success as BBC1’s Baptiste, which is due to return for a second season.
Closer to home, Martin Shaw couldn’t hold a candle to Roy Marsden as PD James’ detective Adam Dalgliesh when the BBC revived the show across 2002-04. That has not deterred C5, who are bringing the character back for a 6-part series this year, where Dalgliesh will be played by the talented Bertie Carvel (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell).
Which, for C5, is akin to Moonraker’s Hugo Drax stepping up to the plate in hiring top-rated Jaws to replace his incompetent (and dead) henchman Chang. So fingers crossed for the broadcaster.
Coming down the pike?
Yet more remakes – Lovejoy, Bergerac and Rumpole are all apparently in varying stages of development…
Hopefully, they will work out more efficaciously than the reboots of Randall & Hopkirk (2000) Colditz (2005), Bouquet of Barbed Wire (2010), A Very British Coup (as Secret State in 2012) and Mapp & Lucia (2014).
The standout success of the 2000s makeovers has of course been Dr Who.
What else may be getting the remake treatment?
As we know, Fremantle are actively looking at IP - as well as Rumpole and Van der Valk, the likes of Love Hurts, The Sweeney and Quatermass may be ripe for reinvention.
Callan? Raffles? I Claudius (which the BBC/HBO were looking at)? The Onedin Line? Doctor Finlay? Ballykissangel? Spooks? Sharpe or his seafaring counterpart Hornblower?
Rumours of Steve Coogan starring in a reboot of ITC’s The Persuaders! have been doing the rounds since 2004 - in 2020 the idea resurfaced again.
Earlier this year Russell T Davies' (who was responsible for the renewed popularity of Dr Who) ground-breaking Queer as Folk was confirmed to return in a rebooted New Orleans-set series.
In terms of sitcom reboots, the record is very mixed - Reggie Perrin, Porridge, Are You Being Served? Keeping Up Appearances and Ant & Dec's Likely Lads have all been distinctly average.
And that’s putting it mildly.
