Watched the Martin Shaw version of Dalgliesh the other night for the first time. UK TV Play has The Murder Room and Death in Holy Orders on demand. I have to say, I liked Martin's rendition of the character, but he's not as quietly contemplative as Bertie Carvel. He's studied, thoughtful, and shows the character's dedication to the pursuit of truth, but he's not as intimidating as Carvel manages to make his version. Somehow, the new version is much more like the original. I've stuck the rest of this review under the cut. I'd be interested in other folk's thoughts.
They messed with the Martin Shaw stories, but I can forgive it for the purposes of dramatising. I've not read the Murder Room yet so I can't compare it, but I've just finished Death in Holy Orders and was interested to see how it played out. They slightly changed the ending, probably to make it more dramatic, but I'm not sure they really needed to. They don't really seem to bring out the fact that Dalgliesh is a poet in Shaw's version. It seems to be used far more in the recent series.
I'm hoping they do Holy Orders for the new series because if they're sticking to canon, this is where P D James introduces Emma Lavenham. Not that I want to see Dalgliesh with a new love interest (because I definitely ship him with Carlys Peer's Miskin), but I'm interested from a literary pov to see what they do with it.
I was slightly confused, because they stuck Emma in Murder Room for Martin's series, which she isn't in Bertie's rendition. However, they filmed out of book sequence for the new one. Far as I can see Murder Room comes after Holy Orders, so the new series has ignored canon there.
However, I liked neither of the actresses who took Miskin's role in the Martin Shaw series. Tilly Blackwood played a version closer to the books in terms of looks, but I didn't feel sympathetic to her character's attitude. Victoria Scarborough took the role in Holy Orders, (so from a blond actress, they jump to one with short dark hair) and I found her too sharp-edged, despite perhaps being closer to the changes wrought in her by James' writing as the character grows.
I like Carlys Peer's rendition, despite it being the least like the books (not least of which because they didn't cast a white actress), but she brings out Miskin's relationship with Dalgliesh better, in my humble opinion.
Nor did I care for the rendition of Piers Tarrant either. In the Carvel version they've mashed up the (book) characters of Daniel Aaron and Piers Tarrant, so we seem to get Daniel Tarrant, played by Alastair Brammer. I feel he's a much better fit than William Beck who seems to be whinging all the time.
Personally, for series three, I would like to see them do Death in Holy Orders, The Lighthouse and The Private Patient. I think this would allow them to introduce Emma (even though I'd prefer an outcome with Kate Miskin, that's for fanfic realms, not television), and follow their relationship. Private Patient is the last one in the series, so it would allow them to tie this up to three series, unless a fourth is planned, in which case, they'll have to mess around with the timeline, which I hope they don’t do. The main problem I can see is that the last series was firmly rooted in the 70s and the last book brings us up to 2008. It's a big leap, and one I'm not sure will work. Roll on 2024.
