Detectorists

?..........But I love this new series. It's not a laugh out loud comedy, but it makes me smile throughout and the half hour episode is finished far too quickly. It's a gentle comedy based on the lives of a metal detectorist club and the characters in that club. There is a mad farmer with imaginary dogs who gives the two main characters permission to scan his fields, except the paddock. No one is ever to go near the paddock! I wonder why? His wife did disappear many years ago, but I have a feeling that will have nothing to do with his aversion to paddock diggers. The characters have been written so well and the direction, also by McKenzie Crook, are intriguingly watchable. Mr Crook is a talented man and after only two episodes I know this will be a favourite with me.

There is one uncredited star in the Detectorists, its the British summer. It does exist, and somehow they managed to film the whole thing in glorious summer.

I've just watched episode 3 of the second series, and its a bleak November day at the time of writing this review. Just seeing the warm sun & verdant greenery brings a smile of nice things remembered. Add in some brilliant writing, top notch acting, mild eccentricity and a dash of the absurd, and the result is something very special.

A great example of the humour in the Detectorists is in the episode I've just watched. Without giving away anything, Lance tells Andy about the time his bed was cut in half by an ex girl friend who used a chainsaw to do the deed. After a pause Andy asks "Lengthways or sideways?". No expression of surprise, no mention of why Lance (a very mild mannered man) has ended up with his bed being cut in half. No questions about what sort of person the ex was nor how Lance could have ever provoked her to do such a thing. Lance and Andy acted like it was a perfectly normal thing that could have happened to anyone. I laughed out loud.

Mackenzie Crook's Detectorist's is not your average Sitcom, over the six episodes of the first series it delivers central characters who are desperately melancholy, yet intelligent. There are very few cliché's in this series. The story evolves, as do the characters with warmth and depth. The humour is dry and the belly laughs are few and far between, but what I found was a comedy of great sensitivity, with emotional depth and was ultimately deeply rewarding.I hope that if a second series is developed that it doesn't deviate from it's path because Detectorists (there's no apostrophe in Detectorists) really is gold. Detectorists is probably the most complete comedy sit com of all time, it's gentle humour really shines.

Congratulations to Mr. Crook to have created something that I can only describe as love at first sight. The series takes a look at key situations that most adults have been through while putting them in a context that feels fresh. Mr. Crook may be guilty of a bit of viewer manipulation by depicting the main characters as meek and sometimes naive who face bullies and mocking. This is easily forgiven, though, because of the stellar cast that makes each and every persona feel real, believable and truly likable. Apart from that each character down to the smallest role has something unique that sets them apart. There is wisdom to be found here, and peace, if you have the patience. Sometimes life tosses you a gold coin and sometimes a ring pull - just go with it, it will balance out it in the end. A true dramedy gem. 9/10.

The problem with shows like this is they take them off the air. No nudity, no violence, no laugh track. A person has to actually just sit and enjoy it. You smile, you laugh, you cry. You are not hit over the head by moronic jokes. The acting is superb. Not overacted but perfectly done. Quiet, subtle, honest. Please, someone out there take pity on the mature audience. Not everyone likes the 3 Stooges. Thank you for giving us this show. Don't take it away.