Grantchester

Two extremely hot men (in my opinion), James Norton and Robson Green, star in "Grantchester," a series about a vicar (Norton) and the mysteries he solves with the help of a local police detective (Green).

Norton plays Sidney Chambers and Robson plays Geordie Keating. One of the better supporting roles belongs to Tessa Peake-Jones as Mrs. Maguire, Chambers' mouthy housekeeper.

Chambers is troubled by his war experiences and views his parishioners with great compassion and a sense of forgiveness. As he says, "I'm in a profession where people tell me everything," to which Keating replies, "That's funny, because I'm in a profession where people don't tell me anything." Chambers becomes somewhat of an amateur detective. After a rocky start, he and Keating become friends and bounce ideas off of one another. Keating likes that Chambers is more human than vicar-ish, not above a night on the town. Keating is married with a family; Chambers is pining for his love, Amanda Kendall (Morven Christie) who is marrying someone else.

The setting is a small British village, Grantchester, immediately post-war. It is beautifully photographed, has many light moments and many dramatic moments.

Norton does a great job as a contemplative man grappling with his own thoughts and feelings as he tries to help others. This for me is a different kind of role for Robson Green. There was a time, back in his Reckless days, when he was where Norton is now - young and hunky. Now he's older but just as sexy. In this series he gets to show his talent for humor as well as pathos, playing a tired, sometimes grouchy, jaded man balancing a family of a wife and small children and his caseload. Once he asked Chambers if someone was honest. "Well," Chambers says, "he wants to be an MP." Keating says, "I'll take that as a no." Really good series, entertaining with lots of eye candy. And I like Chambers' sermons.

I like Grantchester for the period costumes and the Cambridgeshire setting, the plots are rather tame but what I do dislike about it is that the attitudes that it portrays are so anachronistic. The scriptwriters are becoming more determined to add in 21st century attitudes and to be politically correct, and this is completely out of place for a drama set in the 1950s. I had a rolling eyes moment when Chambers and Keating greeted each other with a hug - for heaven's sake, British men didn't even do that in the 1980s, let alone the 1950s! A handshake would have been a sign of affection but a hug - absolutely not. I really can't see a vicar that I would have known in my youth (in the 1970s) let himself go to that extent, I'm thinking in particular or the 'simulated sex on the dance floor scene' - even non-clergy wouldn't have behaved like that in the 1950s. People just didn't behave like that in public.

Another reviewer felt that Grantchester was better than Jeremy Brett's Sherlock; I think absolutely not. I know my British history in great depth and that version of Sherlock had an authentic feel of Victorian Britain. Grantchester viewers could be left thinking that the 1950s were not much different to today, just different clothes, and that certainly isn't true.

Maybe Patzak1974 is unaware that this series is based on stories by James Runcie, son of a former Archbishop of Canterbury who had himself served as a tank commander in WW2 before being ordained. Though James wasn't born until 1959, I think we can assume that he based the character of Sidney on conversations he had had with his father about his wartime experiences and how they affected his faith.

Personally, I find the character much more believable than many portrayals of clergy I've seen in TV dramas. At least he is correctly addressed as "Mr Chambers", since the American habit of addressing priests as "Reverend" had not then reached these shores!

Or that's how it appears. Do priests, Catholic or Anglican, seek refuge in the church as a shield from their own pain?

Sidney, a handsome ginger and Anglican priest, lives in the shadow of his past, so severely traumatized by a wartime incident that he seeks refuge not only in the church but from the bottom of a bottle and the burning embers of a cigarette. Neither option offers much.

In the end Sidney only wants to be loved and ventures outside the church with his friend Geordie, a detective, fighting crime and solving murders, which seemingly helps him find purpose.

The problem I have with these small-town detective stories is trying to figure out how so many murders can take place in such a single tiny geographical area.

A wonderful supporting cast from the love of his life, to the confused gay curate, the talented detective and the prudish zealot of a housekeeper.

In the states it's presented as a part of Masterpiece Theater. Check it out and you'll start to feel really good about yourself as a person.

Grantchester since the very first episode has been particularly good viewing, the concept of a clergyman helping the local detective solve all manner of village crimes initially seemed a wee bit far fetched,and better suited to the Father Brown afternoon slot,but it's totally engaging, intriguing, and sometimes contains a level of grit.

The combination of Robson Green and James Norton as Sidney and Geordie is a good one, they play of each other incredibly well, they frequently see all that is good and bad in one another. Tessa Peake Jones is particularly good as Mrs Maguire.

I can't recall seeing a bad episode, always consistent, some of the standout episodes include the finale of series one, and series three's Christmas special. I'm impressed how they manage to make each episode feel so unique, and the personal lives of the lead duo add to the story.

A perfect way to end the week, Sunday evening Grantchester. 8/10