The Jonathan Creek Thread!
davey_wavey
Posts: 27,406 Forum Member
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Hi everyone, thought i would start a thread on one of the best BBC programmes Jonathan Creek. It is no longer shown as no new episodes have been made but any fans can discuss the show in all its glory here. 
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However I found the Julia Sawalha series less enjoyable than the Quentin episodes.
Were you aware that the JC dvd's of series 4 were issued in edited format by mistake.
There was 5 minutes missing from each episode and the Black Canary Xmas special was 8 minutes short.
So depending on when you bought it and what set you have you may have lots of bits missing.
On top of that ,one episode from series 1 was not put on dvd in proper widescreen
forgot about this program! loved it! is there going to be some new episodes?
Yes, I have a box set of seasons 1 and 2 - the Caroline Quentin episodes. There is also a box set of seasons 3 and 4, plus a box set of all four.
http://www.play.com/Search.aspx?searchtype=allproducts&searchstring=jonathan+creek&page=search&pa=search
Yes. Much as I like Julia Sawahla, there was something about Jonathan and Maddy that really worked.
Its the boxset of series 3 and 4 that suffered cuts.
It wasn't until they released all 4 series in the big box that corrected versions were available,so if you have an early release of series 4 check the episodes.
The episodes should run about 59 minutes,the edited ones run between 54 and 55 minutes.
The Black Canary special is 8 minutes short.
However,even the corrected versions never sorted out the widescreen problems on a series 1 episode (House of Monkeys IIRC)
That's because the best stories have always been done before a cast change.
I agree about Carla Borrego not being as good as Maddy Magellan. Caroline Quentin was a huge loss to the show, Maddy and Jonathan's chemistry on screen was fantastic and this was lost from Series 4 and Satan's Chimney.
I agree it was never quite the same after Caroline Quentin left. The chemistry & bickering between Maddy & Jonathan were what made the show. I hope that she returns if they ever do another episode.
Which was everyone's favourite mystery? Mine was probably the Frank Geiger one with his body being washed up the stairs by the flood. Or the first Christmas ("Black Canary") where the butler murdered the female illusionist, not realising she was already dead!
I liked the drug runner episode too Nick, but my favourite mystery has to be "Ghost's Forge" from Series 3. Fantastic mystery, some fantastic comedy in that episode, and a wonderful episode especially when Maddy turned on her hosepipe and sprayed a funeral ceremony!
I never saw series 3 and 4 on tv,I waited for the dvd's.
So I watched the first releases of series 3 and 4.
It wasn't until I read later that series 4 and The Black Canary had been released by mistake in edited versions that I even knew about it.
The BBC (or Warner) had also done the same with season 1 of Hustle at the time so it was a hot topic.
So when the 4 series were released in the one boxset I chanced it and rebought the lot.
Lo and behold a direct comparison showed each series 4 episode was 5 minutes longer on the big box and TBC was an incredible 8 minutes longer.
I sold my old ones on ebay
If you dont have the dvd's ,buy them now.
Its highly unlikely any of the old cut versions are still in the shops so you should be ok
I never knew about some of the cuts on the dvds though so thanks for telling me, i don't know why they did that, was it just a genuine mistake?
I never noticed as i don't remember all the scenes that were shown in the Series 4 showings on the tv so didn't realise the cut scenes on the dvd.
Another really funny moment was when Maddy got off with two blokes in the same night, thinking they were the same person. Classic.
Oh yeah that was so funny. The woman thought her husband was getting it on with her, didn't her face look like an orange after that incident?!
Another funny moment was in "Time Waits For Norman" when Maddy and Jonathan went to the wrong house and Jonathan ended up getting bitten by that dog!
An even funnier moment was in the first episode of Series 3 when Maddy was hiding in the backseat of the car, she got out after the driver stopped at a petrol station and the bra was irritating Maddy so she started squeezing her bra and a police officer was standing in front of her!
If you bought it on Day One then you will have the edited versions.
However,unless you know the uncut versions back to front I doubt you'll notice it.
Check your series 4 episodes --they will be 54 ish minutes.
The worst thing is the 8 minutes lost from the special.
But its just the fact that the uncut ones are out there that makes the cut versions so annoying so I had to get them.
It seems that various versions of shows are prepared these days.
Hustle,JC,even Bergerac have different versions prepared,presumably with cuts for language and violence or just to shorten the running time for US channels and of course a 1 hour UK Gold slot.
So with these differing versions about its not a surprise that mistakes happen.
Bergerac on dvd is apparently the BBC1 afternoon edits of some years ago---pointless purchase
Like so many, I wasn't as keen on the Julia S episodes, mainly because there was a real spark between Maddy and Jonathon.
I shall be buying the boxsets I think
Hello! It was such a great programme wasn't it?! Shame the BBC decided not to make any more series, but i felt Series 4 wasn't the same as previous series, so am not regrettful that the BBC dropped it as the programme wasn't the same anymore because Maddy left.
You can buy a whole box set with all 4 series and the Christmas Specials in...it costs something like £70.00 but it may have dropped down in price by now.
Hopefully, this thread will be kept ongoing so fans can discuss the show.
It seemed to just peter out, didn't it? As far as I remember the last series wasn't very long and I could've sworn they said there'd be more and then there just...weren't.
Shame really. Wonder if it was anything to do with the fact that Alan Davies and Julia Sawalha were involved in real life but then broke up.
I'm in the minority it seems though as I preferred Julia to Caroline Quentin.
You're right, it really was a great show! One of my favourites, I remember an episode where there was snow over this hill and something about footprints? I get little sections of each show, one that I'll always remember is Maddy being in a room in this house and Jonathon was able to get outside without her knowing.
How come you preferred Julia to Caroline if you didn't mind me asking? And i never knew Julia and Alan were involved together in real life! :eek:
And Tasha, the one with the snow and footprints is the "Black Canary" christmas episode, one of my favourite ever episodes along with "Ghost's Forge"