Ruth Rendell Mysteries (TV Series) A Guilty Thing Surprised: Part One (1988) User Reviews

A slow burner, but well worth sticking with.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 12 February 2018]

Who would kill the beautiful Elizabeth Nightingale? A glamorous socialite, generous to her friends and family, adored by husband Quentin, nevertheless one night she is indeed murdered. Wexford and Burden must dig deep to uncover secrets and lies.

I am a fan of the series, mainly for the performances of George Baker, he is exactly as I see the character in the novels in my mind's eye, he is so charismatic in the lead role. However... even as a great fan I have to say this one is a slow burner, it takes its time to open up, the start is very slow, but it's worth sticking with as the latter part is fantastic, some startling revelations are revealed.

Michael Jayston is an excellent actor, but he's not given the greatest part it's fair to say, the standout is Nigel Terry who is hugely charismatic as Denys Villiers, the part allows him to act. Karen Meagher (Georgina Villiers) also does well, if you read the book, she is exactly how the character is written.

Personally I love Eighties Crime dramas, and this is the perfect embodiment of that genre, the fashions, music, story and pacing, much slower, less punchy then what was to follow from the 90's onwards, but hugely absorbing.

Incessant

[xmasdaybaby1966 · 7/10 · 27 February 2021]

I watched the omnibus version of this so my view may differ from those just watching the one part. The glamour which Kim Thomson brought to series 1 has gone but still the styles of the day are clear to see such as a Mini and a Metro car and the police have a new one too. The story again is dragged out by today's standards and the subject matters turns out to be a bit disturbing. Would be better a one off two hour drama.

Of some value but will bore CSI fans to death

[bob the moo · 19 April 2006]

In a small country manor estate a small staff live and work together servicing the needs of the Nightingale family. Denys Villiers is there to work as a writer and tends to stay away from everyone else, while his sister doesn't get on with him and his wife tends to not see him that much either. When Elizabeth Nightingale is found dead in a shed in the forest, DCI Reg Wexford and his men are called in to investigate. They don't need to ask too many questions before they realise that the relationships and secrets within the small community are not as clear as they first appear.

Although I'm not a massive fan of the Wexford series I must admit that if you can take the rather downbeat pace, they generally do unfold reasonably well and make for an interesting TV detective show. The plot here is solid enough and although it never set me on fire, it was just about enough to keep me interested. The gradual picking at the case worked pretty well and the audience learn the facts and lies at the same time as Wexford and his men do. Of course to many viewers the straight-down-the-middle delivery will be actually pretty dull and, as time goes by, it looks duller and duller as TV cop shows generally require more style and gimmicks to hook the audience. Personally I did find it a bit dull and lacking in entertainment value but it was solid enough to distract.

The cast don't really help that much either. Baker's Wexford is hardly Columbo and he is hardly the most memorable TV detective I've ever seen. I'm sure it is being loyal to the books etc but you have to wonder if he didn't occasionally want to inject an bit of life into his character. Ravenscroft is much the same and doesn't have much energy even if he is a bit more interesting than Baker. Support from Terry, Jayston, Meagher and others is all much of a muchness although again I suppose it is the fault of the material that it is all a bit lifeless and serious but nobody does anything to make it better.

Overall then a solid detective story but one that id delivered without any sense of fun or flair. The story is interesting enough which is just as well because it isn't that entertaining otherwise, certainly those raised on CSI and the like will be bored to tears by this even if it is of some value.