Years after he was expelled from University, Dirk returns to his old campus with a great sense of achievement. But something unusual is afoot in the halls of St. Cedd’s, and Dirk’s old tutor has been hiding something...
Ostensibly working as a holisitic security consultant for his former mentor, Professor Jericho, Dirk triumphantly returns to St. Cedd’s College (the residence of the time travelling Professor Chronotis in the first Dirk Gently book and in Douglas Adams’ unaired Doctor Who serial, Shada). Startling new advances in artificial intelligence have been made at the University, but despite the technological wonders now adorning the hallowed halls of St. Cedd’s, Dirk is far more interested in learning why he was expelled from the University several years previously. Having briefly neglected his duties as security consultant, Dirk suddenly finds himself embroiled in the case of a missing robot and the murder of Professor Jericho - for which Dirk is the police’s prime suspect.
Written by Matt Jones (Doctor Who: The Impossible Planet, The Satan Pit), the second episode of Dirk Gently felt like it had a more substantial plot than the first. With a more engaging mystery at it’s core and less tangentially linked elements, episode two showed the hapless detective as having a degree of competence (if still rather lackadaisical), as well as revealing a softer side to his otherwise self-serving personality - especially when it comes to an artificial intelligence with a penchant for chips, and salt and vinegar crisps. Although not as overtly silly as episode one, there was still plenty of humour in this episode, juxtaposed with the more dramatic elements that built up the mystery in St. Cedd’s.
The reintroduction of Helen Baxendale as Susan, MacDuff’s girlfriend, helped add another layer of characterisation to MacDuff, who until now seemed to just be Dirk’s unwilling accomplice. With Susan applying for a job in Cambridge, MacDuff finds himself in a quandry; to move to Cambridge and support his girlfriend’s career, or continue working with Dirk at the holistic detective agency, and it becomes clear just why he puts up with Dirk; at the end of the day, he suspects that the seemingly incompetent detective might actually be brilliant after all. And with Dirk solving this case largely on his own merit, rather than relying solely on chance and coincidence, MacDuff may very well be right!
The mantra of the fundamental interconnectedness of all things is ever present, solidifying Gently’s profound belief in chaos and quantum connectivity (along with a refutation of the validity of microscopic quantum connectivity applying to the macroscopic which, incidentally, takes me back to my college days...). However, the interconnectedness wasn’t as tenuously linked as in the first episode, and each element in the web was more logically linked to the others, so one could easily follow Dirk’s train of thought. Some of the elements were overly simplified, such as the seemingly universally adaptable robot, which can connect with both computer terminal and human brain - I have enough difficulty getting my computer to recognise my Android (by which I mean my phone), let alone interface with my neural pathways. But this is Dirk Gently - if you don’t permit yourself to suspend your disbelief and accept the fanciful fiction, it’s not the show for you!
Mangan and Boyd once again magnificently portray Gently and MacDuff. Mangan perfectly captures Dirk’s quirky nature and general unusualness, but this eposide also explored a more serious side to the character when he had felt he had let his mentor down, and his devastation when he learnt more about his expulsion from the University, ultimately leading him to a moment of altruism and self-sacrifice. Meanwhile, the revelation that MacDuff actually believes in Dirk’s abilities gave Boyd another layer of characterisation to bring to the otherwise exasperated MacDuff. They really have been superbly cast.
Lydia Wilson (Princess Susannah in Black Mirror: The National Anthem) played the part of the charming, if unusual and certainly unique, Jane, approaching the role with a brilliant sense of peculiarity and great comic timing. Also guest starring in the episode, Bill Paterson’s short-lived (literally) role as Professor Jericho excellently conveyed the essence of a man with a dark past and troubled by his comatose daughter. Along with the other stars (including Helen Baxendale as Susan Harmison, and the spectacularly named Sylvestra Le Touzel as Emelda Ransome), the entire cast provided consistently strong performances.
Overall, the second episode of Dirk Gently was an engaging, entertaining and all-round enjoyable experience. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode of the series, episode two felt like a stronger and more intriguing piece of television. I’m just disappointed that this series is only three episodes long.
If you missed episode two of Dirk Gently, what the hell's wrong with you?!
Watch it on BBC iPlayer.
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