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[Error: unknown template qotd] LJ lost my post! But I'm going to do it again, dammit, because it was a decent post. Here goes. *sigh*
MADDY MAGELLAN, from Jonathon Creek, played by the legend that is Caroline Quentin, whose talents sadly aren't being put to use at the moment. Maddy was the journalist-cum-investigator to Alan Davies' magician between 1997 and 2000, who would search for an interesting story -- sometimes raking up mysteries from 50 years ago -- and then hoodwink the Creekster along for long enough to get him involved and eventually coming to some sort of conclusion that more often that not would make it into her book.
Maddy would attempt to work out the solution herself, collecting up every red herring along the way, at least at the beginning. Towards the end of her 'reign', however, Maddy and Jonathon became the perfect partnership, picking out the important bits of the plot, understanding what really happened, and solving the puzzle-based crime. That's where the genius of Jonathon Creek lies -- the way it's about working out what the problem really is, rather than trying to see how it happened: many of the episodes are locked room mysteries, and the entertainment comes from finding out that what we saw was actually something entirely different, and how it was made to appear that way. It's magic and murder, I suppose.
Jonathon Creek is, to my mind, not really a detective series, although the murders, motives and solutions don't do much to suggest an alternative. Then again, Maddy herself was never really a detective, but the way she sneaked into gardens, and charmed the pants off the local policeman to get inside info is more than enough for an honorary title.
Maddy's my favourite because she was a real character, in more ways that one: her crush on Jonathon never amounted to anything, never even got close, and yet it still remained a pretty strong influence in her actions, but she moves to America, and that's that; She got burgled, and recorded it in her own special way, with a sign on her front door: "Don't bother, you bastards, I've already been done." She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and her curiosity, sense of humour and sneaky ways are nothing but admirable.
My friends and I agree -- the only word to describe Maddy? Sassy. And I don't know that many other characters who could truly be called that. It's all very well being "kick-ass", but if you've not got any more personality than a a QWERTY keyboard, well, where's the sass?
Maddy Magellan? YOU ROCK.
MADDY MAGELLAN, from Jonathon Creek, played by the legend that is Caroline Quentin, whose talents sadly aren't being put to use at the moment. Maddy was the journalist-cum-investigator to Alan Davies' magician between 1997 and 2000, who would search for an interesting story -- sometimes raking up mysteries from 50 years ago -- and then hoodwink the Creekster along for long enough to get him involved and eventually coming to some sort of conclusion that more often that not would make it into her book.
Maddy would attempt to work out the solution herself, collecting up every red herring along the way, at least at the beginning. Towards the end of her 'reign', however, Maddy and Jonathon became the perfect partnership, picking out the important bits of the plot, understanding what really happened, and solving the puzzle-based crime. That's where the genius of Jonathon Creek lies -- the way it's about working out what the problem really is, rather than trying to see how it happened: many of the episodes are locked room mysteries, and the entertainment comes from finding out that what we saw was actually something entirely different, and how it was made to appear that way. It's magic and murder, I suppose.
Jonathon Creek is, to my mind, not really a detective series, although the murders, motives and solutions don't do much to suggest an alternative. Then again, Maddy herself was never really a detective, but the way she sneaked into gardens, and charmed the pants off the local policeman to get inside info is more than enough for an honorary title.
Maddy's my favourite because she was a real character, in more ways that one: her crush on Jonathon never amounted to anything, never even got close, and yet it still remained a pretty strong influence in her actions, but she moves to America, and that's that; She got burgled, and recorded it in her own special way, with a sign on her front door: "Don't bother, you bastards, I've already been done." She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and her curiosity, sense of humour and sneaky ways are nothing but admirable.
My friends and I agree -- the only word to describe Maddy? Sassy. And I don't know that many other characters who could truly be called that. It's all very well being "kick-ass", but if you've not got any more personality than a a QWERTY keyboard, well, where's the sass?
Maddy Magellan? YOU ROCK.