Streaming Favorite: Jonathan Creek

Alan Davies and Caroline Quentin in Series 1 of Jonathan Creek ©BBC

Hi. My name is Nutmeg and I have very definite opinions about mysteries. I love them. I love the intrigue. I like watching people chase each other. I like watching light-hearted yet mysterious shows. I have a lot of favorites that I will be sharing with you, but my favorite default mystery to stream is Jonathan Creek.

My mother introduced me to the show since she knows I love everything British. She did warn me that this show began airing way before I was born. I looked it up and discovered it started airing in 1997 but it has been going on and off until 2016, produced by one of my favorite institutions, The BBC. 

I find Jonathan Creek (Alan Davies) quite attractive and have decided that he is going to be allowed to be one of my many husbands. I am sure he would like to come live with me and share my five scratching boards and I will even allow him to play with my catnip mice. But I digress.

If you are not familiar with the series, Jonathan Creek is a creative consultant to a magician. He solves mysteries based on his ability to see through illusions and figure out how things work. You do not have to worry if you are not a fan of magic. There is not that much magic in the show. I’m not sure how I feel about magic but I do like watching birds fly around in some of the tricks.

You might be wondering why I am talking about a male character created by a male writer (David Renwick) on a website about female-driven mysteries and I believe you have every right to be skeptical but because I am focusing on how much I love Jonathan/Alan, I almost forgot the whole point. Jonathan has female investigating partners who not only help solve mysteries but question Jonathan’s ability as a wholly functioning male in society. He lives in a windmill. He can’t seem to communicate with women very well. He is extremely awkward and this seems to attract many women to him. Jonathan has had a series of sidekicks/love interests in the show including Caroline Quentin as writer Maddy Magellan, Julia Sawalha as Carla Borrego, Sheridan Smith as a paranormal investigator sidekick, and finally, in the most recent series, Sarah Alexander as Polly.

These episodes run the gamut from quirky to creepy and there is a macabre sense of humor running through them that is thoroughly British, which makes me love them all the more. You can watch all the episodes if you have a BritBox subscription in the US, but you can also watch random episodes for free if you stream Pluto, Xumo, or Plex which all include a live BritBox channel.

My favorites are the earliest episodes with Caroline Quentin because she is a great foil to my boyfriend Jonathan Creek. There is no actual romance in any traditional sense; no, it is all awkward throughout the show. My mother says that this is distinctly British. I just think that my Jonathan Creek needs some catnip every day and it will loosen him up. It is too bad Maddy never considered that. 

I should also point out that Maddy is a capable-thinking woman who is not an idealized sidekick. She’s an investigative journalist who realizes she can exploit Jonathan, his abilities, and their adventures into profit and he goes along, kicking and screaming all the way. This is the best kind of investigating and built-in romance as far as I’m concerned. 

You’ll have to excuse me. I’m going to have my mom put on the BritBox channel again and see if my boyfriend is showing. Happy viewing!