Dead Poets (8 Oct. 2012)

Ten years earlier the charred corpse of young poet Sean Doherty was found in the scrapyard of Turkish drug-dealer Mehtin Topal though Topal was not convicted of the killing. Now the case is... See full summary »

Director:

Philip John

Writers:

Marston Bloom, Roy Mitchell (creator),

Stars:

Alun Armstrong, Amanda Redman, Dennis Waterman

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Alun Armstrong	...	Brian Lane
Amanda Redman	...	Det.Supt.Sandra Pullman
Dennis Waterman	...	Gerry Standing
Denis Lawson	...	Steve McAndrew
Susan Jameson	...	Esther Lane
Philip Arditti	...	Mehtin Topal
Cian Barry	...	Sean Doherty
Bronagh Gallagher	...	Mara Donaldson
Patrick O'Kane	...	Eoin Donaldson
Tanya Franks	...	Roxanne Guthrie
James Murray	...	Luke Oswald
Simone Lahbib	...	Sarah Powell
Sarah Campbell	...	Young Poet
Rachel Lumberg	...	Alice
Hunter Gibson	...	Poetry Teacher

Storyline

Ten years earlier the charred corpse of young poet Sean Doherty was found in the scrapyard of Turkish drug-dealer Mehtin Topal though Topal was not convicted of the killing. Now the case is reopened and the team interviews Sean's contemporaries, including his tutor and lover Sarah Powell and ex-flatmate Luke Oswald,now a media darling. Unlike cynical Gerry Brian is taken by the world of poetry but Sean's brother-in-law Eoin also claims that Sean had gangster connections. CCTV provides an unexpected clue to the solution of the case,fuelled by Brian's poetical observations and leading to a surprising discovery.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 2012 (UK)

Filming Locations:

The Lee, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wall to Wall, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Suffolk" cottage in the middle of a field is actually near The Lee in Buckinghamshire. It really doesn't have any paved road leading up to it - though the path from the nearest road is not the approach our heroes are seen using.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gerry Standing: Why did you kill him, Mehtin?
Mehtin Topal: I didn't.
Gerry Standing: You're lying.
Mehtin Topal: Look, I admit I was a bad man ten years ago.
Gerry Standing: You were a heroin smuggling sociopath who killed Sean Docherty.
Mehtin Topal: I didn't even know the guy. He was a poet, apparently; yeah, come on, do I look like I need the rhyme?
Det.Supt.Sandra Pullman: His body was found in your yard.
Mehtin Topal: You found a poet on my patch, and used it as an excuse to sniff around and bring me down on a whole lot of other stuff. But you never charged me for the murder, and I'm walking out of ...
[...]

User Reviews

A murder mystery with a nice twist

Gangster Mehtin Topal is due to be let out of prison but the USOS team are convinced that in addition to the crimes he was gaoled for he also killed Sean Doherty, an up and coming poet who was found battered and burnt to a crisp in his yard. He is adamant that he had nothing to do with it though. When the team talk to Sean's brother in law they learn that he was involved with several dubious characters including a particularly vicious loan shark. They can't find him though as he disappeared after the killing; possibly overseas, possibly into witness protection… either way they can't talk to him. The criminal underworld may be the most likely cause of Sean's death but Brian is unconvinced; his position as the next big thing in British poetry has been taken by his old friend Luke Oswald and his work looks as if it may have been plagiarised from Sean's; the others aren't so sure though; it seems unlikely to them that anybody would kill for poetry.

This was a pretty good episode with a decent number of suspects and an even greater number of motives. Anybody who correctly solved it before the solution is revealed has earned the right to feel a little smug with this one! The reason for that is certain key assumptions aren't at all as they initially appear. As always the cast put in fine performances; anybody just arriving to the series wouldn't guess that newcomer Steve McAndrew had only joined the cast a few episodes ago as his character seems so well integrated into the team now. As well as an enjoyable mystery there are plenty of laughs to be had here; frequently at the expense of Brian of course; as always the scenes between Brian and his wife Esther are particularly good fun.