Gently with Class (2 Sep. 2012)

Ellen Mallam is found dead in a submerged car belonging to Hector Blackstone,on whose estate her father Billy works. Bacchus is instantly hostile as Hector's spoilt son James is known for ... See full summary »

Director:

Gillies MacKinnon

Writers:

Alan Hunter (novels), Peter Flannery (written and created for television by)

Stars:

Ebony Buckle, Nicholas Lumley, Martin Shaw

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Ebony Buckle	...	Ellen Mallam
Nicholas Lumley	...	Dr. Arnold
Martin Shaw	...	George Gently
Lee Ingleby	...	John Bacchus
Bev Fox	...	Woman
Christopher Fairbank	...	Billy Mallam
Roger Lloyd-Pack	...	Hector Blackstone (as Roger Lloyd Pack)
Geraldine Somerville	...	Alethea Blackstone
James Norton	...	James Blackstone
Simon Hubbard	...	PC Taylor
Don Gallagher	...	Bob Anderton
Chris Brailsford	...	Asst. Chief Constable Gordon
Alex Childs	...	Ms. Acklington
Nick Hendrix	...	Anthony Baugh
Fred Pearson	...	Caretaker

Storyline

Ellen Mallam is found dead in a submerged car belonging to Hector Blackstone,on whose estate her father Billy works. Bacchus is instantly hostile as Hector's spoilt son James is known for drunk driving and,whilst Hector is affable,his aristocratic wife Alethea is a dreadful snob with whom Bacchus crosses swords. James has a cut on his forehead and seems upset by the death but soon afterwards is found dead himself. Bacchus theorizes that he left Ellen to die and committed suicide out of remorse but Gently is less certain. One thing of which he is assured,however,is that the aristocracy will always hold sway.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 September 2012 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Biddick Hall, Bournmoor, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Company Pictures, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[Gently and Bacchus are going to interview Lord Blackstone. They have driven through the main gate and still haven't reached the house]
John Bacchus: Are we nearly there? I mean, how much of England is one bloke allowed to own?

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Soundtracks

"Pretty Flamingo"
(uncredited)
Performed by Manfred Mann

User Reviews

Will the upper classes get the upper hand?

When a young woman is found drowned in an overturned car that belonged to Hector Blackstone, the local earl, Bacchus immediately suspects his son James. Bacchus has already arrested him twice for drunk driving and both times his family pulled strings to get him off… he is determined he won't get away with it this time. When the girl is identified it turns out that it was Ellen Mallam, the daughter of one of the estate workers and friend of James. In fact James had seen her earlier that night when she sang at a local club. The case isn't quite that clear though as there was another person there that night who had an interest in Ellen; James's friend Anthony Baugh. Anthony was the son of the local shop keeper but the Blackstone's had paid for him to attend Marlborough School with James before they went to Oxford together. As the story continues there is a second death; was it murder or suicide and if it was the latter was the motive guilt over killing Ellen or grief over her loss?

This was another good story with a rather tragic resolution; Ellen wasn't murdered, nor was she left to die alone… it was just a tragic accident where the person responsible tried to free her from the car and stayed with her to the end; only then did he leave to protect his family. This served to make the story all the sadder. Before the resolution there were plenty of suspects and motives; there was also the revelation that the relationships between them weren't what they close to let the outside world believe. Once again Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby put in fine performances as Gently and Bacchus; the former being a solid voice of reason while the latter lets his prejudices show in ways his boss doesn't approve of. They are ably supported by Geraldine Somerville who plays the domineering Lady Blackstone and Roger Lloyd Pack who plays the more down to Earth Earl. There were some nice political references thrown in; James was a member of Oxford's Bullingdon Club; whose most famous members are David Cameron and Boris Johnson, Prime Minister and Mayor of London and at the end the odious Anthony is seen practicing a political speech that uses some of former Prime Minister Anthony, 'call me Tony', Blair's best known sound bites… the latter had me laughing out loud! The original crash seemed like a reference to the events involving Senator Edward Kennedy at Chappaquiddick… although that might just be a coincidence. So far this series has featured two good stories; I hope they continue to be this entertaining.