Dirk Gently: Review: Series 1 Ep 2

Dirk and Richard are hired by a professor at their old college in Cambridge to look into a security breach…

Matt Jones’s contribution to this miniseries of Dirk Gently adventures sees the holistic detective back in his old stamping ground, learning some unfortunate facts about his time in the hallowed halls of learning, and discovering something that he really didn’t quite believe could ever be true. It’s a less frenetic episode than the first part, although there is still the requisite running around and manic moments, at which Stephen Mangan excels.

Helen Baxendale returns as Susan, Richard’s girlfriend, and turns what could be quite a thankless part into a key part of a triangle with Dirk – and there’s another love triangle as well which provides many of the answers to the mystery. Darren Boyd gets an opportunity to do more than simply look mystified, actually chasing down clues and showing not only why Richard not only is a partner in Dirk’s Agency, but why he wants to be.

With gynoids, artificial intelligences with more than a hint of 2001: A Space Odyssey about them, and a murder to solve, this is another enjoyable case for the holistic detective.  7/10

Paul Simpson

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