Over the last few years I have developed the habit of watching the British series Father Brown on our local PBS stations. Living in Northwest Georgia, I have access to the Chattanooga station (WTCI) and the state system of Georgia, WGPB. I won't get into each's separate merits, and the quality of both will be affected at least short term with the ending of federal funds to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (That is something I generally support not because of CPB's and PBS' more progressive content but because the federal government has its fingers in way too many things).
However, my first and continuing response to Father Brown as a character and show was and is that "G.K. Chesterton is rolling in his grave" at the way the showrunners and writers have reinterpreted a pre-Vatican II, English priest. I decided I watch it for mind relaxation and humor at Bunty and Mrs. McCarthy, not to know anything about Catholicism in England, Chesterton, or even good mystery writing. The writers seem to know nothing about the history of Catholicism in England except that there were passageways in old houses. Being persecuted as they were in the 1500-1600s and marginalized somewhat after that, they would be less likely to embrace modernism.
I found this commentary on Quora, and the poster says it better than I:
On the other hand: Father Brown is a bad Priest, and an unrealistic mid-1950’s Catholic. His answer to witchcraft in the village? It’s just an acceptable spiritual path.
(Let me add that this was the latest episode I saw on returning from my trip to Turkey, and it was the last straw. Father Brown is at a meeting with the Protestant clergy of the area and says, "These people" [a coven of sexually promiscuous practitioners of witchcraft where blood is spilled ceremonially and nudity expected] "are not Satanists and we should befriend them." I was sickened by this and thought, "Who wrote this stuff? Chesterton is not rolling, he is spinning at top velocity.")
The writer continues, "His reaction to a Hinduism is to talk about how he admires the religion. His response to homosexuality is to be a fully accepting open pair of arms. Common in our time, (well, maybe, I would say, from some religionists but not Catholic priests) unthinkable in his. Additionally he doesn’t seem to be as fond of philosophical consideration as the Father Brown of Chesterton game, nor as witty. Compare the actions of the Father in the short story “The Blue Cross,” and the episode named after the short story.
In the former, Father Brown immediately recognizes that his compatriot is trying to avoid suspicion. So what does he do? He switches the salt and sugar dishes, to verify that the other priest (actually Flambeau in disguise) is actually willing to drink salty coffee in place of drawing attention. He ups the bill three times to see if Flambeau is willing to pay an enormous bill rather than bringing anyone’s attention to it, and thus to himself. Following this, Father Brown puts together that Flambeau is after the cross he is carrying, and leaves a trail that anyone paying attention can’t help but follow. Additionally, he has a thought-provoking theological discussion with his nemesis, and his superiority is necessarily acknowledged by all parties involved.
Meanwhile in the show (which I love) Father Brown DIRECTLY DISOBEYS an order by his bishop and takes the sacred relic directly into harm’s way out of a prideful desire to prove he’s the best. It’s pure narcissism. He then correctly identifies the real Flambeau, purposely avoids the inspector following behind, bumbles through a game of switch-the-package, has a two second mention of theology vs. reason, and then gets quickly and obviously BESTED after leaving an insufficient trail for the police to follow. He then again puts himself, the officers, the hostage, and his friend into harm’s way to regain the cross and attempt to save Flambeau’s soul.
It’s an interesting story, but it’s not what Chesterton would’ve written, and it’s eponymous Parish Priest is not as interesting, as witty, or as brilliant as Chesterton’s master intuiter. Both are good and entertaining; only one is actually Catholic.
The writer of this post gets it right about what Chesterton was trying to do. Chesterton was all about logic and reason and its relationship to faith. He also really disliked Protestants from what I can tell from my reading of some of the Father Brown stories (not all of them; I got annoyed by his depiction of Presbyterians!) I think he found them as spiritually inadequate for his needs, which led to his conversion to Catholicism.
Father Brown as a show will have to go on without me. I am about to say the same about Midsomer Murders (I mean, come on, how long can these shows go on with 2-3 or more murders every episode! Who wants to live there! Per capita it's worse than major American cities.) I will say this for Father Brown--they take death seriously and soberly. The murders are seen as worthy of mourning and people have to live with the consequences--a little better than your typical "cozy." Midsomer, no. Lots of dead bodies, often killed by grotesque or dark humorish kinds of ways, and at the end, oh, well, another day, what's the detective's wife up to now? I find it tasteless.
On the other hand, I do like Brokenwood. It's quirky, it's about a community where the same people show up when needed, like the opportunistic lawyer and the cute Maori young fellow and the snoopy but helpful elderly lady. The Russian pathologist is a funny twist and the main detective's love of American country music and cars is fresh. Still, it's a cozy, and the whole concept of that is problematic to me. Too cutesy.
But the best of the current ones is Unforgotten. If you haven't watched it, I do recommend it. In the earlier episodes with Nicola Walker, I criticized them for the amount of money spent on the "cold cases" or "newly discovered bodies from thirty years before." It seemed like there was unlimited budget in that department for whatever was deemed necessary. In the current episodes with the Irish actress Sinead Keenan that seems to have been addressed, as if the writers heard the criticisms. There is less CSI razzle dazzle.
Since I write mysteries myself, I have to pay attention to the genre. I do not watch much television and very little American. The Brits have the edge on murder mysteries. Edgar Allen Poe may have written the first ones, but the genre soon got taken over by Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha, and many others.
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