George Gently

Image provided by Acorn TV.

             For the longest time I thought I would never watch the show George Gently.  The only scenes I had ever seen were a gruff man announcing who he was, and another of a dark and grim interview room.  Then I saw an actual full preview of George Gently and I became intrigued.  Deciding to give the show a try, I found exactly what I had in the beginning: a gruff man and a grim interview room.  What I also found was behind all that gruffness, there was a good, caring man, along with a good set of mysteries.

Image provided by Acorn TV.

   Chief Inspector George Gently’s (Martin Shaw) wife has been killed.  To get out of London, Gently takes a job in the north of England, where he must work with a young sergeant by the name of John Bacchus (Lee Ingleby).  From the very start it is clear the John and Gently do not see eye to eye on how to conduct an investigation.  Nor do they agree much about life in general.  These differences cause a lot of problems between the two, especially since John keeps looking for praise and promotion, which Gently refuses to give.  Gently knows that John can be a better sergeant and a better man, if he were to only put in the work.  

Image provided by Acorn TV.

                While Gently struggles with John, he must also work with him to solve the murders of the area.  They are not weird, obscure murders like seen on Midsomer Murders.  Instead, they are dark and dreary, as you would see on Vera.  The difference is, though, that with George Gently, the mysteries are set during the 1960s.  A lot of the way the police were allowed to conduct themselves is very different from today.  It is quite alarming to see a suspect get hit and roughed up, especially since it is often done over the most minor of infractions.  As beating the suspects is permissible in that time, I have a feeling John would do so right away if Gently would let him.  Not that Gently is 100% against hitting suspects.  He will do it when he deems it necessary.  Not immediately as John would like to do.

Image provided by Acorn TV.

                Something else that happens during this show is the drastic change in society.  Very quickly the society changes from one mind frame to another, and both Gently and John must figure out how to handle it in their police work.  To say Gently handles it far better than John would be an understatement.  One would think it would be the opposite since John is so much younger, but that is far from being the case.  John really struggles with anything that is not the old way of thinking, especially when it comes to women.  Gently, on the other hand, is actually pretty progressive in all the matters that are presented to them.  Maybe this has to do with the life he has led.  He was in the military, married a woman from Italy, and worked in London.  John seems to have stayed pretty much where he is and got married because he felt he had to.  Those different experiences will definitely give people different perspectives on life.   

Image provided by Acorn TV.

                Gently’s interesting history and his gruff kindness (except when dealing with suspects) is probably why nearly every episode has a woman hitting on him.  Someone is always trying to get together with Gently, but he always turns them down.  Still very much in love with his wife, Gently is perfectly fine being alone.      

                I’m only about halfway through the series and it has reached 1966.  With four more seasons to go, it will be really interesting to see how far the show will go in history, and how many societal changes there will be.  Whatever happens, it will definitely be more of a struggle for John than Gently, but I look forward to seeing what becomes of both of them.  At this point in history, so many things could happen.

                (Note: If you are watching George Gently and are much farther ahead than me, season 8 will premiere on Acorn TV this fall.  Source: Acorn TV representative.)