Pie in the Sky: Difference between revisions

British [[Exotic Detective]] series starring Richard Griffiths, originally airing 1994-1997.

 

Detective Inspector Henry Crabbe is on the cusp of retirement, and looking forward to realising his dream of opening his own restaurant. He's got as far as finding a building and hiring staff when his [[Pointy-Haired Boss]], Assistant Chief Constable Fisher -- who has built his career on capitalizing on Crabbe's successes -- finds a hook by which to drag him back into harness. But, to keep him from getting totally rebellious, Fisher lets him keep the restaurant.

 

 

The supporting cast includes Crabbe's accountant wife Margaret, who to his continual regret is one of those people who has no interest in food unless they're hungry and then will eat anything; the staff of the restaurant (assistant chef Steve, later Gary, and waitstaff Linda and John, later Nicola and Sally) and Henderson, the market gardener (with a somewhat shady past) who supplies the restaurant. On the policing side there is WPC Sophia Cambridge, who starts out as ACC Fisher's staff driver and gofer, and becomes Crabbe's de facto sidekick because she's the one always sent to drag him away from his restaurant when Fisher needs him. In later seasons, Cambridge transfers to CID and becomes a detective in her own right.

 

Not to be confused with the 80's [[CBBC|children's series]] [http://www.forthechildren.org.uk/details.asp?pid=199 of the same name.]

* [[The Alleged Car]]: Henderson's van. "As long as you keep it out of third, and you don't try using the lights and the heater at the same time, you'll be fine."

* [[Bad Impressionists]]: One of the restaurant patrons in "Who Only Stand and Wait".

* [[Beleaguered Childhood Friend]]: Nick Spencer in "In the Smoke"

* [[Busman's Holiday]]: "Once a Copper" and "Passion Fruit Fool" both start with Fisher leaving town for the week, and Crabbe looking forward to an opportunity to concentrate on the restaurant, only for a mystery to find him out anyway. "In the Smoke" has Crabbe go away on a holiday from both his jobs, with equal success.

* [[The Coroner]]: The medical examiner in "Who Only Stand and Wait" is a good example of the type.

* [[Defictionalization]]: The building that provided the exterior shots was turned into an actual restaurant after the series ended.

* [[Iconic Item]]: Crabbe's favourite pepper mill, which he carries with him everywhere.

* [[I Need to Go Iron My Dog]]: In "Passion Fruit Fool", when Margaret wants to give Henry space to talk to their friend Alec, and Henry isn't taking the hint:

'''Margaret:''' Then I'll sit and I'll tell them a story! }}

* [[I Never Said It Was Poison]]: When Crabbe is under suspicion of having been bribed by Hooperman to let him get away, the real culprit reveals himself in this manner.

* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]/[[Retroactive Recognition]]: Plenty of scope for this among the guest cast. Crabbe himself was [[Withnail and I|Uncle Monty]] and is now [[Harry Potter|Uncle Vernon]].

** An amusing near-miss: In the episode "An Innocent Man", the DCI hounding the innocent man of the title is played by Robert Glenister, the real-life brother of [[Life On Mars|DCI Gene Hunt]].

* [[Retirony]]: Played with in the first episode. DI Crabbe, counting down the hours to his retirement, gets shot by an escaping criminal mastermind -- in the leg, because Hooperman is the kind of person who prefers his opponents to be alive and know they're beaten.

* [[Shoot the Dog]]: When an old police friend of Crabbe turns out to be corrupt, Cambridge arrests him to spare Crabbe from having to do so.

* [[Stealth Hi Bye]]: Used by the environmental activist in "Endangered Species" when Crabbe goes to speak to him on his home ground.

* [[Terrible Interviewees Montage]]: When Crabbe is hiring his first assistant chef.

* [[Unsatisfiable Customer]]: In "An Innocent Man", which showcases some of the restaurant's regular customers, there's a man who puts on wine-snob airs and ''always'' finds a reason to reject the first bottle of wine recommended to him by the waiter. By the end of the episode, he's been banned from the restaurant.

* [[We Named the Monkey "Jack"]]: Crabbe buys a flock of chickens to provide fresh eggs for the restaurant, and decides there's something familiar about the rooster:

* [[Wicked Cultured]]: Dudley Hooperman, Crabbe's opponent at the beginning of the series, is suave, well-dressed, and as big a foodie as Crabbe is.

* [[Your Television Hates You]]: In the first episode, there's a scene where the television is turned on to a press conference being given by ACC Fisher. What he says isn't meaningful to the plot (or indeed at all, being a fine example of PR platitude-speak), but it metaphorically represents that Fisher is haunting Crabbe's thoughts at this point.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:British Series]]