Category: TV Series

SUMMARY:                                 RUNNING TIME: 51:00 Min.

First airing on England’s ITV on December 19, 1974, “The Secret Garden” is the final episode of this first (and single-season) Father Brown TV series.  Faithfully adapting G.K. Chesterton’s same-named 1910 short story, Peter Jeffries directed this episode off Hugh Leonard’s screenplay.

In 1920’s Paris, wealthy French police chief Aristide Valentin (Mayne) voices his desire to seek humane commutation for a death row inmate he previously sent to prison.  Despite Valentin’s considerable political influence, he realizes that making an in-person plea is his last opportunity before the condemned’s execution that same night.     

Meanwhile, at Valentin’s posh fortress-like estate, his dinner party guests await him.  Among the guests are: married British aristocrats – the elderly Galloways (Luckham & Benham); their socialite daughter Margaret (Waugh); her soldier ex-fiancé, O’Brien (Dance); an amiable physician (Davies); American millionaire philanthropist Julius K. Brayne (Dyneley); and Brayne’s own associate, Father Brown (More). 

Father Brown ponders Valentin’s stringent security measures necessitating the front door as his manor home’s sole entrance – not to mention, a spiked high wall surrounding the estate’s backyard perimeter.  Brown is told that Valentin routinely receives death threats. 

Subsequent after-dinner conversation includes the topic of capital punishment.  O’Brien then departs for the garden to tempt Margaret into resuming their former romance, much to her father’s disgust.  An eccentric Brayne also leaves the room.  He is last seen playing with Valentin’s mounted sword collection in the hallway.

Wishing to thwart O’Brien, a drunken Lord Galloway stumbles upon a grisly discovery in the darkened garden: specifically, a well-dressed mystery corpse with a severed head.  The murder weapon is established as O’Brien’s missing Foreign Legion saber.  Valentin calmly seeks to shield his guests from his own police force’s imminent scrutiny.  Suspicion soon pivots towards another guest besides O’Brien. 

The priest’s sleuthing suggests, however, that all may not be what it seems.  For instance, how could the unknown intruder/victim have circumvented various defenses and gotten inside the estate?  By the next day, this macabre enigma worsens once a second decapitated head is discovered.  Father Brown realizes it’s up to him to thwart a culprit’s potentially perfect crime. 

                   Cast:

Father Brown: Kenneth More

Commandant Neil O’Brien: Charles Dance

Aristide Valentin: Ferdy Mayne

Lord and Lady Galloway: Cyril Luckham & Joan Benham

Lady Margaret Graham: Eileen Waugh

Julius K. Brayne: Peter Dyneley

Dr. Bernard Simon: Rowland Davies

Duchess of Mont St. Michel: Rosemarie Dunham

Ivan (servant): Athol Coats

Beaumont: Stefan Gryff

Unnamed Servant: Hugh Cecil. 

Notes: 1. As forewarning, though not exceedingly graphic, there are three or four close-up glimpses of ‘severed heads.’ 

2. Interestingly, Valentin’s literary counterpart appeared in the first Father Brown story, 1910’s “The Blue Cross” (aka “Valentin Follows A Curious Trail”).  Valentin was that mystery’s featured player rather than Brown.  Hence, “The Secret Garden” makes for an intriguing sequel. 

3. In terms of possible coincidence: reminiscent of “The Blue Cross,” Agatha Christie’s 1930 Murder at The Vicarage features St. Mary Mead’s vicar, Reverend Len Clement, over Ms. Jane Marple in her whodunnit debut.   

REVIEW:

Filmed on videotape, it’s readily obvious “The Secret Garden” relies upon well-dressed sets vs. any sense that the cast is inside a castle-like manor home.  Aside from this minor quibble, it’s an old-school Father Brown whodunnit well-played for its macabre source material. 

For fans of G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown, seeing “The Secret Garden” faithfully visualized makes for solid viewing – no matter its logical contrivances.  Kenneth More’s Father Brown, in that regard, effectively spells out what some viewers likely will have already deduced.      

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:         7 Stars

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SUMMARY:                APPROX.  RUNNING TIME: 22:00 Min.

First airing on September 30, 1995, this episode of the Canadian syndicated TV series was directed by Jon Cassar off Dave Cole’s script. 

At a downtown church, journalist Frank (Gray) and computer ace Joe (Popowich) Hardy serve as the best man and wedding photographer for their friend: Tommy (Small), a local news vendor.  Yet, Tommy inexplicably no-shows the wedding and has seemingly dropped from sight. 

The Hardys promise his worried fiancée, Anita (Clarke), that they will find Tommy.  Following clues from Tommy’s newsstand, Frank & Joe’s investigation uncovers his long-suppressed former life as a jazz musician.  More so, after serving decades in prison, an elderly mobster (Tager) is now shadowing the Hardys.  He, too, wants to find Tommy, as they evidently have a personal old score to settle.     

                 Cast:

Frank Hardy: Colin K. Gray

Joe Hardy: Paul Popowich

Anita: Norma Clarke

Tommy (Carter): Ron Small

Jimmy: Aron Tager

Jordan: Karen LeBlanc

Pawnbroker: Ellen-Ray Hennessy

Bartender: Robbie Rox

Wedding Guests: Uncredited

Priest: Uncredited

Nightclub Patrons: Uncredited

Pedestrians: Uncredited

Flashbacks: Uncredited.

Notes: There are sporadic hints that the series was filmed in Canada (i.e. a close-up of a license plate).  Reminiscent of their 1970’s incarnations, the show was produced in tandem with a Nancy Drew TV series – likewise, it wasn’t long for this world.  Both single-season series only ran for thirteen episodes and were effectively canceled the same night: December 16, 1995. 

REVIEW:

Despite its limitations, this obviously low-budget episode makes for some passable viewing.  While competently directed, the episode’s flimsy plot is something of a letdown for stars Colin K. Gray and Paul Popowich.  They simply don’t get much of a mystery conveying that they are ‘The Hardy Boys,’ as opposed to some unremarkable, twenty-something amateur detective duo.  Among this cast, only guest star Karen LeBlanc makes a vivid impression in her minimal screen time.

Still, “Jazzman” delivers a watchable, all-ages caper to sample this mid-90’s revival of The Hardy Boys.     

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                        4 Stars

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SUMMARY:             APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 22:00 Min.

First airing on September 30, 1995, Bruce McDonald directed this episode of the Canadian syndicated TV series off series story editor Laura Phillips’ original script. 

In this incarnation of Nancy Drew, Nancy and her two friends: Bess and George live downtown in a large city at the supposedly haunted Callisto Hotel.  This episode doesn’t specify the girls’ careers or if they’re still college students – all one gets is that George is evidently an amateur filmmaker.     

Five years have lapsed since rock star Billy Feral’s (Bissonette) enigmatic demise.  A pilgrimage by Feral’s mourning fans descends upon The Callisto Hotel on the  anniversary of his death.  Per George’s (Tanner) video footage for a Feral documentary she is filming, Nancy Drew (Ryan) views suspicious visual evidence that Feral’s ghost is haunting The Callisto’s fan memorial.  More so, Nancy and her friends find that others residing at The Callisto are keeping secrets about the musician’s tragic life.

               Cast:

Nancy Drew: Tracy Ryan

George Fayne: Joy Tanner

Bess Marvin: Jhene Erwin

Billy Feral: Joel Bissonette

Amina: Kyrin Hall

Simon: Uncredited.

Pete: Matthew Smith

Seymour: Conrad Bergschneider

Clerk: Eric Kimmel

Video Store Customers: Uncredited

Other Callisto Residents: Uncredited

Feral’s Fans: Uncredited.

Notes: There are sporadic hints that the series was filmed in Canada.  Reminiscent of their 1970’s incarnations, this series was produced in conjunction with a Hardy Boys TV series – as it, too, wasn’t long for this world.  Both single-season series only ran for thirteen episodes and were effectively canceled the same night: December 16, 1995. 

REVIEW:

To its modest credit, this episode sports an okay series lead in Tracy Ryan (frankly, co-star Joy Tanner might have made better casting) and a potentially intriguing premise.  At only twenty-two minutes, the plot’s rudimentary execution, however, is really more akin to what one might expect from The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo.  One could also imagine that the script somewhat echoes elements of Eddie and The Cruisers.      

Considering this Nancy Drew’s obvious budget limitations, “The Death and Life of Billy Feral” doesn’t strive for more than it can achieve.  At most, it’s an easily forgettable ghost story tease meant for an all-ages audience.  For undemanding viewers, this contrived episode is worth catching once – if at all.       

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                      3½ Stars

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