Detectorists Explained

Genre:Comedy-drama
Creator:Mackenzie Crook
Director:Mackenzie Crook
Starring:Mackenzie Crook
Toby Jones
Theme Music Composer:Johnny Flynn
Opentheme:"Detectorists"
Composer:Johnny Flynn, Dan Michaelson
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Num Series:3
Num Episodes:20
Producer:Adam Tandy, Gill Isles
Editor:Colin Fair
Cinematography:Jamie Cairney
Camera:Single-camera
Runtime:29 minutes

Detectorists is a British comedy television series first broadcast on BBC Four in October 2014. It is written and directed by Mackenzie Crook, who also stars alongside Toby Jones.[1]

The series is set in the fictional small town of Danebury in north Essex. The plot revolves around the lives, loves and metal-detecting ambitions of Andy and Lance, members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club. The main filming location for the series was Framlingham, a small market town in Suffolk.

Detectorists won a BAFTA at the 2015 British Academy Television Awards for Television Scripted Comedy.[2] In May 2019, it was voted 19th in a Radio Times list of Britain's 20 favourite sitcoms by a panel that included sitcom writers and actors.[3] The series was filmed using a single-camera setup approach. The show had three series from 2014 to 2017, with Christmas specials airing in 2015 and 2022.[4]

Cast

Episodes

Series 1 (2014)

No.TitleOriginal air date

Series 2 (2015)

Series 2 commences with a three-minute sequence showing an Anglo-Saxon priest carrying a holy book and an aestel (a pointer stick similar to that associated with the Alfred Jewel) in a sack and fleeing mounted spearmen. He buries the sack near a standing stone. Time lapse then shows the wooden handle of the aestel decaying, leaving only the jewelled section. The shot pans upwards to reveal Andy and Lance walking across the field in the present day, detecting as they go. Having had no success, they decide to look up the hill. The jewel is shown again, still buried, at the beginning of subsequent episodes.

No.TitleOriginal air date

Christmas Special (2015)

No.TitleOriginal air date

Series 3 (2017)

In March 2017, the BBC released a statement confirming the filming of a third and final series.[7] The six-episode third series was filmed in the summer of 2017 and aired weekly on BBC Four from 8 November 2017.[8]

The first episode ends with a historical timeline sequence, backed by the song "Magpie" by The Unthanks.[9] Reviewing the opening episode for The Guardian, Sam Wollaston said: "Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones shine in the third and final series of this beautifully written and performed slice of life."[10]

No.TitleOriginal air date

Christmas Special (2022)

A 75-minute Christmas special was announced in May 2022.[11] The episode aired on BBC Two on 26 December 2022.

No.TitleOriginal air date

Production

Detectorists was announced by the BBC on 31 January 2014. The producer was Adam Tandy and the series was a Channel X and Lola Entertainment co-production.[12]

Although the series is set in Essex, it was mainly filmed in neighbouring Suffolk, with Framlingham used as a major location.[13] [14] [15] [16] Other locations used in filming include Orford, where Orford Primary School was used as the outside of Becky's school, Great Glemham, where interior pub scenes were filmed, and Ipswich. In series 2, the round-tower church at Aldham was used as a recurring location.[17] One location in Essex was used in Detectorists: the scenes involving Lance's girlfriend Toni's houseboat, 'Elsie', were filmed at Paper Mill Lock, Little Baddow. Locations were sourced by Creative England.[18]

Upon deciding to finish the show at the end of series 3, Crook commented "… it took a while to realise that I did want to do six more episodes to finish. I don't want to make any sort of big, dramatic announcement that 'never again', but I can't see myself going back to it."

Despite ruling out further episodes at the end of series 3, in December 2020 Crook alluded to the possibility that a fourth series was not out of the question, saying "I'm just starting the process of thinking 'yeah, we should get the old band back together'."[19]

When asked about the possibility of Detectorists returning for a fourth series after the 2022 Christmas special, Crook responded "I’m going to give the same answer I gave at the end of the third series; "probably not". I guess, dot dot dot, I mean, where can you go after this?".[20]

Broadcast

Overseas, the series premiered in Australia on 9 November 2015 on BBC First.[21] In the United States, the series premiered on streaming subscription service Acorn TV in August 2015.[22]

Reception

Critical response

Series one of Detectorists was met with positive reviews from a number of UK and US media outlets. David Renshaw, writing for The Guardian, had particular praise for the "delightful double-act" Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones. Renshaw points to the "biggest ratings BBC4 has ever had for a comedy" as evidence that "Detectorists has clearly struck the sort of gold that Lance and Andy spend hours sweeping the fields for".[23] Rupert Hawksley, writing for The Daily Telegraph, was particularly impressed with Crook's "first-rate writing" and remarked in his review that series one "has all the markings of a classic sitcom".[24]

Ellen E. Jones of The Independent said that while the show "requires some patience... it has turned out to be one of the best new sitcoms of the year".[25]

In the US media, The New York Times writer Mike Hale describes Detectorists as a "distinctive creation – not for everyone, but bound to be fiercely loved by those who fall into its rhythms".[26] Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times "can't recommend it enough", saying: "Like the ordinary lives it magnifies, Detectorists has the air of seeming to be small and immense at once, to be about hardly anything and almost everything. It is full of space and packed with life."[22]

When the programme returned for a second series, the response was again positive.[27]

On the completion of the third and final series, Radio Times website reviewer Mark Braxton wrote "The series finale... is one of the most satisfying conclusions ever. Series one and two both ended in clever and memorable ways: bittersweet and punch-the-air respectively. But the series three finale has a real poetry to it; Crook seems to be saying: 'Yes, that's where we'll leave it – I'm happy with that.'"[28]

The series has also received praise for its authentic portrayal of "a gentler side to maleness and male bonding", with Ben Dowell of The Times describing the show as being "steeped in a gentle kindness that I hadn't seen before".[29]

A book of essays about the series, Landscapes of Detectorists, was published by Uniformbooks in 2020.[30]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryRecipientResultRef.
2015British Academy Television Award (BAFTA)Best Situation ComedyDetectorists[31]
2016British Academy Television Award (BAFTA)Best Male Comedy PerformanceToby Jones[32]
2018British Academy Television Award (BAFTA)Best Male Comedy PerformanceToby Jones[33]
2018Rose d'OrRose d'Or for SitcomDetectorists[34]

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Mackenzie Crook to play metal detector enthusiast in one of four new BBC4 comedies . . 31 January 2014 . 1 February 2014 . Dowell . Ben.
  2. Web site: 2015 Television Scripted Comedy. BAFTA. en. 24 January 2018.
  3. News: Rosseinsky . Katie . 8 April 2019 . Best British sitcom of all time revealed: From Fawlty Towers to Absolutely Fabulous here's the Top 20 . . London . 2 October 2019 .
  4. Web site: Jack Whitehall's Bad Education returns for anniversary special and new season. 11 May 2022 . Flora . Carr. Radio Times. 11 May 2022.
  5. Andy gives his name as "Andrew Stone" when arriving for his job interview in series 2, episode 4
  6. Detectorists series 2 episode 1 review: Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones return in style . Ben . Dowell . 29 October 2015 . . 26 November 2015.
  7. Mackenzie Crook comedy Detectorists is returning for third and final series . Ben . Dowell . 31 March 2017. . 20 April 2017.
  8. Web site: BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals 2017 – Detectorists: An Exclusive Screening and Q&A with Mackenzie Crook. BBC Music Events. 21 October 2017.
  9. Mackenzie Crook explains why this series of Detectorists will be the last . Ben . Dowell. . 8 November 2017 . 9 November 2017.
  10. News: Detectorists review: more tender comedy about men, middle age and metal-detecting. Sam. Wollaston. 9 November 2017. . 9 November 2017.
  11. Web site: Goldbart . Max . BBC Commits To "High Impact" Comedy With $12M Budget Increase; Jack Whitehall's 'Bad Education' To Return Alongside 'Detectorists' Feature & 'Jerk', 'The Cleaner', 'Guilt' Recommissions . Deadline . 11 May 2022 . 11 May 2022.
  12. News: BBC Four announces new comedies for 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140317094344/https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/bbc-four-comedy.html . 17 March 2014 . BBC . 31 January 2014 . 1 February 2014.
  13. News: Everitt . Lauren . BBC4 sitcom Detectorists which was filmed in Framlingham picks up Bafta prize . . 10 May 2015 . 26 October 2016 . 27 October 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161027123323/http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/what-s-on/bbc4_sitcom_detectorists_which_was_filmed_in_framlingham_picks_up_bafta_prize_1_4068145 . dead .
  14. News: Clarke . Andrew . Is Framlingham the New Hollywood? Comedy filmed in town wins BAFTA while homegrown stars continue to soar . . 12 May 2015 . 26 October 2016 . 27 October 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161027123440/http://www.eadt.co.uk/what-s-on/is_framlingham_the_new_hollywood_comedy_filmed_in_town_wins_bafta_while_homegrown_stars_continue_to_soar_1_4069489 . dead .
  15. News: Barker . Ellis . Mackenzie Crook sitcom Detectorists to return to Suffolk . East Anglian Daily Times . 25 June 2015 . 26 October 2016 . 6 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170306202703/http://www.eadt.co.uk/what-s-on/mackenzie_crook_sitcom_detectorists_to_return_to_suffolk_1_4125517 . dead .
  16. News: Lewis . Tim . Mackenzie Crook: 'We aspire to be the sitcom Thomas Hardy would have written' . . 25 October 2015 . 26 October 2016.
  17. Webb . Claire . Where to find Mackenzie Crook's Detectorists in Suffolk . . 29 October 2015 . 26 October 2016.
  18. Web site: What Locations Were Used In BBC Four Sitcom Detectorists? . . 1 October 2014 . 26 October 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160807063720/http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/story/what-locations-were-used-in-bbc-four-sitcom-detectorists- . 7 August 2016.
  19. Web site: 22 December 2020. Mackenzie Crook moots Detectorists revival. 27 February 2021. British Comedy Guide. Jay . Richardson. en-GB.
  20. Web site: The Detectorists are back for a Christmas special after a five-year break – and its stars are buzzing . Braxton . Mark . 13 December 2022 . RadioTimes.com . Immediate Media Company Limited . 1 January 2023.
  21. Web site: The Green Room . Charles . Purcell . New This Week (Nov 9): Mr. Robot, Nashville, Legends, Rousey v Holm and live sport . 6 November 2015 . 7 November 2015 . 7 November 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151107072649/http://community.foxtel.com.au/t5/Foxtel-Blog/New-This-Week-Nov-9-Mr-Robot-Nashville-Legends-Rousey-v-Holm-and/ba-p/98704.
  22. News: British 'Detectorists' on Acorn TV uncovers a comedy treasure . 25 August 2015 . Lloyd . Robert . . 19 January 2017.
  23. News: Detectorists – box set review: this gentle tale of treasure-hunting folk struck TV gold . . 5 October 2015 . David . Renshaw.
  24. News: Detectorists, BBC Four, review: 'first-rate writing' . 2 October 2014 . Rupert . Hawksley. . 5 October 2015.
  25. News: Detectorists, TV review: Mackenzie Crook's sitcom has saved its sparkliest treasures for those who stick around to earn them . Ellen E. . Jones . 30 October 2014 . . 5 October 2015.
  26. News: Review: 'Detectorists' on BBC and Acorntv Hope to Unearth a Fortune . . 16 August 2015 . 5 October 2015. 0362-4331 . Mike . Hale.
  27. News: Detectorists, Series 2 Episode 1, BBC Four, review: 'truthful' . Jasper . Rees . 30 October 2015 . . 26 November 2015.
  28. Web site: Braxton. Mark. 13 December 2017. The final episode of Detectorists is 'one of the most satisfying conclusions ever'. 3 May 2018.
  29. News: Dowell. Ben. The end of Lad TV: how comedy for men became touchy-feely. . 10 April 2020. en. 0140-0460.
  30. Philip . Howell . 2021 . Book Reviews: Landscapes of Detectorists . The AAG Review of Books . 9 . 3 . 7–8 . 10.1080/2325548X.2021.1921444 . 8 October 2022.
  31. News: Bafta TV awards 2015: Winners . BBC News . 8 April 2015 . 7 January 2017.
  32. BAFTA Television Awards 2016 – winners . 7 January 2017 . Radio Times . 8 May 2016.
  33. Web site: Double Bafta win for This Country . chortle.co.uk . 13 May 2018.
  34. Web site: Detectorists wins international Rose d'Or Award. British Comedy Guide. 17 September 2018 . 8 October 2022.

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