‘Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House’ feels like an unnecessarily long 'Scooby-Doo' episode
There is something both amazing and exhausting about a typical 90-minute-long (on an average) episode of a British miniseries. And ‘Agatha Raisin’ is no exception.
On the one hand, a single episode feels complete in itself -- even if there is more to the main story, no single episode will leave you feeling the urgency of watching the very next episode immediately. It defeats the epidemic that’s binging.
On the other hand, a run time of 90 minutes just kind of leaves you tired. And unwilling to watch more. Additionally, when one has that broad a play time, they end up filling it with some amount of mundanity. And that, again, is true of ‘Agatha Raisin’.
Acorn TV’s adaptation of celebrated author Marion Chesney’s 2003 novel ‘Agatha Raisin & the Haunted House’ begins with a reenactment of what looks like a nineteenth-century pub being roughhoused (though it is immediately unclear why), and almost as suddenly as it begins, gives way to the eponymous Agatha (Ashley Jensen) and her beau James (Jamie Glover) whizzing past the countryside.
Agatha, who has just gotten her private investigator’s license, has opened a new firm and let her best friend Roy (Matthew Horne) decorate the office. His design could be called quirky, if one is being kind -- way too many flamingo statues than necessary.
Despite a surfeit of advertising, customers seem to be the only thing lacking in that office full of junk. Of course, one cannot, in all good faith, assume there’d be a queue of people forming outside a PI’s office from day one (or ever), but they soon begin to wonder why no one has knocked on their doors (Agatha suggests criminals may be vacationing, before suggesting they commit a crime themselves and solve it to get publicity).
A solution, however, soon presents to them in the form of a gigantic frontpage headline in the Cotswold Gazette: "Haunting Horror in Hebberdon". Apparently, “paranormal” entities are haunting a house and the police refuse to get involved in the case. And just like that Agatha and James go to “bust up some ghosts”.
Things, of course, are not as simple as just deciding to take up the case. The mansion’s owner, Olivia Witherspoon (Richenda Carey), makes her distaste for Agatha more than apparent as she calls her incompetent (and even slut-shames her for some reason).
There are many suspects, including Mrs. Witherspoon herself, who reminds one of the straight-backed, very-proud-of-her-bourgeoise-heritage, batty old ladies that are dime a dozen in Jeffrey Archer novels. There is also her daughter Carol (Claire Cox), who doesn’t share a good relationship with the mother. There’s her son Harry, who too does not get along with her and wants to desperately sell the old mansion. And there’s Percy Fleming (David Newman), a nervous-looking geek, who desperately wants to buy it.
From there, the show begins to feel like an episode of ‘Scooby-Doo’ - where Agatha is both Fred and Velma at the same time; James is, at best, Shaggy. After all, a haunted mansion from the seventeenth century and a few amateur sleuths running around on capers is as on-brand for ‘Scooby-Doo’ as anything can ever be. Also, there is a specific mention of ‘Scooby-Doo’ when James in an uncharacteristically Fred move suggests they split up during their overnight vigil at the mansion.
While a lot of the shows with 90-minute-long episodes keep the audiences hooked with details, dialogue, and great acting, ‘Agatha Raisin’ fails stupendously. Unlike ‘Sherlock’ (which has its own set of demerits), no character in this sleuth-series has enough gravitas to draw viewers in.
The show is too frivolous to be enjoyed in an era when shows try their best to be unique and compelling. While simplicity is always welcomed, ‘Agatha Raisin’ comes off as lazy in its execution. Perhaps it is the adaptation that is at fault in general as none of the sleuth’s trademark wit is visible.
Overall, with the sheer enormity of its run-time, it falters into one of those shows where one is itching to look at their phone, browsing through Twitter or Instagram, even getting up to find snacks without pausing play, certain that minutes of inattention will not make an inch of difference to the viewing experience.
‘Agatha Raisin & the Haunted House’ aired on October 28, 2019, on Acorn TV.