Peter Davison stars as Margery Allingham‘s amateur detective Albert Campion. The setting is 1930s England – and Campion is one very elite gentleman (of noble descent, although “not quite”) with all the time in the world to solve crimes. He has the help of his “manservant” (played by Brian Glover) who is almost a one hundred and eighty degree contrast to Campion.
Our first impression of Campion was correct… Davison actually played Campion in a playful, almost campy manner. Once we were “in on the campiness” we truly began to enjoy the shows.
The Campion series was made by the BBC during the late 1980s / early 1990s. The scenery (as expected from the BBC) is absolutely beautiful. The narrow cobblestone streets, unpaved country roads, flowers in the window boxes, vintage cars, just about everything is such a treat to see.
Campion, Season 1, included four episodes. The first episode takes place in a beautiful estate. Campion, belonging to the English aristocracy, fits right in. He is also able to glean information from the “lower classes” since his manservant Lugg plays an important role in the crime-solving. Lugg, who has a background in criminal behavior, is able to contact his cronies with connections on the other side of the law, thus enabling Campion to use some rather shady ways to solve the crimes.The second season of Campion also included four episodes.
My husband and I both came away from the shows thinking that Davison toned down the almost “song and dance” portrayal of Campion after the first episode. So, if you give this delightfully fun mystery series a try, remember to keep that in mind. We really did look forward to watching the shows and were truly sorry that they only made the eight episodes.
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Chris says
Hello Danna! So as I’m looking through my long, nonorganized, nonalphabetized list of books/series I would like to try, I came across a series I had forgotten was on my list, but had somehow just read the first one in the series. I wanted to get the second in the series, but unfortunately, my local library doesn’t carry any of her books. I immediately thought of you and your nicely organized/alphabetized/informational website to see what the name of the next book in the series is, BUT when I got there, I did not find the one I was looking for…. So, either I missed it, or I have a suggestion of a new author/series for you to try. 🙂 Nina Wright and the Whiskey Mattimoe series. I just finished the first in the series last night. Set on the West Coast of Lake Michigan, about a realtor and a crazy dog.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Chris, for the author recommendation (and all of the praise for the site!) You’re right… I don’t have Nina Wright on the list of authors, but I just added her to my list of authors to do… which is now at 27 authors who I have gotten from site readers. I am always looking for new authors to include on the site and really should start getting more of them done!
Deanna says
The Campion series is available for streaming on Netflix. It’s very good.
Boz says
Almost precisely my experience. I came to this via the four series of Davison’s excellent Last Detective.
The first episode is the weakest – if anything overwritten by the excellent Alan Plater. Davison too is trying too hard . . . not to be Peter Davison). But the series progressively finds its way after that. It’s a real pity that it stopped after eight stories and that the highly regarded Tiger in the Smoke was not one of them.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Boz, we enjoyed this series so much that I won’t be surprised to find ourselves watching it again. Peter Davison is such a delight to watch >>> in everything he’s in!
Martha Sturdivant says
I just finished Campion with much sorrow….I loved it! I had seen The Last Detective several years ago and again, was so, so sad to finish the series. Peter Davison is my cup of tea, so to speak…..he’s a real charmer and a very good actor. Wish both series had many more Seasons to them.