Dirk Gently Series Details

Dirk Gently will return to BBC Four later in the year after an excellent stand alone special in 2010. But now there are a few more details about what Dirk and his brand of ‘interconnected’ detective work will face in his three new adventures:

• Episode One: Dirk has two clients with two very different issues. One thinks he is marked to be killed by the Pentagon in the United States while the other is finding out that the events written in his daily horoscope are coming true.
• Episode Two: Dirk plays nanny to a robot at his former university, but after it is stolen and a body is discovered, both Dirk and his side kick Macduff become the prime suspects.
• Episode Three: Dirk’s former clients are being murdered one by one and Dirk decides to try and flee the country with difficulty as the bodies mount.

Dirk Gently producer Chris Carey spoke recently about the upcoming episodes, including the inspiration given to the production team by Dirk Gently‘s creator, the late Douglas Adams:

“Dirk Gently feels like a rare and precious storytelling gift. Douglas Adam’s books are treasure troves filled with brilliant details and profound, hilarious observations that Howard and the other writers endlessly mine to lead them off into new tales for Stephen [Mangan, Dirk Gently] and Darren [Boyd, Richard Macduff] to bring memorably to life on screen.”

Dirk Gently is being written by the main man behind the hit Channel Four show The Misfits, Howard Overman, who has also written episodes for Merlin. Overman talked about returning to write the three new episodes:

“It’s a real honour to back in the world of Dirk’s holistic detection methods. He’s the loosest of loose cannons and it’s always fun putting such outrageous lines in his mouth to see them so skillfully delivered by Stephen Mangan and the rest of the brilliant cast.”

That cast includes a few familiar faces from the 2010 special. Besides the obvious in Mangan and Boyd, returning characters include Helen Baxendale as Macduff’s girlfriend Susan, Jason Watkins as Detective Inspector Gilks and Lisa Jackson as Dirk’s odd and unpaid receptionist.

Mangan, for his part seems very taken with the starring role:

“Slipping back into Dirk’s pointy shoes to renew my double act with Darren Boyd for three brand new episodes is, for me, about as good as it gets. I wish I WAS Dirk.”

Dirk Gently will return later this year to BBC Four.

(Via SF Crowsnest)