Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
05-02-16, 12:45 PM
#1
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Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
TWO GREAT MEN OF THE 20TH CENTURY JOIN FORCES ON THE SERIES PREMIERE OF "HOUDINI & DOYLE" MONDAY, MAY 2, ON FOX
On this new mystery adventure drama, two great men of the 20th Century - HARRY HOUDINI (Michael Weston, "House," "Six Feet Under"), master magician, escape artist and paranormal debunker; and ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (Stephen Mangan, "Episodes"), prolific writer, creator of "Sherlock Holmes" and paranormal aficionado - join forces with ADELAIDE STRATTON, New Scotland Yard's first female constable ever to work for the London Metropolitan Police Force (Rebecca Liddiard, "Man Seeking Woman"), to investigate unsolved and inexplicable crimes with a supernatural slant. In the series' debut, Houdini, Doyle and Adelaide investigate the murder of a nun in one of the notorious Magdalene Laundries. A witness claims the killer is a young woman who was tormented by the nun. The only problem is, that young woman has been dead for six months. Tune in to the all-new "The Maggie's Redress" series premiere episode of HOUDINI & DOYLE airing Monday, May 2 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (HAD-101) (TV-14 D, L, S, V)
Cast: Stephen Mangan as Arthur Conan Doyle, Michael Weston as Harry Houdini, Rebecca Liddiard as Constable Adelaide Stratton, Tim McInnerny as Chief Inspector Merring and Adam Nagaitis as Sergeant Gudgett.
Guest Cast: Louise Delamere as Touie Conan Doyle, Emily Carey as Mary Conan Doyle, Noah Jupe as Kingsley Conan Doyle, Diana Quick as Cecilia Weiss, Simone Kirby as Sister Grace, Adedayo as Winnie, Jerry-Jane Pears as Florrie, Amanda Lawrence as Sister Mathilda, Flora Turner as Lucy Allthorpe, Eileen O'Brien as Sister Fabian, Penny Downie as Mrs. Sulzbach
On this new mystery adventure drama, two great men of the 20th Century - HARRY HOUDINI (Michael Weston, "House," "Six Feet Under"), master magician, escape artist and paranormal debunker; and ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (Stephen Mangan, "Episodes"), prolific writer, creator of "Sherlock Holmes" and paranormal aficionado - join forces with ADELAIDE STRATTON, New Scotland Yard's first female constable ever to work for the London Metropolitan Police Force (Rebecca Liddiard, "Man Seeking Woman"), to investigate unsolved and inexplicable crimes with a supernatural slant. In the series' debut, Houdini, Doyle and Adelaide investigate the murder of a nun in one of the notorious Magdalene Laundries. A witness claims the killer is a young woman who was tormented by the nun. The only problem is, that young woman has been dead for six months. Tune in to the all-new "The Maggie's Redress" series premiere episode of HOUDINI & DOYLE airing Monday, May 2 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (HAD-101) (TV-14 D, L, S, V)
Cast: Stephen Mangan as Arthur Conan Doyle, Michael Weston as Harry Houdini, Rebecca Liddiard as Constable Adelaide Stratton, Tim McInnerny as Chief Inspector Merring and Adam Nagaitis as Sergeant Gudgett.
Guest Cast: Louise Delamere as Touie Conan Doyle, Emily Carey as Mary Conan Doyle, Noah Jupe as Kingsley Conan Doyle, Diana Quick as Cecilia Weiss, Simone Kirby as Sister Grace, Adedayo as Winnie, Jerry-Jane Pears as Florrie, Amanda Lawrence as Sister Mathilda, Flora Turner as Lucy Allthorpe, Eileen O'Brien as Sister Fabian, Penny Downie as Mrs. Sulzbach
10 episode season
This is from David Shore, the creator of House. The season has already aired in the UK.
05-02-16, 01:37 PM
#2
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Re: Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
Well, it's "mostly aired" in the UK. I think episode 8 aired last week.
It's not a bad show - the relationship between Doyle and Houdini is fun and the show has a "Ripper Street or Penny Dreadful that doesn't take itself so damn seriously" vibe. But the actual "mysteries" aren't that good - and actually get worse as the show goes on. And sometimes the "moral message" of the show can be really ham-fisted. For example (SPOILERS):
It's not a bad show - the relationship between Doyle and Houdini is fun and the show has a "Ripper Street or Penny Dreadful that doesn't take itself so damn seriously" vibe. But the actual "mysteries" aren't that good - and actually get worse as the show goes on. And sometimes the "moral message" of the show can be really ham-fisted. For example (SPOILERS):
Spoiler:
05-02-16, 01:47 PM
#3
Re: Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
I hadn't realized it had aired in the UK. The one or two "print" reviews I've read have been negative, and, we really need another "odd couple" investigating supernatural cases of the week.
05-03-16, 11:11 AM
#4
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Re: Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
Watched the premiere live last night. I really did not like this at all. The Houdini actor was not very good, the plot was hard to follow (maybe because it did not hold my attention), and there was not enough chemistry or humor between any of the leads.
05-03-16, 01:27 PM
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Re: Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
This was a ratings dud...so much other stuff to record and even more that I need to catch up on, so I am deleting it unwatched.
05-03-16, 01:53 PM
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Re: Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
It has a lot of potential, but it sounds like most of it was wasted.
05-04-16, 09:47 AM
#7
Senior Member
Re: Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
I mostly agree with this. It was hard to tell of the actors are good or not, because the material they had to work with is so blah. I did notice that the Doyle character, at times, looks a lot like Hugh Laurie. Coincidence?
05-04-16, 09:53 AM
#8
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Re: Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
I enjoyed the premier quite a bit. I thought the three leads played well of each other. And it's great seeing the actor from Episodes as Doyle. Didn't expect much more than a fun, shallow procedural and that's what I got. I'll be glad if it sticks around.
05-04-16, 02:25 PM
#9
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Re: Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
I found the pilot extremely formulaic and casting seemed a bit second-rate for a network show. Discovering it has already aired in the UK now makes a lot more sense.
There is a hint of a good show in the concept but it's telling that the pilot already featured a terribly dumb and contrived solution to its first mystery. If you can't come up with a creative mystery for episode one, that doesn't portend well.
I'll keep watching because I favor period mysteries.
There is a hint of a good show in the concept but it's telling that the pilot already featured a terribly dumb and contrived solution to its first mystery. If you can't come up with a creative mystery for episode one, that doesn't portend well.
I'll keep watching because I favor period mysteries.
05-09-16, 10:45 PM
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Re: Houdini & Doyle (FOX) -- From the creator of House -- Series Thread -- 5/2/16
Just viewed the second episode and I liked it very much. Good to see Stephen Mangan again. He's a good Doyle.
