The first episode of ITV's new 3-part drama, Arthur and George, aired this evening. It stars Martin Clunes as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who forms a friendship with George Edelji (played by Arsher Ali). George has recently been released from prison having been convicted of mutilating horses (and threatening to do the same to children), and the story follows his journey to clear his name.
Today's episode featured a round-up of the original story of George's case, and Arthur beginning his investigations into the case. Although it was a little slow to start, it had plenty of mystery. It's nice to see Martin Clunes not playing Doc Martin for a change; some people on Twitter complained about his Scottish accent but as a born and bred southerner it sounded Scottish enough to me...
Frustratingly, the sound levels were quite poor - and the music over the top of speech was quite loud! Always makes a drama less enjoyable when you have to strain to hear what's going on...
I'll include the trailer below - I found it a little bit creepier than the trailer lets on, but if you like that sort of weird Edwardian/Victorian esque mystery (lots of mist, shadowy figures, symbolic dead animals, creepy dolls) then you'll probably enjoy this. I also enjoyed the romantic subplot between Arthur and his "friend" Miss Leckie, which provides some needed light relief. I think I'll probably tune in for next week's episode, but mainly because I can't cope with an unsolved mystery. All in all, I felt it was pretty average - it wasn't the worst drama I've seen but it certainly isn't the best. What did you think?
