Written by Fabiola
Imagine being a detective. Imagine being involved in cases that start with the death of your employer. Imagine being absolutely terrible at your job and living your life wherever your life takes you.
Are you thinking you are going to be unemployed? Well, this would be the case for most people, but not for Dirk.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is television series based on the books created and written by Douglas Adam (Goodreads), that will keep you immersed in an absurd and brilliant environment, where great actors such as Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Sin City) and Samuel Barnett (The History Boys, Penny Dreadful) will rock your world.
So what is the show all about? Essentially, imagine if “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Fargo” had a baby through Sci-Fi, the surrogate mother. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is well-rounded; the dialogue is clever and full of significance, the characters are perfectly portrayed and there is great character development for each one of them. The story is so incredibly brilliant and surreal, interesting and complicated, albeit it suddenly becomes very clear. This is an 8 out of 10 series primarily because it will leave you with your mind blown, but not fully satisfied in terms of questions. It also ends with a cliffhanger, which creates a powerful hype for the upcoming second season, but it still leaves with a teased story.
The series opens and we meet Todd, a young man working hard as a bellhop in a hotel. Elijah Wood gives an outstanding performance with his huge and uncanny blue eyes, which are key to the emotional roller-coaster Todd and the viewer face throughout the season. He faces a series of extremely frustrating events the same morning he loses his job; then a landlord destroys his car because of due to late rent; he witnesses an extremely gruesome murder scene; and then lastly, he needs money to visit his sister. This is all just the beginning of an incredibly weird and entertaining series of events that will entertain and even mesmerize you.
We also fall in love with Dirk, the eccentric and “holistic” detective. He believes everything (and nothing) is interconnected in the world. He also has a unique approach to investigations as he believes fate will just help him solve the mysteries that he faces. He is an extremely interesting character, an odd and nice guy, happy and positive yet insecure and lonely. There is a lot of depth in the character and Samuel Barnett does an incredible job in making Dirk such an incredibly multi-faceted character.
There are several story lines we follow, fictionally set in Seattle: Dirk and Todd, the couple that fate (or not?) puts together who try to solve the murder. They are also being aided by Farah, an efficient security officer personally invested in the murder of her boss—the same one that Dirk and Todd are trying to solve—and the kidnap of his boss’ daughter.
Then there’s Bart and Ken. Bart is a “holistic” assassin who kills everyone in her path, except for Ken, who is an unwilling victim who grows attached to Bart. You also have villains, who will make you smile and worry at the very same time. Some of the best dialogue and actions scene in this series come from Bart’s character, who leaves everything to fate and successful in all the kills, aside for one, a cathartic moment for her and Dirk, realizing they made of the same fabric.
Another essential character to the story, especially as a weighting factor in Todd’s decision making process, is Amanda; she is Todd’s sister and is affected by a rare and fictional genetic disease that makes her suffer painful and vivid hallucinations. Not only is she the main reason for Todd’s concerns and character development, but she is also the center of many storylines and her “love affair” with the Rowdy 3 is one of the most uplifting and happy moments of the season.
Another interesting factor and thread of the story is the CIA, carrying out a covert operation aiming at bringing back those people they submitted to a government study. Vagueness is de rigueur because this is one of the major plot lines that is not fully developed during Season 1. The CIA is mostly following Dirk in this season, with both a conscious officer and an irresponsible dimwit soldier; and despite the CIA’s marginal role during the season, it is uncanny the amount of connections created through the CIA’s participation to the story, which plays an outstanding role to the end of Season 1 and, hopefully, continues on into Season 2!
And if all of the above did not convince you just yet, would you be convinced by a cute and seemingly abandoned corgi that is a corner-stone to the whole story and a deadly and innocent black kitten? Because they are both integral part of this season of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.
And if you are not sure just yet, would it help to know that Season 2 is scheduled to hit our TV’s next month? Watch the Season 2 teaser below!
Are you ready for Dirk Gently to rock your world? Have you watched season 1? Do you agree with the comments above? What else has caught your attention? Let us know in the comments below!
