# Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016 BBC Series) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246 "2016-10-21T15:19:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/21 "2016-10-29T12:23:38Z")
Well, this series will really stand or fall with whether they manage to link up all the apparently random stuff they throw at you—if they do, I think it has the potential for greatness. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/22 "2016-10-30T12:16:36Z")
Enjoyed the original Dirk Gently novels but wasn’t a huge fan. Am really enjoying this series and not bothering to compare it to the books or the previous adaptation. Love the holistic assassin, who is played by Brad Dourif’s daughter Fiona 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/23 "2016-10-30T21:31:22Z")
No paternity test needed there! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/24 "2016-10-30T21:34:08Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Well, this series will really stand or fall with whether they manage to link up all the apparently random stuff they throw at you—if they do, I think it has the potential for greatness. The universe will insist they do, due to the fundamental interconnectedness of everything. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/25 "2016-10-30T23:28:20Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > No paternity test needed there! Agreed 😃 ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/26 "2016-10-31T01:27:13Z")
I loved the books and I tried to watch the original BBC series (it is running on Acorn TV, BTW) but didn’t like it. I don’t get BBC America anymore or I’d try to watch the new series. BUT, if there is not a couch stuck in the wall of the stairway I would be unhappy. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/27 "2016-10-31T15:06:31Z")
As far as I could remember, the series doesn’t follow the original story that much, but it was very much in the spirit of the books. This is like _The Usual Suspects_ and _Memento_, in that you have to watch it again to retrace all the time jumps and clues. The seeming randomness will be explained in future episodes (I hope). ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/28 "2016-10-31T16:20:20Z")
It’s got to be. That’s pretty much the entire point. One thing that the books (and the first attempt) had, which this seems to be missing is the idea that, "Once you eliminate the improbable, what ever is left, _no matter how impossible_ has got to be the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/29 "2016-10-31T16:27:39Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > I don’t get BBC America anymore or I’d try to watch the new series. BUT, if there is not a couch stuck in the wall of the stairway I would be unhappy. > > Bob There was a reference to a couch, and to Thor (from the Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul), so I think we are to assume that the events of both books occurred before this case began. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/30 "2016-10-31T16:40:18Z")
I liked the 2nd episode. It was little less frantic than Ep 1, but the fact that everything is connected and how that drives the plot is quite fun. Interested to see where that goes. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/31 "2016-11-11T20:03:21Z")
I have seen only the pilot. Nothing was solved. I…presume mysteries will be solved as the show goes along? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/32 "2016-11-12T00:16:44Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I have seen only the pilot. Nothing was solved. I…presume mysteries will be solved as the show goes along? Series one appears to be solving one primary mystery with several interconnected questions along the way. The pilot is very much just setting up the mystery and introducing the characters. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/33 "2016-11-12T01:10:04Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Series one appears to be solving one primary mystery with several interconnected questions along the way. The pilot is very much just setting up the mystery and introducing the characters. Cool, watching the second one right now. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/34 "2016-11-12T02:00:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I have seen only the pilot. Nothing was solved. I…presume mysteries will be solved as the show goes along? Maybe. Some of them. Maybe most. And some might be solved satisfactorally. I take it you haven’t read the books. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/35 "2016-11-12T03:12:39Z")
> [@TPWombat](#): > > Agreed 😃 I’m almost entirely straight, and Brad could never be described as my type, and she’s playing a blood-soaked psycho, but is it okay to think she’s hot, in a hetero, real human way? As long as she’s not Method and will be reasonably normal at home? I have long avoided dates with serial killers, though could it have killed Gacy to ask? At that time of night I was finishing my shift at Chicago’s Greyhound terminal and was uninterested in any side jobs, but STILL. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/36 "2016-11-12T06:47:49Z")
I think it’s great. Absurd, surreal, mysterious. The Blackwing agent and his himbo dunce partner crack me up. The Rowdy 3, all four of them, the corgi, the holistic assassin and Ken, all fun. Dirk himself is perhaps a teensy bit overplayed, channeling Doctor Who’s mania, but he’s growing on me. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/37 "2016-11-12T14:08:38Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I think it’s great. Absurd, surreal, mysterious. The Blackwing agent and his himbo dunce partner crack me up. The Rowdy 3, all four of them, the corgi, the holistic assassin and Ken, all fun. > > Dirk himself is perhaps a teensy bit overplayed, channeling Doctor Who’s mania, but he’s growing on me. We are loving it too. The argument/screaming on the bridge in the second episode is one of my favorite TV moments in all 2016. The overweight bad guy being just as confused as them while they both scream questions at each other was amazing. Max Landis has really done great work with these scripts. It’s better than I expected and am really glad I jumped on board. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/38 "2016-11-12T14:56:02Z")
Am I the only one who is having a problem with the portrayal of Dirk as a manic Sherlock Holmes rather than a world weary grifter who just happens to be a super genius? It’s not a bad show, but it’s not really Dirk Gently. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/39 "2016-11-12T15:03:54Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Am I the only one who is having a problem with the portrayal of Dirk as a manic Sherlock Holmes rather than a world weary grifter who just happens to be a super genius? > > It’s not a bad show, but it’s not really Dirk Gently. Never read the books, so it’s new to me. After the third ep I got a sense he’s been around and experienced some rough things, and part of his manic optimism is a bit of a coping mechanism, also similar to Doctor Who. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246/40 "2016-11-12T15:29:36Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > It’s not a bad show, but it’s not really Dirk Gently. You’re absolutely correct but I’ve already let it go. It helps that they don’t even TRY aside from a few throw-away lines in the first episode and the general “interconnectedness of things” concept. The show and the novels hold very distinct places in my mind with no overlap. In my opinion, Adams’ concepts don’t translate well to film anyway – too much relies on vivid and surreal descriptions/comparisons in the narration – so I’m happier that they didn’t really try. I haven’t seen the 3rd episode yet. I’m a week behind but thought Ep 2 was coming together nicely. My wife seemed to appreciate the tangible demonstration of the assassin’s powers as that was something concrete she could wrap her mind around instead of all the randomness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency-2016-bbc-series/769246.md?page=3)