I just watched most of Mystery!‘s presentation of P.D. James’ “Death in Holy Orders” and was so disappointed that Roy Marsden was not playing Adam Dalgleish. Someone named Martin Shaw has taken on the role, and he is just wrong, wrong, wrong! It was like listening to a symphony where the first chair violinist is out of tune…everything else was wonderful, but this one sour note kept popping up! Marsden’s characterization of Dalgleish was so right, so true to the books that I never got that disappointed feeling you get when they dramatize your favorite books and change the look, age, or personality of the main character. Shaw is too heavy, too bland, too casual, too boring. No charm, no spark, and the open collar at dinner was distracting. He doesn’t look like a tortured, poetic soul. Ocassionally he sounded a bit like Marsden, but most of the time he just sounded wrong. And not overly bright. And his hair was too short.
Gosh, I’m picky! But I really hate the change. I tried to watch with an open mind, and the rest of the cast was terrific, but Shaw just doesn’t have “it”. Pooh.
Agreed! Roy Marsden was perfect and the new guy is just terrible. Too bad they couldn’t get Robson Green. He would have made an interesting Dalgleish.
No, Robson Green is too young. And too perfect as Creegan.
Whaddaya mean, Martin Shaw doesn’t have “it”? He was Doyle in The Professionals. What greater badge of itdom could there be than weaing a leather jacket, driving a 3.0 gold Ford Capri at high speed through the streets of 70’s London, and beating up the members of Baader-Meinhof anarchist cells {and the odd Arab assassin} in order to make England safe. And he never even wore a ruffled shirt while doing it. “Three-seven to Four-five! Over!”
I’ve never seen The Professionals nor heard of Martin Shaw until last night, but from what you describe he’s obviously better in a role that requires action and shouting. Those are not quite the attributes one assigns to the role of Dalgleish, which requires a lot of reading, walking on windy cliffs and meaningful glances. Plus Dalgleish has a history, and Shaw doesn’t look like a man who fits that history. Heck, even his glasses seemed wrong for the part.