Touches You

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I really don't have any quibbles about this series. Until recently I could only access the first couple of series in New Zealand but have just finished a marathon of Pie in the Sky and have become totally hooked. Apparently not wanting terror, blood and guts in a detective series means that it is lightweight, if that is so, then so be it. However the story lines are decidedly chewy and the characters have substance. I did miss Cambridge when she disappeared - her clothes were stunning - and I was disappointed that Nicola didn't last the full term, but the rest of the cast/team were splendid and reacted beautifully to one another. Fisher is a complete prat, and it is a well written and well acted character that makes one want to smack him soundly on the nose. As for Richard Griffiths and Maggie Steed, no praise is high enough. It's a great watch and worth anybody's time and brain power - without getting an ulcer through stress at the same time.

here in new england we depend on PBS or BBC America for good English programming. I stumbled on this show last year. It is a light detective show with good character portrayals. Griffiths is great. They only seem to run the same 10 episodes over and over, i see there are 33 episodes. Might have to buy the DVD. It would be worth it.I wonder why it didn't go more seasons. Was it not well received? Some shows are better than others, some a little fluffy, others delve more into his detectives ability to see through mysteries at his waddling slow pace. I know Richard Griffiths has done other work, I first saw him in naked gun. But i believe some of his best screen work is here.

Here's an usual combination, we have a detective series crossed with the story of a chef opening his own restaurant.Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter's Uncle Vernon) plays Henry Crabbe a Detective Inspector all set for retirement when he is shot in the line of duty. Thinking he is all done with that phase of life and ready to open his own restaurant named "Pie in the Sky" he is frustrated to find that his superior is still in need of his services and therefore finds a reason to question the circumstances of Crabbe's injury. Using the threat of his pension he persuades Crabbe to continue to assist him on the occasional investigation.The mysteries aren't as complex nor as dark as most contemporary detective series which some will appreciate, and we also get a show dedicated to classic British food.The mystery aspect gets shortchanged a little for a couple of reasons. The first is the length of the episodes which is comparable to a one hour American network show and there really isn't enough time to build up an array of viable suspects in that amount of time. The other reason although not as important is the attention upon the restaurant, its staff and their food. While a more complex mystery would be appreciated some of the enjoyment and certainly the uniqueness of the series comes from the food.The series has some good performances, though the standout is certainly Richard Griffiths character and his performance, it's a far cry from other detectives and likely from other roles you may have seen him in before. In support Maggie Steed as Henry's wife Margaret and Malcolm Sinclair as ACC Fisher give strong supporting performances throughout the series.For those that like there detective stories on the light side, this series is certainly to be appreciated. My one complaint would be that occasionally the balance between the mystery and the restaurant is off and the resulting episodes aren't quite as enjoyable as they could be.

"Pie in the Sky" is a guilty pleasure of mine: not great television, but I admit a show I watched religiously.It follows the police and restaurant life of one Henry Crabbe (Richard Griffiths). He is a Detective Inspector who gets shot in the line of duty, following which he wants to retire to open a restaurant - the titular "Pie in the Sky" - as cooking, especially of good English styled cuisine, is his passion in life. However standing in his way of this dream is his boss, Assistant Chief Constable Freddy Fisher (Malcolm Sinclair), who refuses to issue a full retirement pension because the incident in which Henry was shot has raised some questions about Henry's police conduct. In reality, Freddy knows that Henry is innocent of any impropriety, but uses this only as a reason to keep Henry, Freddy's "brains", on the force: Henry does all the brain work, Freddy gets all the glory. However, Freddy does allow Henry to work on a part-time or "on call/as need be basis" (i.e. whenever Freddy is in a jam, which is always) while the shooting incident is investigated. This leaves the possibility of a full pension in the future if Henry is cleared, but in the meantime also allows Henry to open his dream restaurant with all this extra time he has on his hands. The second conflict in the series is between Henry and his accountant wife Margaret (Maggie Steed). Margaret supports Henry in his dream - in actuality, the restaurant is under her name - however in her mind the restaurant needs to be solely operated in a cost efficient/effective manner regardless of the result on food quality. This stance is enhanced by the fact that Margaret is a non-foodie who does not appreciate good cooking: she would much rather eat a bag of crisps than to sample Henry's creations. The remaining cast of characters are an assortment of police constables/sergeants working with Henry (played by Bella Enahoro, Darren Litten and Mary Woodvine) and restaurant staff (wait staff played by Ashley Russell, Alison McKenna, Samantha Janus and Marsha Thomason; kitchen staff played by Joe Duttine and Nicholas Lamont; produce supplier/farmer played by Nick Raggett). The one other story twist is that both of his assistant chefs are reformed ex-cons on the "mend" – they are basically good people who had been caught in bad circumstances prior to Henry's salvation of their lives. Their love of cooking and food outweighs their police records.The strength of the show is that the main cast of characters are likable, even that of Freddy Fisher. As such, you root for the characters in whatever situation they may face. Even when there are conflicts between main characters, such as the episode where John the waiter (Ashley Russell) and Steve the chef (Joe Duttine) are constantly at each others' throats, you like them both because they are basically good people but just different personalities. All the story lines are the classic "good" versus "bad", and very rarely do characters fit into that grey area in the middle. Even when guest characters fit into that grey area, they are always portrayed in the end as either on the side of good or bad. The other strength of the show is the food. Much like food themed movies like "Babette's Feast" or "Eat Drink Man Woman", there is an obvious love of food by the series creators. Yes, one really would like to sample Henry, Steve and Gary's (Nicholas Lamont) culinary creations, perhaps with the exception of the episode with the Stargazy Pie. And based on the series' concept, "good English cuisine" is not an oxymoron.Beyond some holes in the basic series' concept, the weakness of the show is that the characters are a little too extreme in their portrayal, especially that of Henry and Freddy. Henry is just a little too smart (he is right 99% of the time) and Freddy a little too callous. With the former, Cambridge (Bella Enahoro), Guthrie (Darren Litten) and Morton (Mary Woodvine) all come off as capable enough police officers, but dim wits compared to the ever knowing Henry. No fault of the any of the actors but rather of the writers.Overall, an entertaining but somewhat mindless and inoffensive series. A pure guilty pleasure.