Episode one got off to a dramatic, and in fact rather shocking start. A man withdrew £8000 from the bank and promptly went on to a roof top and apparently set fire to himself. Nevertheless, I'm now waiting for the first critic who describes Patience as 'cosy crime' - the cliche of first resort these days - and I bet it's only a question of time.
It takes a young woman, a civilian working in the criminal records department, to spot the similarities between this tragic case and others. She is Patience Evans (played by Ella Maisy Purvis) and she is on the autism spectrum. Neurodivergency in ace detectives is nothing new, of course, but Patience begins to form a promising investigative partnership with a cop called Bea Metcalf (Laura Fraser) and this relationship seems to have plenty of potential.
There are undeniably certain similarities between Patience and Ludwig, which is also (in the finest tradition of Inspector Morse) set in a magnificent and photogenic old city, Cambridge, but there are also plenty of differences, and on this early evidence there's certainly room for both series. There were one or two clunky lines in the script, but I enjoyed Patience and I'm looking forward to seeing how the story and the characters develop, and how effectively the wonderful background is used.
14 comments:
Channel 4 has shown three series of the French show, under the title 'Astrid: Murder in Paris' (available on their website under the 'Walter Presents' banner, and I think well worth watching). I haven't yet watched Patience, but I was impressed with the French stories, not only the crimes themselves, but the way they show the neurotypical Raphaelle's increasing awareness and acceptance of the difficulties that Astrid encounters due to her neurodivergence.
I will be interested to compare the two, especially with Patience being played by an actor with autism, whereas Astrid (as far as I can find out) is played by a neurotypical actress.
I've been a fan of the original Astrid series for a few years so was interested to see an English version appear, plus York is one of my favourite places. After these first two episodes I'm not yet convinced that it's as good as the original.
Thanks for both these comments. I will take a look at the original when I get a chance.
My husband and I just streamed all 6 episodes of Patience in 2 evenings. Absolutely loved it. Our grand daughter is 29 and autistic. This was beautifully represented and we applaud the cast and storyline. Can’t wait for the next season.
My husband will be able to follow the series without changing his reading glasses to follow the sub titles whilst I liked the challenge of interpreting the French from my less than perfect GCE French at O level. Bournemouth
Ah, I had wondered if it was based on the Astrid series. There seemed to be a lot of similarities in the set-up. Thanks for clearing that up, Martin!
John Baker's wonderful but sadly out-of-print crime novels featuring his accidental PI Sam Turner are well worth a read, too, and set in York.
Glad to hear the remaining episodes fulfil the promise of the first
Great comment! My O Level French is very, very far from perfect, to say the least!
I should have mentioned John. A great companion and a terrific writer. I was a big fan of Sam and wish he'd written more.
The new crime drama Patience is a triumph. It really brings out what autistic people go through in society and also shows what disabled people are capable of against all odds, that with work colleagues tidying them away, perants being over protective, information overload etc. I'm really looking forward to series 2
Who was the murderer in the first episode. I missed the end.
Loved this series, looking forward to a new series
At the scne of the crime writers death. Patience is seen wearing gloves then after the flashback she is gloveless and told to put a pair on. Bad or lazy continuity
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