Douglas Adams' holistic detective Dirk Gently returns for the first of three new episodes Monday night on BBC Four, but exactly how do they fundamentally interconnect with one another?
Since the original TV pilot aired in December 16, 2010, fans of Adams' Dirk Gently novels have been wondering if there would be any additional episodes made. Critical reception was generally positive, attracting 1.1 million viewers for over three times the normal time slot average, so it seemed natural enough to develop the TV adaptation further.
In Episode 1 of this new three-part series, Dirk discovers the connection between two unrelated cases -- a client who believes the Pentagon are trying to kill him and another who’s horoscopes appear to be coming true. In Episode 2, Dirk is called back to his old university to protect a valuable robot but within 24 hours it has been stolen and a dead body discovered, with Dirk and Macduff the prime suspect. In Episode 3, they are alarmed to discover that Dirk’s old clients are being randomly murdered with Dirk as the only link. Rather than talk to the police, Dirk elects to leave the country but is waylaid by a series of seemingly unconnected events.
Stephen Mangan returns as Dirk, with Darren Boyd as his sidekick business partner Richard Macduff. Other characters from the pilot will return as well, with Helen Baxendale as Macduff’s girlfriend Susan in Episode 2, Jason Watkins as Detective Inspector Gilks in Episodes 1 and 3, and Lisa Jackson returning as the unpaid, unloved and quite deeply disturbed receptionist Janice Pearce during scenes throughout the series.