5.3 The Curse Of The Bronze Lamp Despite a more positive start to the episode, The Curse Of The Bronze Lamp still lacked pace and excitement. It has often been the case with previous series of Jonathan Creek that the ‘middle episodes’ tend to veer away from more grisly setups to focus on something more light-hearted and intricate. Fans of earlier series may remember episodes such as The Scented Room and The Omega Man which certainly were in this vein. The Curse of the Bronze Lamp however, the final episode in this new series, felt altogether different from the previous two with a far meatier and more sinister central mystery. The wife of a noted cabinet minister is abducted from her home and locked up in a remote location. Items of her jewellery then start to appear in random and unconnected locations despite video evidence proving she is still well and truly under lock and key. From the outset, this episode felt far pacier and the fantastic supporting cast of Josie Lawrence, June Whitfield (twice!) and John Bird, helped significantly to elevate the calibre of performances and keep the tension mounted throughout. The three episodes in the this series have all benefited from the shaved run-time of sixty minutes which stops the viewer feeling like there is a midway slump which has often been the down fall of some of the one-off ninety minute specials. The comedic performances provided by Lawrence and Whitfield also create a sense of levity which feels much more in keeping with the Jonathan Creek style of former years. Similarly I felt the writing from David Renwick was more sophisticated with just the right amount of comedy which made me feel at ease and the twists and turns within the plot were reminiscent of some of the ‘glory episodes’ from series one to three. Read Rachel’s review of The Letters Of Septimus Noone, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
