I see that quite a few reviews on here have hailed Rowan Atkinson as Maigret, playing an unusual straight role. He hasn't done many of these shows, suggesting that he's not that fond of them, or the producers have noticed that they wren't that well received overall??
As most have noted, the locations are usually done in Hungary, which doubles pretty well for the Paris from Simenon's era (the Michael Gambon series in the 90s also featured Hungarian locations, also much of the cast and crew).
This doesn't detract from the enjoyment from the viewer, what DOES cause some concern is that Atkinson just isn't right in the lead role, he doesn't look like the Maigret from the books, and he is also so quiet and thoughtful that he could have played a wooden totem pole too. The Maigret in the books, and earlier versions played by Rupert Davies, and Gambon, liked a little joke now and again, but apparently Atkinson thinks playing straight means playing grim?
These shows are also FAR TOO LONG. They're almost 2 hours, which means there is no pace, and what seems to be large chunks of padding. Another issue is that almost all scenes are very dark, perhaps the money spent on using more film was saved on light bulbs?
These shows aren't terrible, but the folk praising Atkinson should see the versions done by Davies (albeit in low-budget 60s B&W with some shaky scenery!) and by Gambon (90s, bigger budget, and some classy supporting cast) - both are much better.
As most have noted, the locations are usually done in Hungary, which doubles pretty well for the Paris from Simenon's era (the Michael Gambon series in the 90s also featured Hungarian locations, also much of the cast and crew).
This doesn't detract from the enjoyment from the viewer, what DOES cause some concern is that Atkinson just isn't right in the lead role, he doesn't look like the Maigret from the books, and he is also so quiet and thoughtful that he could have played a wooden totem pole too. The Maigret in the books, and earlier versions played by Rupert Davies, and Gambon, liked a little joke now and again, but apparently Atkinson thinks playing straight means playing grim?
These shows are also FAR TOO LONG. They're almost 2 hours, which means there is no pace, and what seems to be large chunks of padding. Another issue is that almost all scenes are very dark, perhaps the money spent on using more film was saved on light bulbs?
These shows aren't terrible, but the folk praising Atkinson should see the versions done by Davies (albeit in low-budget 60s B&W with some shaky scenery!) and by Gambon (90s, bigger budget, and some classy supporting cast) - both are much better.