Cribb
1980 - United KingdomBritish television's long standing love affair with period crime fighting added another memorable success to its illustrious stable of Victorian sleuths with Sergeant Cribb.
Very similar in style to ATV's 1963 Sergeant Cork series, Cribb debuted in August 1979 as a 90-minute Screenplay from Granada Television titled Waxwork. Adapted from Peter Lovesey's 1978 novel and set in Victorian London around the time of the Jack the Ripper murders, Alan Dobbie (Diamond Crack Diamond) starred as a the tough and determined Detective Sergeant who worked for the newly formed Criminal Investigation Department, designed to clean up the streets of London using the latest detection methods.
The story begins with Miriam Cromer (Carol Royle – Life Without George), who confesses to a murder and is sentenced to death. Just as the execution is set to proceed, a photograph arrives at the Home Office casting doubt on her confession, prompting an urgent investigation. Sergeant Cribb is assigned to the case, and his inquiries uncover a complex web of relationships and suspicions surrounding a tragic event at Park Lodge, Kew Green, in 1888.
Waxwork was produced by June Wyndham Davies (The Hound of the Baskervilles / The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes) who discovered Lovesey’s novel whilst reading a Time magazine review, and was so impressed by the story, she persuaded producer Peter Eckersley to bring it to television. After the success of the one-off episode, a full series was commissioned in 1980.
The series admirably caught the flavour of the era in its depiction of Victorian life and included many historical events such as the publication of Jerome K. Jerome's 'Three Men in a Boat' and the sale of London Zoo's most famous elephant, Jumbo, to Barnum and Bailey's Circus. The imaginative plots revolved around such diverse subjects as bare-knuckle prize fighting, spiritualism and Irish terrorism and were set against a backdrop of the Victorians at work and play. Aiding and abetting Cribb was his trusty stout assistant Detective Constable Thackery (William Simons - Heartbeat) -whilst his direct superior Inspector Jowett (David Waller – Edward and Mrs Simpson), far from impressed with Cribb's new crime solving techniques, would often turn up to frustrate him.
Intelligent writing, superb production values and an especially intelligent performance by the talented and ever reliable Alan Dobie, ensured that Sgt Cribb became a more than worthwhile addition to the televisual ranks of Victorian detectives who were in many ways direct rivals of the incomparable Sherlock Holmes.
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Published on January 16th, 2025. Written by Marc Saul for Television Heaven.
