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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 443062" data-attributes="member: 23">9.03-9.10 These final episodes have reinforced the feeling I had after previously watching the first two. The new format has lost some of the clear identity of the series up to the end of Series Eight. More to the point, it has an identity but it feels very different from what Bergerac has been up to this point. Really, Series Nine feels like a retooling of the series.If this had been the first year of a new drama, it would have worked really well as a format: ex-police officer sets up shop as a private investigator, quietly supported by some former colleagues, still on the force, who have greater loyalty towards him than they to their senior officer. His wacky ex-father-in-law regularly shows up to complicate things, and so does the PI’s French lover.It still works well here, but it does feel broader than previous years. The action shifts between Jersey, France and England with more frequency than before, with main characters invariably happening upon other main characters who coincidentally are in the same place (the limitations of this are somewhat exposed when two late (non-consecutive) Series Nine episodes have characters drawn to Salisbury, presumably making the most of some filming time there. Still, props to the series for not treating Central London as the centre of the British universe. I do find myself wondering how Ben and Willy seem to be able to hope all over the place doing Jim’s bidding while evidently doing well at their own jobs. And Crozier is missed. Deffand is watchable enough but, without any history tying him to the series, does feel more like a caricature of an authority figure, there to be mocked and not taken seriously while everyone else quietly gets the better of him.If not earth shattering, episodes have been perfectly watchable. I was a little surprised by how underwhelming the final episode was. As a regular episode it was decent enough, but as a series finale I hoped for more (the previous episode, with Bergerac protecting an assassin from said assassin’s own successor, would have made a more high stakes way to round things off, and - since they’re the only ones to remain from the beginning - it would have been somewhat appropriate for Jim and Charlie to be the only regulars featured). Series Seven and Eight both gave more closure at the end. Apparently the final episode is the last we'll see of Danielle, so that was equally underwhelming. I find myself wondering if the Christmas special was already planned at this point, which is why Series Nine's ending was so generic. Let’s hope so. I’ve had spoilers about a few things that happen in the special, but I have no idea of the actual ending. I’m hoping for goodness.</blockquote>

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