BERGERAC (TV SERIES)

'''Bergerac''' was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in the fictional ''Bureau des Etrangers'' (Department of Non-Residents), part of the States of Jersey Police.

Contents

Background

Lead character

Other characters

Location

Fantasy elements

DVD release

See also

External links

Background

The series ran from 1981 to 1991 and was created by producer Robert Banks Stewart, after another of his popular detective series ''Shoestring,'' starring Trevor Eve, came to an abrupt end. The BBC wanted a series to replace the popular ''Shoestring'' and ''Bergerac'' was thus created. The blend of holiday locations, the island's tax exile millionaire populace and, of course, some unsavoury criminals proved a massive hit with viewers.
As well as the fantasy elements which were incorporated into the series, a number of episodes ended with unpleasant twists, as in ''Offshore Trades'' and ''A Hole In The Bucket''. The show also dealt with sometimes controversial topics - for example, in one, an old man is unmasked as a Nazi war criminal, and his age raises various moral dilemmas.
A rather implausible element of the series is that Bergerac and his colleagues, who work in a department dedicated to dealing with non-residents, often get involved in cases where there is nothing to suggest that non-residents are involved, only discovering this later.
The evocative theme tune, composed by George Fenton, featured a reggae and accordion refrain.
The show is still regularly repeated on channels such as UKTV Gold, UKTV Drama, BBC One and RTE.

Lead character

Jim Bergerac was a complex character and presented by the series as a somewhat unorthodox cop. He was recovering from alcoholism, partly resulting from an an unpleasant divorce. A Jersey native, he returned to the island at the start of the series after recuperating in England from ill-health (dipsomania and major surgery on his leg following an accident). He was deemed unfit for the force as a result of this accident, but helped his old colleagues out in the recently formed "Bureau des étrangers" and was posted to that unit. The accident is shown in episode two as a flashback: Bergerac was swigging brandy during a surveillance when he noticed his suspect and gave chase. Under the influence of his drinking, he attempted to prevent the man's escape by leaping onto his boat and got his leg crushed against the harbour wall as he slipped back.
Bergerac's relationships with women were often dealt with - often as a subplot to the main crime investigation. Bergerac's girlfriends included Francine Leland (Cécile Paoli) (who, in a somewhat odd twist, had originally been the fiancée of a dead colleague), Marianne Bellshade (Celia Imrie), Susan Young (Louise Jameson) and Danielle Aubry (Therese Liotard). Through Charlie he had several encounters with ex-wife Deborah (Deborah Grant) who had custody of their daughter Kim (Lindsay Heath).
He also had an ongoing flirtatious relationship with glamorous jewel thief Philippa Vale (Liza Goddard) who went by the nickname of the Ice Maiden. Many people agree that the best episodes were the ones featuring the Ice Maiden character, because of the onscreen chemistry between Liza Goddard and John Nettles. Philippa Vale appeared in an almost once-a-series basis and a Christmas Special. When Bergerac was not pursuing her, they engaged in friendly bantering.
Bergerac often displayed "insubordination" when in the Jersey police force. Due to personal differences, and increasing "independence", he becomes a private detective by the end of the series, especially following the murder of girlfriend Susan Young.
In keeping with his maverick and adventurous style, Bergerac drove a burgundy 1947 Triumph Roadster (a forerunner of the Triumph's TR series of sports cars) which, with its long bonnet, was a vehicle totally unsuited to the narrow and winding Jersey roads with their speed limits as low as twenty five miles per hour. Two different cars were used throughout the series. The first was notoriously unreliable and John Nettles generally had to endure the fact that it would not always stop when it was supposed to. The car's engine was also horribly noisy and a separate soundtrack was utilised to enhance the supposed coolness of the vehicle. Fortunately the replacement was much more mechanically sound.

Other characters

Few of the characters were repeated throughout the entire series, but a number appeared in many episodes.
One of the most notable characters is Charlie Hungerford (played by Terence Alexander, well-known as having played Monty in the BBC adaptation of ''The Forsyte Saga''), who also happens to be Jim Bergerac's former father-in-law. Charlie is a "lovable rogue" and would-be tycoon, who is often involved in shady dealings, but is paradoxically something of an innocent. Bergerac usually had a good relationship with him (although in the first episode ''Picking It Up'' they are not on the best of terms) and in one of the more unbelievable aspects of the series, Charlie was somehow involved in all but one of the 91 cases Bergerac was involved in, Charlie being a good source of gossip when Bergerac had to deal with tax-exiles and people in high places.
Other regular characters in the series included Deborah (Deborah Grant) , Bergerac's ex-wife, and his boss, Chief Inspector Barney Crozier (Sean Arnold). Bergerac also had several sidekicks, who were generally detective constables. Hardly any crime could have be solved without the help of Crozier's redoubtable secretaries Charlotte (Annette Badland) and Peggy (Nancy Mansfield). Many of today's best known stars can be seen in various episodes of the series.

Location

The series played heavily on its Jersey location, and its supposed 'Frenchness' even in its theme tune. The early storylines were usually in and around Jersey, with short scenes shot in England and France. In later episodes however, the action strayed further and further away from Jersey, and was increasingly based in France — introduced in part through a French girlfriend.
As Jersey is a small island (9 miles long by 5 miles wide and covering an area of 45 square miles and nowhere lies more than 2½ miles from the sea), most of the filming locations there can be tracked down with ease. The "Bureau des Etrangers" was located at the property known as 'Haut de la Garenne' on the hill overlooking Mont Orgueil Castle and the Royal Bay of Grouville. It is now Jersey's first and only Youth Hostel, run by the YHA. The original Bureau was located in St Helier's Royal Square, but due to the popularity of the programme filming was often difficult after the first season as the pretence of filming a documentary series (a rather boring subject to watch) was spoilt by public recognition of Jim's Triumph. Jim Bergerac and Susan Young's flat was located just above St Aubin, a few doors along from the Somerville Hotel. Although, part of the interior was actually within another flat at Gorey, six miles away. However, Jim's original home in series one was submerged when the States of Jersey flooded the valley to create the Queen's Valley reservoir in 1983.
As is standard practice in all location shot film and television drama, the locations portrayed are not intended to create an accurate travelogue of the actual island. In the fictional story on screen locations from different island locales were frequently edited together into the same sequence. John Nettles, in his book ''Bergerac's Jersey'', states that the locals were always amused by such editing. This could be accomplished by the fact that Jersey has approximately 350 miles of roads.

Fantasy elements

The 4th season episode ''What Dreams May Come?'' was the start of an annual tradition of episodes with stories that bordered on the fantasy, with supernatural elements and a surreal atmosphere. Later episodes with fantasy elements included the bizarre poisoning of freemasons, the very strange ''A Man of Sorrows'', the densely plotted ''The Other Woman'', ''The Dig'' involving an apparent Viking's curse (apparently inspired by Hammer Horror movies), and ''Warriors'' about a group who believed in the existence of Atlantis.

DVD release

''Bergerac'' is being made available on DVD (Region 2, UK) by 2 Entertain/Cinema Club. The first series was released on 8th May 2006, including audio commentaries on three episodes. The second series was released on the 13th July 2006 and the third series was released on the 23rd October 2006. For contractual reasons, the episodes released on DVD are slightly edited.

See also

★ List of Bergerac episodes

★ The Detectives

★ ''Will Smith Presents the Tao of Bergerac'', a radio comedy series based on an obsessive fan of ''Bergerac''

External links

★ Action TV

★ Jim Bergerac continues to exist in character at http://www.bergerac-lives.co.uk

★ Bergerac on the BBC

★ Bergerac - UK TV Schedules and Episode Guide