For today's video selection, Toobworld Central presents the official portrayal of Georges Simenon's classic detective, Inspector Jules Maigret. He has been described as an intuitive detective of infinite patience who preferred to observe and never act rashly; eventually one of his suspects would slip up under Maigret's scrutiny. In much the same way that Earle Stanley Gardner proclaimed Raymond Burr as the perfect embodiment of his character Perry Mason, Simenon was quite enthusiastic about the BBC's choice of Rupert Davies to be Maigret. The series began back in October of 1960 and lasted four seasons with a total of 51 episodes.
Maigret has been portrayed on television almost as often as Sherlock Holmes, perhaps in even more countries. As time goes on, Toobworld Central will examine the place of all the Maigrets in the grand scheme of Toobworld and its alternate TV dimensions.
But Davies remains the official televersion and today's offering is the final episode of the series. It has the feel of a finale - even though there is no indication that Maigret is officially stepping down (He's only taking a three week vacation.), the torch is passed to his former assistant Luca, who has been promoted to Inspector himself.
There is also a call-back to the previous episode which explains why Maigret is wearing a sling. (He had been shot by the murderer, Pepito Moreno. As seen in the newspaper article, Moreno had been played by Roger Delgado - better known to my friends as the first incarnation of the Master seen in Toobworld - the Doctor's arch-nemesis on 'Doctor Who'.) And Gaston, the owner of the cafe where Maigret spends his days, is played by Barry Letts, who went on to produce 'Doctor Who'.
Many of you may be unfamiliar with Rupert Davies' portrayal of Maigret. If my friends Mark and Michael are any indication, there will be still others who are unfamiliar with Inspector Jules Maigret. If so on either count, I hope you enjoy this presentation.....
PART ONE
PART TWO
PART THREE
PART FOUR
PART FIVE
PART SIX
BCnU!
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