047 Chandler & Co. (1994)
So many TV private detectives want nothing to do with divorce work, but that’s pretty much the bread and butter of the Chandler & Co. firm, a firm an ungenerous person might conclude was founded solely to give Elly a desperately plausible excuse to continue seeing Larry Blakeson – former PI and current security equipment specialist – and his unshaven face as often as possible. She can pretend the only thing she really lusts after is his crossbow (not a euphemism) and not at all in any way anything having to do with his curls (divine) or his attitude (sarcastic) or his jumper-clad body (clad in a jumper). Except, I shouldn’t say ungenerous person, because who can blame her? In her position, I’m pretty sure I’d do the same thing.
Just a word of warning: there are two worst things about Chandler & Co. One, the writing, is is fairly wobbly throughout, although I do think it gets better as the six episodes progress, with episode 5 being the high point. For me, the Larry visuals makes even the most iffy writing easier to bear because, let’s face it, I’m very easily pleased, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have been happier with stronger writing from beginning to end. In the first couple of episodes in particular, Larry’s dialogue lends itself to a slight case of Robert McCrae Chain-style Batman robot delivery which is like, oh, God, Peter, no! but after that, it improves immensely.
Two, the cliffhanger episode six ends on, that leaves Larry and Elly’s story unresolved in just about the most annoying way possible. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if Peter had done the second series, but he didn’t and so it wasn’t, except for a recorded phone message in series 2 that I don’t really count as a resolution because 1)I want more on screen Larry, dammit! and 2) I stupidly didn’t get the second series when I had a chance to, so I haven’t actually heard what he said. (Which isn’t the fault of the series, but still.)
