Cribb | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Genre | Mystery Period drama |
Based on | The Sergeant Cribb novels by Peter Lovesey |
Starring |
Alan Dobie William Simons David Waller |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 14 |
Production | |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 23 December 1979 10 May 1981 | –
Cribb (Sergeant Cribb in North America) is a television police drama, which debuted in 1979 as a 90-minute TV film from Granada Television in the United Kingdom. Later, thirteen 50-minute episodes were produced, which ran from 1980 to 1981. [1]
Adapted from Peter Lovesey's Sergeant Cribb historical mystery novels and set in Victorian London around the time of the Jack the Ripper murders in 1888, Alan Dobie starred as the tough Detective Sergeant who worked for the newly formed Criminal Investigation Department (CID), determined to remove crime from the streets of London using the latest detection methods. [2]
The series portrayed life in Victorian England, and the programmes included many real historical events such as the publication of Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat and the sale of London Zoo's famous elephant, Jumbo, to Barnum and Bailey's Circus. [3] The stories included issues such as bare-knuckle prize fighting, spiritualism and Irish terrorism. Assisting Cribb was Detective Constable Thackery, played by William Simons. [4]
The 1979 pilot episode was entitled "Waxwork" and featured Carol Royle and Susie Blake and was produced and directed by June Wyndham-Davies. [5]
Episode # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Waxwork" | June Wyndham-Davies |
Peter Lovesey Pauline Macaulay | 23 December 1979 | |
Pilot episode. Detective Sergeant Cribb is called in to investigate the case of a woman sentenced to hang for murder. Features
Carol Royle,
David Ashford,
Gerald Sim,
Laurence Payne,
Bernard Archard and
Roy Evans. | |||||
2 | "Swing Swing Together" | June Wyndham-Davies | Peter Lovesey Brian Thompson | 13 April 1980 | |
After a young woman discovers a body floating in the
River Thames, Cribb and Thackeray search for the killers—noting the similarities of the case to the recently published book
Three Men in a Boat. Features
Ronald Lacey,
Heather James,
Albert Welling,
Jane How,
Sheila Keith,
Robert Fyfe,
Peter Birrel and
Michael Ripper.
[6] | |||||
3 | "Abracadaver" | Julian Amyes | Peter Lovesey Bill MacIlwraith | 20 April 1980 | |
After a series of accidents to performers, Cribb and Thackeray enter the
music hall scene where they uncover the existence of late-night secret performances for wealthy spectators. Features
Patsy Rowlands,
Julia Chambers,
Chubby Oates,
Ian Collier and
Jerold Wells. | |||||
4 | "The Detective Wore Silk Drawers" | Alan Grint | Peter Lovesey | 27 April 1980 | |
Rumours reach Cribb of a series of illegal
prize fighting bouts taking place. Features Barry Andrews,
Norma West,
David Hargreaves,
Mark Eden,
Jimmy Gardner,
Alf Joint, and
Derek Ware. | |||||
5 | "The Horizontal Witness" | Alan Grint | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 4 May 1980 | |
Cribb sends Thackeray undercover into hospital to protect a vital witness. Features
John Ringham,
Norman Jones, Jennifer Guy,
Linda Robson,
June Page,
John Cannon and
Steve Fletcher. | |||||
6 | " Wobble to Death" | Gordon Flemyng | Peter Lovesey Alan Plater | 11 May 1980 | |
The Pedestrian Championship of the World is taking place in London, and Cribb and Thackeray are on hand to prevent foul play between the various competitors. Features
Andrew Burt,
Archie Tew,
Michael Elphick,
Kenneth Cranham,
Jeremy Young and
Paul Barber. | |||||
7 | "Something Old, Something New" | Oliver Horsbrugh | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 18 May 1980 | |
When Cribb accompanies Thackeray to the countryside for the wedding of an old friend of his father to a much younger woman, he soon begins to suspect that the intentions of the bride and her family are not entirely honourable. Features
Charlotte Mitchell,
Geoffrey Bayldon,
Sally Osborne,
Ivor Salter,
Arthur Hewlett and
George Waring. | |||||
8 | "A Case of Spirits" | Bill Gilmour | Peter Lovesey Arden Winch | 25 May 1980 | |
A leading
spiritualist is killed at the home of his patron. Features
Clive Swift,
Judy Cornwell,
Thorley Walters and
Michael Barrington. |
Episode # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | "Mad Hatter's Holiday" | June Wyndham-Davies | Peter Lovesey Bill MacIlwraith | 29 March 1981 | |
After a severed hand is discovered, Cribb travels down to the
seaside town of
Brighton. His first task is to discover the identity of the victim with the assistance of an eccentric holiday-maker with a tale of a missing woman. Features
Derek Fowlds,
Fenella Fielding,
Conrad Phillips and
George Lee. | |||||
10 | "The Last Trumpet" | Brian Mills | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 5 April 1981 | |
A popular campaign is being waged to prevent the sale of
Jumbo,
London Zoo's most popular attraction to America. When the elderly animal-lover organising the protests is murdered Cribb considers the various motives people had for killing her. Features
Joyce Carey,
Geoffrey Keen,
Barry Jackson,
Mary Larkin,
Garrick Hagon and
Tony Steedman. | |||||
11 | "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" | George Spenton-Foster | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 12 April 1981 | |
Inspector Jowett is very excited by the upcoming
Golden Jubilee celebrations and is jealous when Cribb is selected by the Royal Household for a special mission—to investigate the background of the new
nanny being selected for the Queen's Granddaughter. Features
Rosalie Crutchley,
Scott Fredericks,
Sarah Neville,
Aubrey Woods and
Jane Sherwin. | |||||
12 | "The Choir That Wouldn't Sing" | Mary McMurray | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 19 April 1981 | |
Cribb and Thackeray investigate the apparent suicide of a retired
colonel, a member of a village choir. The detectives soon deduce that the Colonel's death was murder but their questions meet with a wall of silence from the local community. Features
Elizabeth Spriggs,
Barry McGinn,
Ben Aris,
Gilbert Wynne,
David Jackson and
Enn Reitel. | |||||
13 | "Murder Old Boy?" | George Spenton-Foster | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 3 May 1981 | |
Inspector Jowett returns to his old school for a small reunion. His suspicions are raised by an appeal for funds by a fellow former student, who is subsequently murdered. Features
John Carson,
Terence Edmond,
Petra Davies,
Eric Dodson and
John Bryans. | |||||
14 | "Invitation to a Dynamite Party" | Alan Grint | Peter Lovesey Arden Winch | 10 May 1981 | |
Cribb goes undercover to infiltrate the membership of the
Irish Republican Brotherhood who are planning a major bombing. Features
Jeananne Crowley and
Charles Keating. |
Cribb is available on Region 2 DVD as a box set, distributed by Acorn Media UK. The series has been released in Region 1 by BFS Video.
Six of the stories from Series 1 have also been dramatized for radio [7] by Geoffrey M Matthews as part of the BBC Saturday Night Theatre strand. [8] [9]
Episode # | Title | Producer/Director | Original airdate | |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 | "Abracadaver" | David H. Godfrey | 3 March 1973 | |
6 | "Wobble to Death" | Harry Catlin | 6 December 1975 | |
Starring
Timothy Bateson, William Eedle,
Sydney Tafler,
Trader Faulkner,
Steve Hodson,
Denis McCarthy and
Rio Fanning. | ||||
4 | "The Detective Wore Silk Drawers" | Graham Gauld | 14 May 1977 | |
Starring John Rye,
John Hollis,
Steve Hodson,
Carole Boyd, William Eedle,
Michael Goldie and
Nicolette McKenzie. | ||||
8 | "A Case of Spirits" | Unknown | 31 August 1985 | |
2 | "Swing Swing Together" | Vanessa Whitburn | 4 July 1987 | |
Starring
Barry Foster,
John Cater, Moir Leslie, Brian Hewlett, Roger Hume,
Gordon Reid and
Terry Molloy. | ||||
1 | "Waxwork" | Vanessa Whitburn | 3 October 1987 | |
Starring
Brian Cox,
John Cater, Sarah Berger, Roger Hume,
Don Henderson,
Gordon Reid and
Edwin Richfield. |
Cribb | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Genre | Mystery Period drama |
Based on | The Sergeant Cribb novels by Peter Lovesey |
Starring |
Alan Dobie William Simons David Waller |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 14 |
Production | |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 23 December 1979 10 May 1981 | –
Cribb (Sergeant Cribb in North America) is a television police drama, which debuted in 1979 as a 90-minute TV film from Granada Television in the United Kingdom. Later, thirteen 50-minute episodes were produced, which ran from 1980 to 1981. [1]
Adapted from Peter Lovesey's Sergeant Cribb historical mystery novels and set in Victorian London around the time of the Jack the Ripper murders in 1888, Alan Dobie starred as the tough Detective Sergeant who worked for the newly formed Criminal Investigation Department (CID), determined to remove crime from the streets of London using the latest detection methods. [2]
The series portrayed life in Victorian England, and the programmes included many real historical events such as the publication of Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat and the sale of London Zoo's famous elephant, Jumbo, to Barnum and Bailey's Circus. [3] The stories included issues such as bare-knuckle prize fighting, spiritualism and Irish terrorism. Assisting Cribb was Detective Constable Thackery, played by William Simons. [4]
The 1979 pilot episode was entitled "Waxwork" and featured Carol Royle and Susie Blake and was produced and directed by June Wyndham-Davies. [5]
Episode # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Waxwork" | June Wyndham-Davies |
Peter Lovesey Pauline Macaulay | 23 December 1979 | |
Pilot episode. Detective Sergeant Cribb is called in to investigate the case of a woman sentenced to hang for murder. Features
Carol Royle,
David Ashford,
Gerald Sim,
Laurence Payne,
Bernard Archard and
Roy Evans. | |||||
2 | "Swing Swing Together" | June Wyndham-Davies | Peter Lovesey Brian Thompson | 13 April 1980 | |
After a young woman discovers a body floating in the
River Thames, Cribb and Thackeray search for the killers—noting the similarities of the case to the recently published book
Three Men in a Boat. Features
Ronald Lacey,
Heather James,
Albert Welling,
Jane How,
Sheila Keith,
Robert Fyfe,
Peter Birrel and
Michael Ripper.
[6] | |||||
3 | "Abracadaver" | Julian Amyes | Peter Lovesey Bill MacIlwraith | 20 April 1980 | |
After a series of accidents to performers, Cribb and Thackeray enter the
music hall scene where they uncover the existence of late-night secret performances for wealthy spectators. Features
Patsy Rowlands,
Julia Chambers,
Chubby Oates,
Ian Collier and
Jerold Wells. | |||||
4 | "The Detective Wore Silk Drawers" | Alan Grint | Peter Lovesey | 27 April 1980 | |
Rumours reach Cribb of a series of illegal
prize fighting bouts taking place. Features Barry Andrews,
Norma West,
David Hargreaves,
Mark Eden,
Jimmy Gardner,
Alf Joint, and
Derek Ware. | |||||
5 | "The Horizontal Witness" | Alan Grint | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 4 May 1980 | |
Cribb sends Thackeray undercover into hospital to protect a vital witness. Features
John Ringham,
Norman Jones, Jennifer Guy,
Linda Robson,
June Page,
John Cannon and
Steve Fletcher. | |||||
6 | " Wobble to Death" | Gordon Flemyng | Peter Lovesey Alan Plater | 11 May 1980 | |
The Pedestrian Championship of the World is taking place in London, and Cribb and Thackeray are on hand to prevent foul play between the various competitors. Features
Andrew Burt,
Archie Tew,
Michael Elphick,
Kenneth Cranham,
Jeremy Young and
Paul Barber. | |||||
7 | "Something Old, Something New" | Oliver Horsbrugh | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 18 May 1980 | |
When Cribb accompanies Thackeray to the countryside for the wedding of an old friend of his father to a much younger woman, he soon begins to suspect that the intentions of the bride and her family are not entirely honourable. Features
Charlotte Mitchell,
Geoffrey Bayldon,
Sally Osborne,
Ivor Salter,
Arthur Hewlett and
George Waring. | |||||
8 | "A Case of Spirits" | Bill Gilmour | Peter Lovesey Arden Winch | 25 May 1980 | |
A leading
spiritualist is killed at the home of his patron. Features
Clive Swift,
Judy Cornwell,
Thorley Walters and
Michael Barrington. |
Episode # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | "Mad Hatter's Holiday" | June Wyndham-Davies | Peter Lovesey Bill MacIlwraith | 29 March 1981 | |
After a severed hand is discovered, Cribb travels down to the
seaside town of
Brighton. His first task is to discover the identity of the victim with the assistance of an eccentric holiday-maker with a tale of a missing woman. Features
Derek Fowlds,
Fenella Fielding,
Conrad Phillips and
George Lee. | |||||
10 | "The Last Trumpet" | Brian Mills | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 5 April 1981 | |
A popular campaign is being waged to prevent the sale of
Jumbo,
London Zoo's most popular attraction to America. When the elderly animal-lover organising the protests is murdered Cribb considers the various motives people had for killing her. Features
Joyce Carey,
Geoffrey Keen,
Barry Jackson,
Mary Larkin,
Garrick Hagon and
Tony Steedman. | |||||
11 | "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" | George Spenton-Foster | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 12 April 1981 | |
Inspector Jowett is very excited by the upcoming
Golden Jubilee celebrations and is jealous when Cribb is selected by the Royal Household for a special mission—to investigate the background of the new
nanny being selected for the Queen's Granddaughter. Features
Rosalie Crutchley,
Scott Fredericks,
Sarah Neville,
Aubrey Woods and
Jane Sherwin. | |||||
12 | "The Choir That Wouldn't Sing" | Mary McMurray | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 19 April 1981 | |
Cribb and Thackeray investigate the apparent suicide of a retired
colonel, a member of a village choir. The detectives soon deduce that the Colonel's death was murder but their questions meet with a wall of silence from the local community. Features
Elizabeth Spriggs,
Barry McGinn,
Ben Aris,
Gilbert Wynne,
David Jackson and
Enn Reitel. | |||||
13 | "Murder Old Boy?" | George Spenton-Foster | Peter Lovesey Jacqueline Lovesey | 3 May 1981 | |
Inspector Jowett returns to his old school for a small reunion. His suspicions are raised by an appeal for funds by a fellow former student, who is subsequently murdered. Features
John Carson,
Terence Edmond,
Petra Davies,
Eric Dodson and
John Bryans. | |||||
14 | "Invitation to a Dynamite Party" | Alan Grint | Peter Lovesey Arden Winch | 10 May 1981 | |
Cribb goes undercover to infiltrate the membership of the
Irish Republican Brotherhood who are planning a major bombing. Features
Jeananne Crowley and
Charles Keating. |
Cribb is available on Region 2 DVD as a box set, distributed by Acorn Media UK. The series has been released in Region 1 by BFS Video.
Six of the stories from Series 1 have also been dramatized for radio [7] by Geoffrey M Matthews as part of the BBC Saturday Night Theatre strand. [8] [9]
Episode # | Title | Producer/Director | Original airdate | |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 | "Abracadaver" | David H. Godfrey | 3 March 1973 | |
6 | "Wobble to Death" | Harry Catlin | 6 December 1975 | |
Starring
Timothy Bateson, William Eedle,
Sydney Tafler,
Trader Faulkner,
Steve Hodson,
Denis McCarthy and
Rio Fanning. | ||||
4 | "The Detective Wore Silk Drawers" | Graham Gauld | 14 May 1977 | |
Starring John Rye,
John Hollis,
Steve Hodson,
Carole Boyd, William Eedle,
Michael Goldie and
Nicolette McKenzie. | ||||
8 | "A Case of Spirits" | Unknown | 31 August 1985 | |
2 | "Swing Swing Together" | Vanessa Whitburn | 4 July 1987 | |
Starring
Barry Foster,
John Cater, Moir Leslie, Brian Hewlett, Roger Hume,
Gordon Reid and
Terry Molloy. | ||||
1 | "Waxwork" | Vanessa Whitburn | 3 October 1987 | |
Starring
Brian Cox,
John Cater, Sarah Berger, Roger Hume,
Don Henderson,
Gordon Reid and
Edwin Richfield. |