Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Episode 1.3 “Rogue Wall Enthusiasts”
Created by Max Landis
Written by Max Landis
Directed by Michael Patrick Jann
Starring Samuel Barnett, Elijah Wood, Hannah Marks, Fiona Dourif, Jade Eshete, Mpho Koaho, Dustin Milligan, Miguel Sandoval, Neil Brown, Jr., Richard Schiff, Aaron Douglas, Alison Thornton
BBC America
Air date: Saturday, November 5, 2016

SPOILERS for Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency…

After the craziness that was Episode 1 of BBC America’s new series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency from writer/creator Max Landis, Episode 2 gave us some semblance of order — but not too much, though. Holistic detective Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) and his reluctant assistant Todd (Elijah Wood) are trying to solve the murder case of millionaire Patrick Spring, who hired Dirk six week’s prior to his death, and are doing so while being watched by the FBI, CIA, and missing persons detectives. The duo discovered that weirdo Gordon Rimmer (Aaron Douglas) has been holding Spring’s daughter Lydia captive, and is in with a group of strange, bald tattooed men who kidnapped Lydia’s bodyguard Farah (Jade Eshete). We don’t know how or why yet, but for some reason Gordon and his crew are doing some kind of human/animal swaps, where Gordon’s corgi Rapunzel actually has the spirit of Lydia in her. Meanwhile, Todd’s ill sister Amanda (Hannah Marks) is being stalked by a group of crazed energy-sucking vampires known as the Rowdy 3, while a holistic assassin named Bartine (Fiona Dourif), with her own reluctant assistant Ken Mpho Koaho) — a hacker hired to do a job for the bald men — is out to kill Dirk. By the end of Episode 2, Dirk and Todd rescue Farah, who it turns out knows Dirk, a fact that infuriates Todd.

Here’s a recap of what happened this week on Episode 1.3 “Rogue Wall Enthusiasts”…

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Episode 1.2 “Lost & Found”
Created by Max Landis
Written by Max Landis
Directed by Dean Parisot
Starring Samuel Barnett, Elijah Wood, Hannah Marks, Fiona Dourif, Jade Eshete, Mpho Koaho, Dustin Milligan, Miguel Sandoval, Neil Brown, Jr., Richard Schiff, Aaron Douglas, Alison Thornton
BBC America
Air date: Saturday, October 29, 2016

SPOILERS for Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency…

Last week’s series premiere of BBC America’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency television series, based on the Douglas Adams books, left a lot of people scratching their heads. There was a lot to digest, and after four-plus viewings, I feel like I finally figured out the “fundamental interconnectedness” of what was presented, even though I wasn’t always sure why these things were connected. I wrote a detailed recap of Episode 1.1, but briefly, here’s the situation…

Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) is a holistic detective who was hired by millionaire Patrick Spring to investigate his death six weeks before his murder; at the same time, the millionaire’s daughter, Lydia (Alison Thornton), has gone missing. To help with the case, Dirk enlisted Todd (Elijah Wood) to be his assistant, even though Todd doesn’t know him, nor does he want to. Todd is a downtrodden fellow who’s gone broke paying for medication for his ill sister Amanda (Hannah Marks). His life was relatively boring until the day he arrived to his bellhop job at the Perriman Grand Hotel to discover the body of Patrick Spring in the Penthouse suite. His manager then fired him for being the unlucky employee to find the body; a crazy group of psychic vampires called the Rowdy 3 trashed his apartment; his irate landlord tried to shot him, but accidentally killed himself; the police, FBI, and CIA all had eyes on him; he’s rescued a corgi and returned it to its owner Gordon (Aaron Douglas), who’s the one who’s holding Lydia; and unbeknownst to him, Lydia’s bodyguard Farah (Jade Eshete) is being held captive in the apartment above him, while several bald men with head tattoos are looking for a black kitten that was in the Penthouse suite. Also, unbeknownst to Dirk and Todd, there’s a self-described holistic assassin named Bartine (Fiona Dourif) out to kill Dirk, and she’s kidnapped an reluctant assistant of her own, a hacker named Ken (Mpho Koaho), who was doing a side job for the tattooed bald men. By the episode’s end, we saw that the LOTTO ticket that Todd found outside the Penthouse suite that morning has the $10,000 winning numbers.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Episode 1.1 “Horizons”
Created by Max Landis
Written by Max Landis
Directed by Dean Parisot
Starring Samuel Barnett, Elijah Wood, Hannah Marks, Fiona Dourif, Jade Eshete, Mpho Koaho, Dustin Milligan, Miguel Sandoval, Neil Brown, Jr., Richard Schiff
BBC America
Air date: Saturday, October 22, 2016

If you watched the series premiere of BBC America’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and you’re highly confused about what went on, you’re not alone. A lot of characters and scenarios were introduced during the first episode, titled “Horizons,” which brings writer Douglas Adams‘ title creation to American television audiences. Max Landis (Chronicle) created the television series and wrote all 8 episodes of this first season, which stars Samuel Barnett as Dirk Gently, a holistic detective who believes in the “fundamental interconnectedness of all things,” and Elijah Wood as his highly reluctant new sidekick Todd.

Here, Landis is not giving an adaptation of Adams’ Dirk Gently novels, but instead expands upon the universe created with Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, the former of which was birthed from two Doctor Who serials the author penned, hence why Dirk is very Doctor-like. The new TV series takes Dirk Gently from his native Britain and transplants him to America’s rainy equivalent, Seattle, Washington. (The series was actually shot nearby at our neighbors to the north, Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada.)

Repeaters
Netflix Streaming
DVD
Directed by Carl Bessai
Starring Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk, Alexia Fast, Gabrielle Rose
Rampart Films
Originally Released: September 13, 2010

Repeaters is an interesting indie Canadian film dealing with the subject of a time loop, delving into a science fiction realm that touches on a multitude of elements that pivot upon individual choices. Directed by Carl Bessai, the movie is entertaining, with some notable performances (particularly from Alexia Fast) – but the film suffers from the inevitable comparisons to Groundhog Day.

Essentially, the plot of Repeaters focuses on three individuals: Kyle Halsted (Dustin Milligan), Sonia Logan (Amanda Crew), and Michael Weeks (Richard de Klerk). All are recovering drug addicts, remanded into custody in a rehab clinic somewhere in Canada. As they make slow progress, the young former addicts are allowed day passes – but something undefined causes the three of them to live the same day over and over again.