The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series)

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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

(from left to right) Anika Noni Rose as Mma Makutsi, Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe, and Lucian Msamati as Mr. JLB Matekoni
Genre Drama
Created by Alexander McCall Smith
Starring Jill Scott
Anika Noni Rose
Lucian Msamati
Country of origin Botswana
No. of episodes 14
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Anthony Minghella
Richard Curtis
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel BBC One (UK)
HBO (USA)
Original airing 23 March 2008 (UK)
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a television drama series, co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and based on the novels of the same name by Alexander McCall Smith.[1] The novels focus on the story of a detective agency opened by Mma Ramotswe and her courtship with the mechanic Mr. JLB Matekoni. The series is filmed on location in Botswana and is the first major film or television production to be undertaken in the country.[2] Executive producer Anthony Minghella directed the pilot episode and co-wrote the adaptation with fellow executive producer Richard Curtis.[3] The series premiered on 23 March 2008, Easter Sunday, on Britain's most popular TV channel, BBC One, receiving a high 6.3 million viewers and 27% of the audience share.[4]

Contents

[edit] Production

[edit] Origins

The production was initially envisaged as a film rather than a television adaptation. British director Anthony Minghella was a known fan of the books and after optioning the film rights he worked with the publishers to write a blurb for the paperback edition.[3] Minghella was committed to directing the project himself but it was several years before his schedule allowed pre-production to commence.[3][2] Producer Amy J. Moore was a catalyst in the decision for an on location production in Botswana.[2] Minghella, having filmed The English Patient in Africa, was concerned with the realities of importing equipment and housing the cast and crew for the production.[2] Moore had travelled extensively in Africa including Botswana and had worked on promoting South African film and bringing African produced plays to an Off Broadway setting.[2] A friend approached her with the novel in 2000 and she greatly enjoyed it.[2] Once attached to the project she convinced Minghella to visit the country with her in 2004 and took him camping in the Makgadikgadi Pans.[2] The promise of funding from the country's government convinced Minghella to shoot on location.[2] Minghella also approached The Weinstein Company for funding and Harvey Weinstein has commented that he thought it was important to fund the production because it would be impossible to sell to a network or studio solely as a concept.[5]

Production began on 2 July 2007.[6] At this stage the producers were Sydney Pollack and Minghella of Mirage Productions and Weinstein.[6] Weinstein has commented on the project saying that "like all fans of Alexander McCall Smith's magisterial books, I became enchanted with the wonders and charms of Botswana."[6] Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella helmed the pilot episode and co-wrote the teleplay with Oscar nominated writer Richard Curtis.[6][1] Although McCall Smith declined to write the adaptation, he remained involved as an adviser and visited the set during production.[3] While filming the pilot episode Minghella publicly expressed concerns about how the film might be received in cinemas because the story is far removed from crime genre conventions and has little action.[2] Minghella raised the possibility of it appearing on television instead.[2] and he decided to offer the film as a feature length pilot.[2]

Once the pilot was completed HBO and the BBC ordered a further 13 one hour episodes of the series.[1][7] Filming of the episodes is expected to begin in northern hemisphere summer 2008.[1] The collaboration marks the Weinstein Company's first foray into television and Harvey Weinstein commented that he is thrilled to be working with HBO on the project because he believes they are responsible for producing television that is often superior to films.[5]

[edit] Crew

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008)

The late Anthony Minghella and Richard Curtis were the project's executive producers. Timothy Bricknell also produced the adaptation[3] alongside Harvey Weinstein,[6] and Amy J. Moore.[2] The project was filmed in Botswana and the majority of the crew are locals.[3]

[edit] Cast and characters

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008)

Jill Scott stars as the titular detective Mma Ramotswe.[1] Anika Noni Rose plays assistant detective Mma Makutsi.[1][6] London theatre actor Lucian Msamati plays car mechanic Mr. JLB Matekoni.[6] British actors Colin Salmon, Idris Elba, and David Oyelowo[6] also feature in the pilot but have not been confirmed as series regulars.[1] Elba plays an adversary to Mma Ramotswe.[8] Tony award winners Winston Ntshona and John Kani also appear.[6] Actor and comedian Desmond Dube also has a role.[9]

[edit] Casting

Casting the roles of Mma Makutsi and Mr. JLB Matekoni was completed early in the project.[6][3] However, casting Mma Ramotswe proved to be more of a challenge. Producer Timothy Bricknell states that the character's build and age excludes most well known actresses and that they initially began looking for an actress in Botswana before expanding their search throughout Africa and eventually on to London and Los Angeles.[3] Jill Scott was shortlisted for the role but the producers were uncertain because of her relative lack of acting experience.[3] Minghella decided to cast her after viewing clips of her poetry readings and musical performance and noting her rare screen presence.[3] The decision was made just two weeks before production began.[3]

[edit] Locations

The pilot episode was shot on location in Botswana. It is the first major production to be filmed in Botswana and the government reportedly provided five million dollars of funding for the project.[6] The producers signed a 10-year-lease in 2007 for the area at the bottom of Kgale Hill in Gaborone locally known as "Kgalewood" where the detective agency set is located.[3]

[edit] Themes

Bricknell has stated that the production showcases a modern, relatively prosperous African nation before a large television audience. He said that "People have talked about the responsibility of doing justice to Alexander McCall Smith’s novel, but with this production, we also felt a strong sense of responsibility as white people making the first motion picture filmed entirely in Botswana, and presenting modern Botswana to the rest of the world."[3]

Moore has commented that the story struck her with the idea "That leading a good life is possible; that being a good person is possible; that being a good neighbor is possible; that truth can exist alongside beauty. I thought, this African book can teach the Western world a lot."[2]

Minghella called the experience of filming in Botswana an "amazing adventure" and noted the beauty of the country's landscapes. He said "Particularly fascinating to me was working and filming in an African country where old and new are currently coexisting, where traditional values have not yet been eroded by the demands and efficiencies and neuroses of the modern. It was a privilege to be working on a film which celebrates what we can learn from Africa, and not what we think we can teach it."[5]

[edit] Plot synopsis and episode list

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008)

The novels focus on the story of a detective agency opened by Mma Ramotswe and her courtship with the mechanic who shares the premises with her, Mr. JLB Matekoni.

[edit] Impact

[edit] Promotion

The BBC announced the pilot as a centrepiece of its 2008 winter schedule and broadcast the pilot in the prestigious Easter weekend slot at 21:00 on Easter Sunday on BBC One.[1][10] The BBC promoted the series as a collaboration between acclaimed British filmmakers Anthony Minghella and Richard Curtis.[9] The show has received 6.3 million viewers (27% share) in the UK, easily beating ITV1's He Kills Coppers.[11]

[edit] Critical response

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008)

The List said that Jill Scott's performance "effortlessly captures the blend of wisdom, compassion and understated humour that has made Precious Ramotswe such a popular creation."[3] Some mainstream press reviewers were less impressed. The Guardian's reviewer summed it up as "Heartbeat, basically, relocated to Botswana, a beautiful African country where smiley happy people, cardboard cut-out characters, go about their business with good humour, hard work, morality and diligence."[12] The Times' reviewer said "The problem is that Precious Ramotswe does not really live in Africa but in a verbal universe that is McCall Smith's own. His dialogue, so natural on the page, turned out to be unutterable, at least by the actors assembled here, who struggled to attain end-of-term play standards." [13] But in The Independent, the reviewer, remarking on the recent death of its director and co-adaptor, Anthony Minghella, said "its merits are distinctively Minghella's own, and that in adapting Alexander McCall Smith's hugely popular and arguably emollient stories for the screen, he and Richard Curtis have found a way to stiffen their representation of African life without losing the sweet moral clarity of the originals." [14]

[edit] Impact on Botswana

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008)

The funding provided for the production allowed the country the economic benefits of hosting a major film production. It also laid the foundations for future productions by training local cast and crew members that officials hope will generate a local film industry.[2] Botswana also expects a tourism benefit from the film and is preserving the set, "Kgalewood", as part of a tour of Gaborone aimed at fans of the story.[2]

Since 2003 Gaborone has been directly benefitting from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency book series. In that year a local tour operator, Africa Insight (www.africainsight.com) signed an exclusive licence agreement with Alexander McCall Smith to promote tours based on the book series. They were far ahead of the competition as few people in Botswana had at that time heard of the books. Their tour content was created with direct input from McCall Smith himself.

This has led to Gaborone, the capital city, not being passed over any more by "big game" safaris and the niche created by Africa Insight is set to be exploited by international travel agents.

Already tourists are visiting the "sleepy city" as a destination in its own right - something nobody would have believed possible 5 years ago.

Local hotels, restaurants, craft markets, entertainers and other suppliers who have contracted with Africa Insight are seeing direct benefits from the book series and this list is set to increase as the film is seen by new audiences.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Detective Agency to be serialised. BBC (2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Michael Wines (2008). The No. 1 Botswana Movie Shoot. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Allan Radcliffe (2008). Detective Agency to be serialised. The List. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  4. ^ 'Detective Agency' finds big auds - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety
  5. ^ a b c Cynthia Littleton (2008). HBO nabs 'Ladies' Detective Agency'. Variety. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Dade Hayes (2007). Rose plucked for 'Detective Agency'. Variety. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  7. ^ People & Places (2008). Speaking of HBO. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  8. ^ Baz Bambigoye (2007). More than a match for you, my Precious!. The Daily Mail. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  9. ^ a b Anthony Minghella and Richard Curtis collaborate for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. BBC (2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  10. ^ Leigh Holmwood (2008). BBC1 unveils heavyweight winter schedule. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  11. ^ TV ratings - March 23: Minghella's last film watched by 6.3m | Media | guardian.co.uk
  12. ^ Faithful to the novel, The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency is twee, quaint and shallow, 24 March, 2008, The Guardian
  13. ^ Weekend TV, 24 March, 2008, The Times
  14. ^ The Weekend's TV: The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Sun BBC1 Dirty Sexy Money, Fri, Channel 4, 24 March, 2008, The Independent

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Novel series by Alexander McCall Smith
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series
Professor Dr von Igelfeld series
The Sunday Philosophy Club Series
The 44 Scotland Street series
44 Scotland Street (2004) • Espresso Tales (2005) • Love Over Scotland (2006) • The World According to Bertie (2007) • The Unbearable Lightness of Scones (2008)