Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016) - General Discussion

[bara007]

The main thing about this season 2 that it almost wasn't about Dirk at all - in all the latest finale discussions above his name isn't mentioned not even once!

We didn't find out one new thing about him - and the ending of season 1 left lots of unanswered questions!

I would have been okay with less supporting characters, more about Dirk (and Todd), and all those guys from Wendimoor could have been mentioned just "symbolically".

But I did like Panto and Silas, but I think more so they were enough. The other actors weren't even that good or interesting, and they took away something from the storyline. Something, which makes this season not re-watchable for me again, which is quite a let-down.

And what bothered me the most throughout the season - there was actually no case, there was no client. Not like Patrick Spring was. So it made zero sense to me, why all these character (Todd, Farah, Tina...) were willing so happily to risk their lives for it. And Dirk didn't even want them to! That could have handled a bit differently:)

[MarkHB]

2 hours ago, bara007 said:

The main thing about this season 2 that it almost wasn't about Dirk at all - in all the latest finale discussions above his name isn't mentioned not even once!

We didn't find out one new thing about him - and the ending of season 1 left lots of unanswered questions!

We saw him having a crisis of conscience through most of the season, we found out that the Universe created him as a catalyst of sorts, and it's likely that he's asexual or gay ( from his response when Todd pointed out that hippie Beast was actually cute). So that's something, although I will admit that, in the end, this season was more about context than Dirk.

[libgirl2]

I am so sad for Bart. I really hope we can get a season 3. I want to see her kill Ken! 

[RedMal]

I just rewatched the first episode of season 1. Man have I already forgot a lot of things that happened.

But I noticed that the squeaky toy was present throughout the episode. Was it Mona already?

[possibilities]

2 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I am so sad for Bart. I really hope we can get a season 3. I want to see her kill Ken! 

And I want her to have a true friend, who she doesn't have to kill!

[Notwisconsin]

Actually, don't feel sad for Bart, being an assassin, holistic or not, is extremely illegal in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

[libgirl2]

18 minutes ago, Notwisconsin said:

Actually, don't feel sad for Bart, being an assassin, holistic or not, is extremely illegal in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

But she didn't kill Ken, he was her one friend and he turned on her.  She stopped killing because of him. 

[Mabinogia]

Not to mention, it's the universe that wants her to be an assassin and I think that trumps the 50 states. She kills because that is her job, like she said, she is a weapon the universe is using to serve the greater good of the universe.

I do think it's tragic that she didn't kill Suzie because of her relationship with Ken and both things blew up in her face because she went against her natural gift.

[sjohnson]

Well, Ken was working for Rimmer (or maybe his predecessor) in the first series, and they were bad guys. And Ken did hang with Bart even though she killed and killed and killed. So, let's face it, Ken's moral compass was pretty wayward from day one. 

Then he spends months in solitary confinement, in a constrained position and drugged and shocked over and over. That does things to a man. A lot of people in this country have no problem with locking a prisoner in a cel 23 hours a day, and are rather proud of being firm, rather than ashamed of the cruelty perpetrated in their name. What happened to Ken was much, much worse. 

And, as I watched the scene, Ken shot Dirk because he thought the universe wanted him there. And he didn't shoot the old man to keep him there either. So even now I'm not sure that Ken is all that malicious, as opposed to Doing the Wrong Thing for the Right Reasons. He took Farah, Todd and Amanda off the wanted list. Dirk can officially open his agency. And I strongly suspect Bart is going to be quite some comfort and that as a matter of fact, Ken will visit her, at least until he's afraid her feelings about what the universe wants are to specific about him. 

The upshot I think if going to a protagonist for the third season who is neither a blu-ha-ha scalawag nor an idiot. Actually it's kind of promising, I think. 

Pretty sure that was a puppy. Also, Bob killed his dog, not Susie. Scott I supposed stopped being a frog because that was magic, and without her magic, he's just a kid whose mother didn't like him (much less love him.) 

The oddest thing is not Amanda upstaging Todd, but Amanda upstaging Dirk.

[sjohnson]

[expletive deleted]

[AfterwardsTV]

https://www.spoilertv.com/2017/12/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency_18.html

The universe only gets meaner to Bart.....

I think her ending still kind of works in a full circle way, but The Boy did foreshadow she'd eventually find peace with herself and now we'll never know how.

The main Dirk crew resolved all their character arcs and have no reason to interact with Bart or Ken again, so it'd have to be a one season Blackwing spinoff. But again, I don't know how satisfying Bart killing Ken or somehow un-corrupting Ken from his power trip would really be.

[sjohnson]

I bought the first season in dvd, and I bought the second season on Amazon. Don't think I can do much more.

[justmehere]

----------

Last part significant there ^

Already a petition going:

Petition

[Lebanna]

So sad that this show might bite it - how did this happen? This seems like the kind of show that should get at least a couple more seasons. It's quirky and interesting and full of fun and heart. Although I will say it's way more Netflix material than broadcast because it's great to binge watch and that way it's easier to follow the plot twists.

Typical BBC - from the people who ran Doctor Who into the ground and cancelled it (and then brought it back and keep trying to cancel it again).

Petition signed!

Edited December 18, 2017 by Lebanna

[Mabinogia]

I am devastated. I signed the petition. Please Netflix, I've been on the fence about cancelling my cable and getting Netflix. If Netflix brings Dirk Gentley back from the dead I will jump over that fence without hesitation. 

[snowwhyte]

That is such a shame. This has become one of my favourite shows. There's no other show like it. 

[AngelKitty]

Aww, man, what a bummer.

[theatremouse]

15 hours ago, bara007 said:

The main thing about this season 2 that it almost wasn't about Dirk at all - in all the latest finale discussions above his name isn't mentioned not even once!

We didn't find out one new thing about him

I don't think we knew the whole "debug the universe" thing before. Perhaps could've deduced something vaguely similar, but I call that new.

[justmehere]

It also seems like it would fit on SyFy or even FX better (since the latter now has another really "out there" show in Legion). AMC could just bring it home, too, if they're still "in," to take advantage of their bigger audience. But Netflix or Hulu would be fine.

[WatchrTina]

20 hours ago, RedMal said:

I noticed that the squeaky toy was present throughout the episode. Was it Mona already?

Mona's voice and her bizarro abilities reminded me of a similarly weird and whimsical thing.  Ladies and gentlemen . . . I give you Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU

By the way that particular squeaky toy also made an appearance in a Doctor Who Christmas Special (the one with the accidental superhero.)  Everything is connected.

Edited December 19, 2017 by WatchrTina

[RedMal]

8 hours ago, AfterwardsTV said:

https://www.spoilertv.com/2017/12/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency_18.html

The universe only gets meaner to Bart.....

I think her ending still kind of works in a full circle way, but The Boy did foreshadow she'd eventually find peace with herself and now we'll never know how.

The main Dirk crew resolved all their character arcs and have no reason to interact with Bart or Ken again, so it'd have to be a one season Blackwing spinoff. But again, I don't know how satisfying Bart killing Ken or somehow un-corrupting Ken from his power trip would really be.

I'm very, very, highly disappointed on this. But I'm not surprised. I never got the feeling that this would have big enough audience. I'll hope that Fiona finds another great role and wouldn't be stuck just making those cheap straight-to-video films like before. She's far too talented for those.

[Mabinogia]

If anyone would take the show I would follow it, be it Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, SyFy, anywhere. I wonder how the show would do on a streaming network where you could binge it instead of waiting each week. I think this would be quite bingable.

[possibilities]

I'm bummed. I wanted to see Bart fight back and finally find her place in the universe, one that would let her have her happiness. Ken was cold as hell to her. And that room he had her in was terrible. Even if he thought he needed it for security, there's no reason it couldn't have been more comfortable. No excuse. He's just sadistic and drunk on his power. Boo.

In my head, Mona goes back and befriends Bart and rescues her. They are both very loyal, plus I think they are just weird enough to be good pals and never get bored with each other.

[Mabinogia]

Bart's is the story I'm most sad to not see continue because, yeah, I want to see her get her happy ending. Instead she is stuck in a dark, empty room alone. ARGH!!!!!! Everyone else feels like they've moved forward, Amanda will go on adventures with her boys. Dirk, Todd and Farah have their agency. Ken has his little power trip to enjoy. Hobbs and Tina will go back to their easy police duties in their once again sleepy town. Wendimoor live happily ever after. But poor Bart is locked in a cell. And poor Idiot (I never remember his name) is stuck in the void. Maybe he can figure a way to get from the void to her cell and they can be friends. I think they could both use a friend.

[libgirl2]

BBCA is too busy showing Star Trek Voyager 24/7. 

[sjohnson]

Oh there's no doubt that Ken's control fetish would have led to bad things. But I do have to protest that leaving just one light on really cuts down on that god-awful fluorescent glare. Unless you guys really like blinding white in every direction you look? Even more to the point, Ken hadn't had time to remodel. 

[Mabinogia]

41 minutes ago, sjohnson said:

But I do have to protest that leaving just one light on really cuts down on that god-awful fluorescent glare. Unless you guys really like blinding white in every direction you look? Even more to the point, Ken hadn't had time to remodel. 

That's actually a fair point. Those lights were HORRIBLE! That room was horrible. Am I right in remembering there was a bed there, so that's her room, but also it seemed like the size of a warehouse. It was a very odd room.

[morakot]

I suppose, for Ken, it was miles better than being stuck in a cab for all that time. He could have let her have Rapunzel for company though. (Unless, Rapunzel ended up with Dirk and became the agency dog... or went to live with the cops in Bergsberg.)

[chitowngirl]

2 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

BBCA is too busy showing Star Trek Voyager 24/7. 

Seriously! It's on ALL THE TIME!!!! It's not even a British Show! At least there is a Doctor Who takeover now, leading up to The Christmas Special.

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, chitowngirl said:

Seriously! It's on ALL THE TIME!!!! It's not even a British Show! At least there is a Doctor Who takeover now, leading up to The Christmas Special.

I know. I just don't get it. My husband hates it but watches it anyway. He claims they are burning it off.... but as many times as they show it, they should be done by now.  I'm glad we are getting some Doctor Who but after the Christmas Special, its going to be awhile. 

[Mabinogia]

in my head canon Rapunzel ended up with Dirk and is the company dog/mascot.

[MarkHB]

I have never understood BBCA's penchant for showing Star Trek.  TNG had the very marginal connection that Patrick Stewart is English, but DS9 and Voyager?  Unless Paramount is forcing them to show the others in order to keep TNG (which would be karma: in the 80's, for every Doctor (1-2-3-5-6-7) whose run a station purchased, they got, or had to buy, a run of Tom Baker, which meant that "Robot" was showing continuously on PBS stations all over America for years).

[Chyromaniac]

On 12/18/2017 at 3:16 AM, bara007 said:

And what bothered me the most throughout the season - there was actually no case, there was no client. Not like Patrick Spring was.

It’s true that nobody “hired” Dirk- but I feel there was a case/client this year as well. Mona (or whoever was possessing her - Wapti maybe?) told him to “find the boy.” To me, that’s the case. And, it’s when he has his revelation about the second Cardenas boy that he declares the case solved.

Honestly, I haven’t seen Season 1 in a while- but this case strangely feels more like a real detective story to me, with clues and investigating. So much of last year seemed to boil down to Dirk and Todd randomly bumping into things because that’s what the time loop dictated. This time it actually felt like they all had to work to figure things out.

 I am disappointed that there probably won’t be a Season 3 now- I’ve really come to enjoy these characters, and I love the energy of the show. Crossing my fingers that Max has a favor to cash in at Syfy to bring it back...

Edited December 19, 2017 by Chyromaniac

[Charlesman]

13 hours ago, MarkHB said:

I have never understood BBCA's penchant for showing Star Trek.  

 

I was flipping through my program guide and saw TOS and TNG were playing on the Horror Channel. And on 'Heroes & Icons' channel. They must be either making bank on syndication, or, charging pennies for the rights to the smaller operators. 

[AfterwardsTV]

Extra extra, read all about it. Petition for a Dirk Gently S3 seemed to be making fast progress on getting the show picked up by a new distributor.

But oh no, disaster struck when Mr. Max Landis got the sexual assault book thrown at him.

Now it calls into ponderation whether BBC America did not give the series a generous life because of behind the scenes intel like this.

All this reporter can tell you is that the 13th Doctor is just going to have to be enough for the network to get by on.

[MarkHB]

9 hours ago, AfterwardsTV said:

Now it calls into ponderation whether BBC America did not give the series a generous life because of behind the scenes intel like this.

I have seen a rumor that that may have played a part in their decision.

[morakot]

There's also a possibility that Netflix, with its international reach, could take it on. It's a great place for quirky dramas.

[snowwhyte]

Netflix is doing a sequel to Bright which was written by Max Landis but they are doing it with a new writer. I think they would only take on Dirk Gently if they could do it without Max Landis and I don't think that's possible. Sadly, it does seem like its the end for Dirk Gently.

[morakot]

I don't see why they couldn't use a different showrunner. There are many, many shows that use multiple writers and have changed their showrunners, and have been successful.

[snowwhyte]

He's listed as creator though. I guess it just depends on what rights he has to the show. 

[MarkHB]

I think this show is also the sort of thing that really depends on an individual's unique vision, for better or worse.  I don't see anyone bringing in Dick Wolf to take it over :) .

[morakot]

Except for the quirk of Douglas Adams, of course. Quirky is out there though (in different styles, see The Good Place, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, or Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). - I think it's doable.

[theatremouse]

If Landis is the credited creator, then even if he never writes another word for the show and is removed as showrunner, he makes money from the show. If they really want to cut ties with him and not just appear to, the show is dead.

[Mabinogia]

I think plenty of people could take over. Any of the people who were working under Landis could do it. Anyone who loves Douglas Adams could do it. Anyone can be replaced.  It just won't happen because the show wasn't popular enough to warrant it. 

Edited January 7, 2018 by Mabinogia

[tennisgurl]

Damn it, how did I just find out that the second season had aired?!?! You failed me, Twitter and various entertainment blogs! YOU FAILED ME!

Time to get ready for a weekend binge! And now this is the end of the show? I haven't read this thread yet, but I hope they wrap things up. The show is super weird (in a good way), I can see them going with a cliffhanger knowing that thats the end of the show. 

[morakot]

On ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 8:09 AM, Mabinogia said:

It just won't happen because the show wasn't popular enough to warrant it. 

Netflix could find a market. Season 1 & 2 are on Netflix internationally now, and they don't rely on advertising to support the show.

[blueray]

I was sad when I saw this was cancelled. But I unfortunately couldn't watch season 2 as I don't have bbc America personally and when I tried to use a family member's account to log on the website it wasn't good enough. It let me log on, but when I tried to play the episodes it kept extreme buffering so I couldn't get more then one or two minutes to play before it stopped again.

 

Hopefully netflix or something picks it up or at least shows season 2 :(.

[Eva Marie]

Farrah is a real casting misfire to me - the actress is just plain terrible. She somehow manages to make all the wrong acting choices all the time: makes her voice high when it should be low etc. She drags every scene down.

LOVED Julian McMahon as Patrick and the hilariously dim military guy - they're an example of what good actors can do with small parts.

The show feels like it was written by Jekyll and Hyde: equal parts warm to nasty. I had to skip too many scenes of dungeon torture, violence, kidnappings. Too many appealing people killed for no reason.

The nerve disease made me wonder - did messing with the timeline give Todd the illness? Or was it just stress triggering the onset when he already had genetic predisposition?

[Eva Marie]

Yes to Netflix being able to find an international audience- their global reach is unrivaled and their business model is all about the niche. They would just need a new show-runner, which I would actually dig. I'm big on all things lovably weird, but this specific mix isn't working for me. There's just too much nihilistic violence and no unified signature style. Wendimoore might've worked if they went all out on it being a medieval fantasy send-up, which they played with a little.

Side rant: how much gay MALE romance do we need on TV?? Give me some goddam lesbians once in a while, TV gods! One offhand comment about Tina being bi doesn't count.

[snowwhyte]

On 27/01/2018 at 11:12 PM, blueray said:

I was sad when I saw this was cancelled. But I unfortunately couldn't watch season 2 as I don't have bbc America personally and when I tried to use a family member's account to log on the website it wasn't good enough. It let me log on, but when I tried to play the episodes it kept extreme buffering so I couldn't get more then one or two minutes to play before it stopped again.

 

Hopefully netflix or something picks it up or at least shows season 2 :(.

Both season are on Netflix at the moment.