Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

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


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

Amanda's reaction to Todd's confession broke my heart. I love her character and I totally get her reaction, it was very real but I was heartbroken. It wasn't just that he lied, it was that his getting "cured" was the only thing that gave her hope/reason to go on, and that hope just got taken away from her. Now the Rowdy 3 (plus 1) are her only hope of having even a slight semblance of a normal life. Though I do like them with her for some odd reason.

Loved Estevez and Lidia the Dog. I like that he was smart enough to ask the dog to do something that a dog wouldn't do on their own, the three barks and circle. I like that the cops, well E&Z are smart despite not being the lead characters. Usually any show with a civilian crime solver makes their cops too dumb to tie their own shoes. And he was totally right that his boss is one of them.

I'm happy that there will be a season two but I hope that the main four (Amanda, Farah, Todd and Dirk) are still there. I feel like that is the plan, with them being the "detective agency" but you never know with scheduling and this show not having expected multiple seasons. And the corgi. They must keep the corgi, even if they switch Lidia back to her own body. lol

  • Love 5
Link to comment

"How many different sets of guys are in this situation?" Pretty much sums up the whole show. I count 9 or 10 depending on how you organize them.

Finally time travel. I liked how Aaron Douglas shifted from his normal speaking voice to his Gordon mumbling voice during his rant. I'm very glad they didn't have Amanda instantly forgive Todd. I also liked seeing that snippet of their history with the scene at the party.

My only hope for season 2 is that it is a different case and not an extension of this one.

Link to comment
9 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Amanda's reaction to Todd's confession broke my heart. I love her character and I totally get her reaction, it was very real but I was heartbroken. It wasn't just that he lied, it was that his getting "cured" was the only thing that gave her hope/reason to go on, and that hope just got taken away from her. Now the Rowdy 3 (plus 1) are her only hope of having even a slight semblance of a normal life. Though I do like them with her for some odd reason....

I guess I forgot about the importance to Amanda of Todd's being cured. Can we assume Todd is thinking of that aspect of his reveal?

Link to comment

Is it an 8-episode season? Is there just one left?

I've been loving this so much. Even my 9yo daughter was laughing hysterically when the "guy who will explain everything" went into that MASSIVE ranting explosion of questions.

I actually nearly cried when Farah threw Bart off the stairs. It seemed so... random. Everything she was meant to do, leading up to... the moment of her death? So inconsequential. So unexpected. Like Farah intervening in the flow of the universe and ruining everything.

But, of course, she didn't. It was clearly supposed to happen like that.

So, what does Dirk's note at the beginning mean? Is this a closed loop, where Zachariah Webb received the time machine rather than 'inventing' it, and Dirk found it and sent it back to Zachariah?

  • Love 2
Link to comment

There are two episodes left. Also given that Gordon has encountered Dirk and Todd more times in the past and Todd's future self had knowledge of his encounter with his past self, leads me to believe that this will be a closed loop.

Edited by ZoqFotPik
  • Love 1
Link to comment
2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I guess I forgot about the importance to Amanda of Todd's being cured. Can we assume Todd is thinking of that aspect of his reveal?

I'm pretty sure in the earlier episode when he revealed it to Dirk, Todd addressed his guilt over specifically that angle (that he'd inadvertently given her hope under totally false pretenses), not just that he'd lied and bled their parents dry of money for nonexistent treatments. 

  • Love 3
Link to comment
39 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

I'm pretty sure in the earlier episode when he revealed it to Dirk, Todd addressed his guilt over specifically that angle (that he'd inadvertently given her hope under totally false pretenses), not just that he'd lied and bled their parents dry of money for nonexistent treatments. 

Thanks. That explains both the extant of her anger and Amanda's willingness to join the Rowdies, who actually do give her a temporary cure.

Did Todd say that the Rowdies feed on Amanda's emotions? If so, that might give a reason for her to eventually leave them.

Link to comment
9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Did Todd say that the Rowdies feed on Amanda's emotions? If so, that might give a reason for her to eventually leave them.

I deleted it off the DVR but my memory of the scene was more like Todd was asking what was happening. Something like "are they eating her energy? her emotions?" So I think you're right that Todd made a comment to that effect, but Todd doesn't know for sure what they do, and neither do we. He's basically seen it happen, seen the effect on her, and surmised what went down, much like the audience. The mechanics are still unclear.

Edited by theatremouse
  • Love 1
Link to comment

I'm pretty sure Amanda asked the Rowdy 3(+1) if they were feeding on her emotions and they seemed to say yes in their way. I remember thinking that was an odd choice of word, emotions. They fed on Dirk too that time but I can't remember what his heightened emotion might have been, or is he just overall a very emotional guy lol

  • Love 1
Link to comment

The key thing for her is that they essentially suck the hallucinations out of her.  I'm pretty sure they literally saved her life in this episode.

Seeing them go berserk on the drones was terrific... and hilarious!

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Not only do they absorb her energy/emotions, but during that process at the grocery store she gained future visions (including the multi-monitor map Dirk and Todd would encounter later), like she was plugged into the holistic stream. Don't know how those two pieces fit together, taking away and giving.

  • Love 6
Link to comment
Quote

They fed on Dirk too that time but I can't remember what his heightened emotion might have been, or is he just overall a very emotional guy lol

They've fed off Dirk twice - the first was at the very beginning, when they trashed Todd's apartment, so panic?  The second was when they busted Dirk and Todd out of the maze map room, so also panic?  In retrospect, that may explain why they always come in and start breaking stuff - that would certainly "heighten emotions" or boost adrenaline or whatever it is they need.  Actually, the fact that they can feed off Dirk and Amanda makes me think (speculation, not a spoiler) that all the psychic stuff - the soul swapping, the pararibulitis, whatever is guiding Dirk, Bart, and the Rowdies - may actually be different parts of the same thing.  Overall though, what I really like about the Rowdies is how... peppy they are.  Like, they always seem really happy to be there, whenever they show up.

So, it seems like a criticism I keep seeing of the show is that it some of the exposition - particularly in the past few episodes - has been overly repetitive.  For instance, in the start of this week's show, Todd basically recaps the treasure map adventure to Farrah.  I've seen some reviewers get annoyed by this, saying that the audience already saw it - but I personally don't mind.  For one, there are a lot of characters - and compared to last week, I appreciate the effort in making sure that certain players are up to speed with where they need to be in the plot.  Also, given how frenetic the episodes can be, it's kind of nice to be walked through some of the key moments for a second time.  I also don't feel the "repetitiveness" has hurt the show's binge-ability - as I believe I've said previously, I've watched every episode multiple times, and I will probably plow through the entire season again once it's through.  In any case, I'd be curious to hear if anyone else had any similar reactions.

  • Love 3
Link to comment
46 minutes ago, Chyromaniac said:

In retrospect, that may explain why they always come in and start breaking stuff - that would certainly "heighten emotions" or boost adrenaline or whatever it is they need.

OMG, that makes so much sense. Come, terrorize people then feed off their terror.

 

I don't mind the characters filling each other in on stuff we just saw or already know either. I quite like the way they interact so, like, seeing Amanda and Farrah telling each other what we basically just saw them go through was entertaining to me. If I have any criticism, well, it's a personal issue because I hate violence (oddly, I'm fine with shoot outs and war and such, but I cringe at gang violence or people being kicked and beaten when they are fetal on the ground. I find it very unsettling.

Everything else, so far, totally works for me. It's ridiculous, fast, over the top and often just plain weird, and I'm loving it. The cast are great too. I can't think of a single weak link or character I don't enjoy for who they are. On, not enough Corgi. That would be my main complaint. But I have an unhealthy love of corgi's so that, too, is more of a personal issue.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
2 hours ago, Chyromaniac said:

Actually, the fact that they can feed off Dirk and Amanda makes me think (speculation, not a spoiler) that all the psychic stuff - the soul swapping, the pararibulitis, whatever is guiding Dirk, Bart, and the Rowdies - may actually be different parts of the same thing.  Overall though, what I really like about the Rowdies is how... peppy they are.  Like, they always seem really happy to be there, whenever they show up.

So, it seems like a criticism I keep seeing of the show is that it some of the exposition - particularly in the past few episodes - has been overly repetitive.  For instance, in the start of this week's show, Todd basically recaps the treasure map adventure to Farrah.  I've seen some reviewers get annoyed by this, saying that the audience already saw it - but I personally don't mind. 

My current personal hypothesis is that the Amanda-psychic-vision thing that happened when they energy-sucked her may actually be totally separate, and something that was triggered in her when they did it, but was not specifically something they caused. But I admit I have no evidence to support my theory, other than I think that will end up being more interesting.

I also do not mind the exposition, so far. Partly because I think the fast-talking-repeating thing they're doing is a stylistic choice, especially with certain characters. So even though it is exposition, it doesn't usually read to me as exposition for the hell of it. Also, as a few of you mentioned, there's so many threads and groups and the plot does sort of intentionally twist in on itself, I can see a lot of people being confused and appreciating sort of...getting resituated in it. Plus that's kind of what the characters are doing to themselves. To an extent it's almost an "is all of this really happening" type moment. The characters themselves are having trouble keeping up. So, as long as it's in-character, I'm down with it.

  • Love 6
Link to comment

Yeah I go back and forth with the whole Rowdy Three.  Mainly because parts of all my theories are left room to exist. 

I'm not sure what kind of bond they have either.  It seemed they knew about Amanda even before they met her.  But maybe they just honed in on her while lurking for another taste of Dirk.  Yet they also seemed to show up at just the right time to save Dirk and Todd by doing what they do best.  Break things.

I'm not sure what the complaints are about a little recapping but I think the show does it in a way that makes sense.  A lot of shows still doe previouslies and by doing through having a character bring another character up to speed as a more detailed level than just the included thirty second previously makes sense.  It also does a good job of following through a narrative -- with the nicely convoluted aspect of everything being related, as the viewer I like that the director and scriptwriters are diligent in showing us what each character knows and what the characters themselves know each other knows.  In an realm of entertainment that has gotten way too lazy over the last few years, I actually can appreciate that and so don't find it just a wasted amount of time. 

  • Love 6
Link to comment

Characters actually talking to each other about what's happening seems to me exactly what real people do. Doesn't bother me one bit. But previously are usually useless in reminding me of stuff, the scenes are too short and often too random. 

  • Love 5
Link to comment

Briefly: I'm about 20 minutes into the pilot and I'm uber confused. And I read the books about a thousand times. I get that they're just using the characters, but I feel like a certain amount of exposition you'd expect in a pilot isn't there. This isn't necessarily a deal breaker, but so far a whole lot of seemingly unrelated scenes have flashed in front of me, including someone chasing someone with a machete. Is this all going to make sense eventually or are they going to do this Twin Peaks sort of thing in perpetuity?

Sincerely asking, thanks in advance. I might just be dumber and more impatient than usual today. 

Link to comment

The parallels between Dirk's reticence about the time travel and Todd's lie about pararibulitis certainly made for absorbing histrionics. But Todd's commitment to Lydia, his real choice that committed him to this all, was not really affected, either to create it or to threaten it. So that doesn't have quite the dramatic impact the show seems to think. To me at least.

Formally the real drama was Webb/Spring's choice to accept his fate. I think it was so Dirk and Todd would be in a position to save Lydia but the plot is so busy and my comprehension/memory of details too limited to be perfectly sure. I guess if you're thinking saving your daughter from a dog's life is going to cost you your life, you might get conflicted about her. Which I think was what Dirk was saying. But to be honest I'm not absolutely certain I understood why Webb/Spring decided to die on schedule.

Edited by sjohnson
  • Love 2
Link to comment
1 hour ago, sjohnson said:

The parallels between Dirk's reticence about the time travel and Todd's lie about pararibulitis certainly made for absorbing histrionics. But Todd's commitment to Lydia, his real choice that committed him to this all, was not really affected, either to create it or to threaten it. So that doesn't have quite the dramatic impact the show seems to think. To me at least.

Formally the real drama was Webb/Spring's choice to accept his fate. I think it was so Dirk and Todd would be in a position to save Lydia but the plot is so busy and my comprehension/memory of details too limited to be perfectly sure. I guess if you're thinking saving your daughter from a dog's life is going to cost you your life, you might get conflicted about her. Which I think was what Dirk was saying. But to be honest I'm not absolutely certain I understood why Webb/Spring decided to die on schedule.

Because Todd guilted him into it?

  • Love 1
Link to comment
1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Because Todd guilted him into it?

That has a certain plausibility. It did seem like the Iron Man version of Spring was talking to Todd more than Dirk. I'm not quick enough to keep up with all the nuances on this show, so I'm not even sure Spring was mostly talking to Todd.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

The spoiler tag relates to the preview for next week; I'm only tagging in case some of you didn't watch that.

Spoiler

I found it interesting / disturbing that the preview didn't show or mention Bart and Ken, or anyone from the Blackwing plot.

Link to comment

I'm not sure that previews count as spoilers anyway?

At any rate, I wouldn't be surprised if that element of the plot is on hold or on the backburner for now... I expect the season finale will wrap up the current mystery about the Spring murder, but still leave unfinished the greater question of who Dirk is and where he came from and everything related to that.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I was hoping that Dirk and Todd would stay in the past until they caught up to the present. It seemed kind of dumb to have them forget the time machine since they were looking right at it during most of their time at the Animal transfer unit. So, the lottery ticket belonged to the zoo worker. Sucks to be him, gets held up and loses $10k. I'm looking forward to the finale, now that most of the players seem to be in one place.

I wouldn't mind if the CIA plot was pushed to season 2, but would be disappointed if we don't see Bart and Ken again. Too much time has been dedicated to their story for it to be dropped.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

As soon as Dirk time traveled, and then met his other self, I thought: maybe The Assassin is supposed to kill him so there won't be two? But then I didn't know why she's not supposed to kill Todd, also.

Either way, I was disappointed that she didn't show up at all in the episode. I wanted follow up from last week's events.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Presumably she's still healing from her wounds -- both physical and mental. An update would have been nice but on the other hand, a single scene showing her still saying "ow" and the guy saying "you're slowly getting better" wouldn't really add much. It's probably deliberate to keep suspense -- how is she doing? What's going to happen?

I suspect the season finale will wrap up the current mystery storyline, then end on a cliffhanger scene featuring "remember this plot line we left dangling?" Bart all healed up and ready to go.

Link to comment

I'm not clear why Todd is quite so mad at Dirk. Dirk is a selfish PITA, but Todd already knew that.  What's new is knowing Dirk manipulated him by pretending fate led him to things that he actually told himself, and that what Todd was starting to believe in as fate may not be.  Is there more beyond that I missed? Why does learning he's in a loop upset him so much? Why does he decide so quickly it's a time loop that can't be altered? 

Week Older Dirk told Week Younger Dirk only a few things: I solved the mystery (so he can say confidently he will); this is Todd, he's your best friend and he lives at the Ridgeley (now we know how Dirk finds him); 3 questions, 1 answer (a useless piece of info). So when Todd says: "You knew we'd end up here", I don't think Dirk did. All he knew is they'd end up in that stairwell together at some point and he'd learn those few things. AFAICT he didn't even know it was a loop. Or about the lottery ticket. Or where to dig, or anything else that still support the fate stuff.

"Could you make them less complicated...and murder-y?" Ha.

Edited by snarktini
  • Love 4
Link to comment
Quote

What's new is knowing Dirk manipulated him by pretending fate led him to things that he actually told himself, and that what Todd was starting to believe in as fate may not be.  Is there more beyond that I missed?

I'd say those are a big part of why he's mad - I think there's also a sense that a lot of bad stuff has happened in the past week, and that Todd now feels (rightly or wrongly) that Dirk doesn't care that a lot of people have gotten hurt or killed as a result of the investigation.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
On December 9, 2016 at 5:20 PM, Chyromaniac said:

I'd say those are a big part of why he's mad - I think there's also a sense that a lot of bad stuff has happened in the past week, and that Todd now feels (rightly or wrongly) that Dirk doesn't care that a lot of people have gotten hurt or killed as a result of the investigation.

Number one would be Dirk convincing Todd to tell Amanda the truth about his never having pararibulitis (sp?) considering her reaction. And going back to the beginning, Dirk's arrival coincided with the destruction and loss of Todd's apartment and everything in it.  Likely most people Dirk encounters wind up getting mad at him.

Edited by shapeshifter
  • Love 4
Link to comment

I loved the "previously on..." where Dirk said W everything they need to do to resolve the case, the video shows the two of them getting tased, and then he says "shit" as part of the voice-over.

I also don't think Bart has ever had a friend before.

All in all, it was a decent finale, if a bit depressing at the end.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

Did not like the ending! Poor Estevez. Is being hunted by idiot gun-crazy guy the arc for next year? Hope not. Hopefully they wrap that up fast and get onto the next case. I just want to watch our psychic detective gang having wacky adventures.

Not terribly surprising a show based on fate would give Todd the disease he faked having.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
On December 10, 2016 at 9:27 PM, MarkHB said:

I loved the "previously on..." where Dirk said W everything they need to do to resolve the case, the video shows the two of them getting tased, and then he says "shit" as part of the voice-over...

That was probably my favorite part/line in the episode because he said it exactly how I say it, which is only when I've hurt myself or broken something, and there was a lot of hurting and breaking going on in the episode.

I preferred the actress who was Lydia Spring when she was playing the dog.

So now that Todd has pararibulitus (sp?) will he join up with Amanda and the crazy smashers (when he's not working on a case with Dirk)?

Edited by shapeshifter
Hopefully correcting spelling of pararibulitus
  • Love 1
Link to comment

When Todd 'splained it all, Dirk gave him a thumbs up. Have to agree. 

Todd gets pararibulitis, Amanda loses the Rowdy Three, Dirk loses his freedom, Estevez loses his life...the universe is peeved. 

Bart has a rock but Ken has already fulfilled his destiny...doesn't look good for him. 

Overall I enjoyed the series. Something like American Ultra with some actual emotions. Fortunately I don't remember the Dirk Gently novel, nor have I seen the previous series.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I thought the show had promise, but I was kind of disappointed in the execution.  Admittedly I haven't read the books, but I wouldn't call this a "detective agency".  I suppose what I was expecting to see was a mixture of Dirk/Todd solving cases of the week while a season long mystery loomed - say Lydia Spring, or Dirk's origins.

The plot just had too many pieces that didn't connect well until the very end, and Dirk wasn't really solving cases.  Which some my argue is what the "holistic" part means.  The infodump that seemingly came out of nowhere to start off episode 7 frustrated me.  As did when the show could just have Bart and Ken not appear for 2 episodes and not much would change.  Same with the Rowdy 3 or the military people.  In fact, I'm having trouble remembering when the military people actually connected to the main plot at all this season, other than the last 10 minutes.  The show could have saved their characters for season 2, which would have given more space for the other characters to be developed.  

That's not to say I disliked the show.  The actors really livened up the characters.  Still, in season 2, I'd like to see more detective and less of a "kitchen sink" approach.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Yeah I was disappointed with Estevez getting show. Though being the type of show it is, I had to look on IMDB to see what the actor is doing since we didn't see the actual full death.  So while 99.9999% convinced he is dead I wanted to see if he had something else work wise that meant he wasn't up for a second season.   He actually has some upcoming projects that look pretty big.  So.  Yeah.  Gonna miss him.  It gives a second season some ways to pivot if it wants in regards to the local authorities.  Though I read a review on the whole season that said there were some slight discrepancies in regards to the timeline shifting even if the death of Spring and most of the other events went ahead as they happened the first time.  I'm not sure but it did allow for some of the middle things that didn't change the end result still could have happened differently.  One of them was the botched bridge exchange and the death of the two FBI guys.  I'm not sure I understand it, but that event didn't actually change anything and so might have been shifted if the writers want to go that way after the time jumps.  So they could surprise us with some of the characters we think are dead coming back if they died before the time jumps.  I'd have to watch it again, (probably more than once) to figure it out if I even could. 

What I found kind of funny, was that the show turned it a bit around and proved that it did wrap up the main plot but then goes sideways and pretty says "ha! this whole thing was a set up to how the agency actually is going to come about".  I actually liked that.  Plus with the array of setup in cliffhangers, I think the second or a possible third season could see a huge moment of that was not what I saw coming but was definitely set up in the first season. 

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I was hoping Friedkin would recruit Estevez on to his team. I liked the "What the hell, right?" look and shoulder shrug between Todd and Ken. It was poetic justice that Todd contracts the condition that he faked for many years. I hope the cliff hangers get resolved early next season. I don't want the whole show to be Todd and Farah trying to rescue Dirk.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
49 minutes ago, ZoqFotPik said:

It was poetic justice that Todd contracts the condition that he faked for many years.

And accompanied by the Neon Trees song... "First things first / Get what you deserve"

  • Love 4
Link to comment
7 hours ago, ZoqFotPik said:

 It was poetic justice that Todd contracts the condition that he faked for many years. 

I really didn't like that part.  How much of next season is going to be devoted to angst about getting Amanda to believe him?  

I did love Bart and Ken's entrance into the basement and how Bart figured out what she was really supposed to do with Dirk.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

At the end I was just thinking, "Isn't the police chief still there?" but then they took care of that loose end. Poor Estevez. I think they did get rid of all the former Hippie body swappers.

I expect a chunk of next season will be Farrah, Todd, and the forcibly retired Colonel (?) looking for Dirk. If the Universe still loves Bart she'll get out of the situation easily enough. Ken, maybe not. Hopefully we'll get some more background on all the Project Blackwing subjects. Also, why there are four members of the Rowdy 3. And, isn't the kitten-shark out there in the woods?

  • Love 1
Link to comment

The one at the end I think was the first time there was repeated use by multiple characters of the phrase "the physics"? I might be wrong on that. But they seemed to be emphasizing that specific phrase, whereas before, I think in the first episode Dirk was saying he was not psychic. So I think "the psychics" that Blackwing knows about are Dirk and Bart. But Amanda is one too, and they may not know that, but we know that because it happened when the Rowdy 3 ate her energy. So I for one am expecting more info on this psychic biz.

Link to comment
8 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

 

I expect a chunk of next season will be Farrah, Todd, and the forcibly retired Colonel (?) looking for Dirk. If the Universe still loves Bart she'll get out of the situation easily enough. Ken, maybe not. Hopefully we'll get some more background on all the Project Blackwing subjects. Also, why there are four members of the Rowdy 3. And, isn't the kitten-shark out there in the woods?

Technically, I think there are five now (pending results of cliffhanger) since they gave Amanda a jacket!

  • Love 4
Link to comment
1 hour ago, TexasGal said:

Technically, I think there are five now (pending results of cliffhanger) since they gave Amanda a jacket!

Which makes me think the fourth, possibly the one they told to take Amanda away, is similar to her, some troubled normal who they brought into their fold and has become one of them. Which means Amanada, if she stays with them, might become one of them too, maybe losing her pararibulitis (I don't know if that is even remotely correct). As much as their violence bothers me I hope the Rowdy 3 (+2) survive. They have grown on me. I hope everyone survives. I love them all. I hope that somehow the time stream is changed in a way that brings back Estevez and his partner.

I have to admit, the finale made me quite teary. I wasn't expecting that from this show. But Lidia and Farrah saying goodbye broke my heart because it seems Farrah was the closest thing Lidia had to family really. For all his loving her I get the impression her dad wasn't there all that much. And then Estevez dying both made me sad and angry! After all he went through, after him being smart enough and open minded enough to figure out what was going on they up and kill him?!?!?! And not just anyone kills him but that freaking MORON!!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!! He deserved a better end than that. If he had to die, I would have preferred he go out in a blaze of glory, throwing himself in the line of fire to help Farrah get to Lidia or something.

I am so happy the show is coming back though.

  • Love 7
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...