Prolific North reports that the new TV series Houdini & Doyle will shoot at the Space Project in Manchester, a 360,000 sq ft facility for large scale TV and film production in the UK. The team is taking two stages – Space 02 and Space 03 – as well as using production office zones. A spokesman said work would see them resident "until the back end of the year."
The article also features this intriguing quote:
The drama will draw on what the production team claim to be historically documented instances of the Metropolitan Police turning to Houdini and Doyle to help tackle “unsolved and inexplicable crimes.”
Historically documented? I suspect what they mean is that Doyle worked with the police on at least one occasion (the case of George Edalji). As far as I know, Houdini was never brought into any kind of criminal investigation, inexplicable or otherwise. This is the first claim I've heard that the series will be based on any kind of fact. Until now, I've heard only that it would feature highly fictionalized adventures of the two men.
Houdini & Doyle stars Michael Weston as Houdini, Stephen Mangan as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Rebecca Liddiard as Constable Adelaide Stratton. The series will air in 2016 on ITV Encore, Global TV, and FOX. Production will also take place in Toronto, Canada.
Related:
Regarding the quote: I think ’turning to…’ could mean many things. Perhaps, at some point, the Metro Police contacted, or approached or attempted to contact HH & Doyle. Or it could simply mean that someone theorized what the two men could bring to an actual investigation. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they got a response, much less help from HH & Doyle (except for the case you mentioned). My guess is that they will use some real and fictional ‘unsolved and inexplicable crimes’. So far, it looks pretty good to me. I’ll watch.
ReplyDeleteTrue. They have lots of historical wiggle room. Houdini also gave lectures at police stations on the methods of con-men and fraudulent mediums. And he wrote the book, The Right Way to Do Wrong, which they might have "turned to." It's all good. :)
DeleteI'm really looking forward to this! :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I've not said so until this moment, but I love your site John! I come here first for all Houdini-related news! Your site has also been a great resource and source of inspiration for a project I completed recently, so thank you for sharing all this with us!
Thank you so much, Leona. Glad you enjoy the site, and you can bet I will keep you up to date on Houdini & Doyle. Good luck on your own project. :)
DeleteI'm counting on that! Thank you! :)
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