TV Review: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Season 1, Ep.01

All I can say is “Wow!”

I’ve loved HBO for some time now and, while I’ve only had a subscription to the premium channel in sporadic bouts, I think I may just sign on for good. No one, and I do mean NO ONE touches HBO when it comes to the quality of their original series. The closest anyone gets in Showtime, but even that’s comparing apples and oranges.

HBO is continuing their line of success with this new series called The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency based on the popular series of novels by British author Alexander McCall Smith.

The story follows a Motswana woman named Precious Ramotswe (Jill Scott) who pursues her dream of being the first lady detective in Botswana, Africa after her father dies and leaves her with a respectable amount of wealth to start her agency.

I was unaware of this program until one day I was listening to my beloved NPR on Sirius while driving somewhere and heard an interview with someone connected to the series and/or books. That evening, intrigued by the notion of such an original concept that I had not experienced in such a way, I cracked open my HBO On Demand to find not one, but four episodes waiting for me to discover them.

Last night, I watched the series premiere and instantly fell in love. HBO is well known for it’s original series, consistently delivering fresh content and stories with a cinematic appeal. This premiere episode was directed by the late-great Anthony Minghella. It’s a sight to behold. The cinematography is simple yet grand, detailing the wonderful natural beauty of the African continent and it’s people.

At the same time, the show does address the issues and problems that exist in Africa, but does so in a way the fits into the story and doesn’t feel preachy. This is important to me, as I feel anytime you try and “preach” an important issue, it loses some of it’s impact. This is the greatest strength of the show, as it not only entertains us visually and gives us interesting characters and mystery, but it also enlightens us without overwhelming the audience.

In the first episode, Precious decides to sell off her father’s cattle and move to the city of Gaborone. She buys a nice but modest house and renovates the old post office building into her detective agency. Slow at first, Precious does eventually begin to take on clients and quickly learns this will not be a walk in the park. On the other hand, she clearly shows she has a knack for this type of work, despite the inherent potential dangers.

I am already hooked. I have yet to watch the following three episodes, but I feel my On Demand will soon be burning up from use. My personal experience with the show so far has been one of both nostalgia and curiosity. The nostalgia comes into play as the show’s characters and tastefully realistic, but quirky humor reminded me of ‘Northern Exposure’ which is one of my all-time favorite shows. Add a familiar essence of ‘Murder She Wrote’ and place it in the African way of life and setting and what results is one of the most respectfully honest and well-made shows I’ve seen in years.

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency offers a pleasant change of pace from other great HBO series like ‘True Blood’, ‘Entourage’ and ‘Big Love’. I highly recommend that anyone with HBO give this show a chance and take in it’s many beauties, visual and otherwise. While it may seem like a “chick show” on the surface, I assure you it is much more than that and will capture the heart and interest of anyone looking for intelligent serial storytelling.