“No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency” is No. 1

In recent years, Home Box Office has established itself as a prime outlet for grown-up dramas. “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under,” “Big Love,” and “Deadwood” are the best examples of what the network delivers. Last night, “The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency” premiered, and judging by the 2-hour pilot, another HBO hit has arrived.

Set in Botswana, the series revolves around Precious Ramotswe, who sold off the 180 head of cattle she inherited and moved to the capital city of Gaborone to open a detective agency. “Unlikely” is the first word that springs to mind, however, a little suspension of disbelief puts the viewer in a quirky and interesting world. The people around the agency are individuals with their own foibles, and the program mercifully avoids the cliches about Africa.

Based on the best-selling novels by Alexander McCall Smith, the series star is Grammy winning recording artist Jill Scott, who plays Precious Ramotswe. Since branching out into acting in 2007, she has established herself as an actress as well as an R&B musician. Ramotswe's secretary, Grace Makutsi played by Anika Noni Rose, is a useful foil, a Dr. Watson to Ramotswe's Sherlock Holmes.

Comic relief comes in the form a BK, played by Desmond Dube. BK owns a hair salon next to the detective agency, and his flamboyance is done right rather than over the top. A more serious character is widower JLB Matekoni, played by Lucian Msamati, who is attracted to Ramotswe. The romantic tension here gives the series a bit more to work with in future episodes.

In an interview with HBO, Alexander McCall Smith explained that setting the agency in Botswana was “a great literary device in that, if one were trying to tell the story about a country, about a town, or place, in a detective agency every day somebody can come in with a fresh issue, a fresh problem. These books aren't about crime. What they're about is somebody who helps other people with the problems in their lives.” And for that reason, one suspects a long and healthy run for the show.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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