By ANGELA DAWSON
Front Row Features
HOLLYWOOD—“Dirk Gently,” a quirky BBC comedy about a private detective in the vein of “Bored to Death” and “Monk,” makes its U.S. debut on DVD Tuesday.
Stephen Mangan (“Episodes”) plays the wild-haired title character who relies on “holistic” sleuthing methods—the fundamental interconnectivity of all things—to solve mysteries on behalf of his clients. This two-disc DVD set includes the pilot, in which Gently solves the simultaneous mysteries of a missing millionaire and a missing cat, as well as three more episodes.
The series features characters and some situations from the novels “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” and “The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul” by author Douglas Adams (“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”), but it is not a direct adaptation of those more wildly fanciful books.
Darren Boyd (“Holy Flying Circus”) plays Richard MacDuff, Dirk’s hapless assistant/partner at the detective agency. The cast also includes British TV stalwarts Lisa Jackson (“Daniel Deronda”) and Bill Paterson (“Traffik”).
“Dirk Gently” runs approximately 240 minutes and is available for $39.99. It is distributed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment and available through Acorn (Acornonline.com). There are no bonus features.