There are several references on this site to the series deteriorating in its later years. Nettles himself has been quoted as saying that the decline was due to budget restrictions.
Can anyone pinpoint a series or even an episode as being the point where that decline began?
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Well, I'm now part-way through series 6 (1988, made in '87), and I have to say there's no fall off to that date.
Looking through episode guides, I've come to the conclusion that the decline must have been as late as the last series, when (some) of the Jersey connection was lost. Certainly I saw one 'French' episode when it was first broadcast and it just didn't have the original appeal, even with Charlie in it!
Having seen the recent special on BBC4, I have the impression that the last episode of all is not to be missed, however, so it looks like I'll be buying all the series anyway!
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Having got to the end of Series 6, I've concluded that things had become darker, especially with episodes like A Man of Sorrows. I was missing The Royal Barge, Lil's Place (less so) and the Jersey holiday feel of earlier episodes like Chrissie that I've just re-watched (incidentally, with soon-to-be-Eastenders Michelle Collins and Perry Fenwick), even if the end of that example was a bit dark too.
Still, looking forward to Series 7 on DVD!
Edit: first two episodes of Series 7 now seen: very good; OK, no Royal Barge and no Lil, Kim or Deborah (so far) but good Jersey-based stuff befitting of the early series... Susan Penhaligan in ep.2 - I'd forgotten about 'Bouquet of Barbed Wire'...
Edit 2: Series 7 was excellent - better than 6 imho.
Having just watched all of the episodes i have to agree with the previous poster that Series 6 was poor and Series 7 was a great improvement. Reference the "turning point" i reckon it came after the first episode of Series 8 "A true detective" , it just felt that every episode there after had something missing with some episodes dragging a bit and the Jersey element is missing in a lot of episodes which was the key to success , however there were still some good episodes right till the end but fewer of them
You could also argue that another turning point in the program came in the episode "Poison"(end of Series 5) when the story writers decided to partly concentrate on Bergerac's love life after he discovers Susan's affair,from this point i felt there was more of an angle put on Bergerac's private life which took the edge off the program a bit but there were still some great episodes after this one
I have to agree that Series 5 was the strongest and there was an inconsistent decline thereafter. Series 6 was quite dull but Series 7 was an improvement as said above.
Series 8 and 9 I felt saw a change in tone to the series, and it seemed to become more ponderous and less action-packed. Moving much of the action away from Jersey I felt was a disadvantage to the series in most cases, and Jim's character lost the edginess it had previously possessed.
The last ever episode, All For Love, was about a million degrees up the drama scale from any Bergerac episode that had been on for years, and saw some of Jim's former turbulent and slightly unpredictable character return. Still though, there was something missing that is there in the earlier episodes. I can't explain it. It just wasn't as good.
Maybe Bergerac just didn't work in the '90's...
It was one of the series that had a mixed reception and then improved in quality.
At the end it was beginning to outstay its welcome and Bergerac retired to Midsomer!
Its that man again!!
For me, the Bergerac series was very strong right up to Susan Young's departure at the start of Season 8 (ep 1: A True Detective) ...
The following episodes were good and mentioned her from time to time, and I liked the way that the relationship between Jim and Charlie Hungerford mellowed and grew very much more like father and son during this time. Jim even moved in to Windward House (Charlie's pink house) while he got himself sorted, and mutual respect between the characters seem to build.
I enjoyed ep 3: The Dig as it bought the myth and spooky theme back and I felt the rest of the season was average to good storylines, albeit noticeably not as strong as previous years.
BUT then the Christmas special preceding the final season 9 "There for the Picking" was truly awful!
And I found the episodes in the final Season 9 in France tedious, boring and poorly paced and directed. The stories were not that interesting and went round in cirles. The supporting actors also seemed either lacking or overacting, and I found it hard to believe or be interested in the whole thing. It seemed to me like a whole different team were involved in the making this season - especially as I now have the benefit of hindsight, and watching the DVDs and UK Gold repeats back to back.
Of all seasons, Season 9 is one I never rewatch on DVD, whereas as Seasons I continue to watch and could have seen well over 10 times each episode.
The WORST ever episode for me was Season 9, Ep 8: Warriors. I would rather watch paint dry!!! I love the show, but would NEVER want anyone to see that episode as it would put you off the lot.
The final episode The Lohans wasn't TOO bad, and I think the Christmas Special All for Love redeemed the final series, though I felt bad it ended with Jim on a low
I'd have to agree with that.
"There for the Picking" was indeed a let-down, though the somewhat tedious and contrived French connection had been introduced in previous episodes. Certainly, it was hard to be interested in many stories thereafter.
That said, it still means that the vast majority of episodes were well worth watching, which is a lot more than I was expecting when I first thought to pose the question.
For me, it's simple.
It started going downhill when Jim left the Bureau and set up freelance. He became bitter, and there was none of the fun and camaraderie that he had with Crozier and the others; and yes, I know that Jim and Crozier always had run-ins abut essentially they wanted the same thing and were on the same side. That was all lost.
And when they started setting them in France I lost interest totally.
Yes, that is pretty much it, I guess, although there were some enjoyable episodes after that, just not guaranteed.
shareSeries 8 and 9 are poor. Regular characters are dropped, other characters are introduced by come-and-go, the series is moved to France but then isn't actually in France all that much ...
There's a feeling that they just don't know what to do with it anymore, and the series format and everything that made it unique are lost.
Frankly, the last couple of seasons are a mess.
I don't agree about series eight, but nine, definitely. Too many episodes without the other regulars, and also Deffand, although fun in small doses, was no good as a permanent character. There were still some good scenes between Jim and Charlie, and between Jim and Willy (I always did like that partnership), but they were increasingly few and far between. I never did take to Danielle, either. Not sure why. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the performance, but I never really bought into her relationship with Jim. A shame, as there was still so much that they could have done with the show, and instead it was allowed to peter out. John Nettles was always solid in the show, and he had a good support cast. All shows have their day, of course, but we could have had another few years; or, at the very least, gone out on a high!
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A shame about Danielle. Never really given much to do, if they even bother to write her into the scripts at all. The last we see of her, all is going well with Jim ... then a letter saying "I've met someone else". Very poor.
sharePersonally, i think it was never quite the same after they saddled him with that tiresome estate agent girlfriend who never stopped moaning. she was really annoying.
shareI reckon the turning point in Bergerac happens towards the end of series 7 when Crozier gets promoted and there is more than a hint that things are going to change organisationally for the Bureau.
From this point on, there is a move away from Jersey being the central location and purpose of the series, and some storylines become very weak indeed. By the time series 8 gets underway, Bergerac is like a fish out of water, unfamiliar in new surroundings as the re-organisation has taken place, and presumably the makers of the show had one eye on the fresh interest there was at the time in Brits making a new life in France (Peter Mayle's novels etc). The decision to make Jim a freelance investigator was perhaps a logical one to develop the series further, but by series 9 it was clear that the game was up. A shame - but then most series go on too long.
I would say Season 6 was the start of the slow decline. That season itself wasn't bad but it marked the tedious sub-plot of the breakdown of Jim and Susan's relationship. This plotline overshadowed too many episodes and saddled then with unnecessary and repetitive scenes of Jim and Susan arguing. This was drawn out over seasons six and seven to their detriment. They should have written Susan out much earlier than they did. after her departure it allowed some progression and seven nine was a great improvement.
Perhaps the show should have ended there.
The turning point for me or perhaps the warning point, was the change in the signature tune,
Dropping the French sound foretold of the end or the "Tradional" episodes, the very essence of
Bergerac and why we watched it
Thank god for the ice maiden episodes the chemistry between Jim and her was brilliant 👍🏽