"Pie in the Sky" (1994) TV series 1994-1997

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

13 March 1994 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

Henry Crabbe, an intelligent, sensible, mild-mannered man, desperately wants to retire from the police...

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Police | Retirement | Cooking | Detective

Cast

Richard Griffiths	...	Henry Crabbe (40 episodes, 1994-1997)
Maggie Steed	...	Margaret Crabbe (33 episodes, 1994-1997)
Malcolm Sinclair	...	ACC Freddy Fisher (33 episodes, 1994-1997)
Nick Raggett	...	Leon Henderson (27 episodes, 1994-1997)
Bella Enahoro	...	DS Sophia Cambridge / ... (26 episodes, 1994-1996)
Samantha Womack	...	Nicola (22 episodes, 1995-1996)
Joe Duttine	...	Steve Turner (21 episodes, 1994-1995)
Nicholas Lamont	...	Gary Palmer (20 episodes, 1995-1997)
Ashley Russell	...	John (20 episodes, 1994-1995)

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Old Town High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The building in Hemel Hempstead that was used as Henry Crabbe's restaurant was a florist at the time of filming but has now become a restaurant named "Pie in the Sky" in real life.

Currently being shown again on ITV3

As a teenager I didn't appreciate Pie In The Sky when it first aired in the mid 90's. However, it's being re-run in an early evening slot on ITV3 at the moment & it's well worth watching again. As mentioned in other comments, the plots often follow a similar path in each episode & Henry almost invariably solves the crime or saves the day single handedly. This is only a very minor flaw though. The scripts & dialogue are great & the excellent cast really bring it all to life. Richard Griffiths is a brilliant character actor & Henry Crabbe is played with an understated charm that most actors would not be able to carry off. This charm & subtlety is carried throughout the whole series & I haven't seen a single bad episode yet. It's also worth mentioning the sheer number of characters in the series. Many of the restaurant staff & Police officers appear regularly from episode to episode but the writers have put real effort into giving them all distinct personalities. I never get the feeling that they are just cardboard cut-outs put there just to advance the plot. Pie In The Sky is very enjoyable light viewing with more than enough substance to keep me interested for the whole 40 episodes.