Detectorists (TV Series) Special (2022) User Reviews

It's about time

[doydoy-75472 · 9/10 · 11 January 2023]

This was never for the cynic. It never offered melodrama, a second act crisis or grand finale. It has always been about slowing down to the genuine emotional rhythm of the detectorist, and enjoying the story's undulation.

Those who are somehow disillusioned by the episode's so called lack of luster must have never gotten the point.

I am so thankful for spending more time in this world. I believe it is the least us hardcore fans of moderate living are owed. So, an hour and a half every three years if you please.

There is so precious little of such humble, pleasant tube time to be found. Almost like it's hidden in the ground.

Thank you!

[zdarov · 8/10 · 12 February 2023]

Loved spending time with everyone again in this special, just have to say I don't love the sad-sack resolution of the gold from the last episode, and how long you let us think the cup was lost in this one! Simon and Garfunkel were so overcome with emotion at being invited, I honestly don't believe they wouldn't have shared some of the spoils. Why did Andy's house need to have burn down? These guys will still be lovable even if they win a bit.

Good job with the opening bit that leads to the titles.

Obviously anyone who loved this show will be watching the special, and I think and hope most will be as happy with it as I was.

Best show on at Christmas

[sgar-47165 · 8/10 · 29 December 2022]

I, like many others loved the original series, And this special was up there in my option, I loved the familiarity of the whole show and it's characters and like my title suggests it was the best thing on tv this year,

There is something comforting about watching a tv show with likeable characters and with picturesque settings, This show certainly delivers that, and the storyline is easy to follow and very well written,

I would have liked to seen how far Andy had got in the house renovations before it burned down and how the fire started, but I guess the show was about the club but it did add an air of mystery to the show,

I do however hope Mackenzie crook leaves the show there now as I think you can overcook a good thing,

Mackenzie Crook Is A Genius Writer - You Don't Watch Detectorists , You Live It .

[peterwilliams810 · 10/10 · 31 December 2022]

In all my 66 years on the planet I have never experienced a series such as Detectorists , this is a show that will go down in TV history as the best ever written and I'm sure that I'm not the only viewer to be affected in this manner .

There isn't a weak character amongst them and it's not enough to watch them , you want to be part of them , nothing has ever come close to this gentle , beautiful , intelligent series and just because Mackenzie Crook saw fit to give us all an insight into what's been happening in their lives during the past 5 years does not make it boring , it just adds to its rich tapestry .

I understand why people are moaning , it did seem like a re-run of another plot done previously but the scope for a comedy involving Detectorists must be limited and if a bit of repetition appears then I for one will gratefully accept it .

I pray for another season - God bless you , Mackenzie Crook and everyone involved in the making of the best comedy ever .

Another Perfect Gem

[sandijw · 10/10 · 29 December 2022]

Well, I've been waiting all year for this..and it did not disappoint!

This has been my favourite series which I watch over and over.

This Christmas special was absolutely packed with 'catch up' information and enough new tangents for another series ! It's extremely difficult to fit into a one off 70min programme all the events of the past 5 years and also create a new plot.

As usual, Mackenzie has fed us tantalising bits of archaeology to reel us in. The use of super little historical vignettes only add to the interest...and mystery.

It was wonderful to see everyone on form and so easy with each other. Nothing has changed; warm and comfortable. No one's life has really changed. The continuity hasn't dimmed.

And it was such a relief to have the passion of the original series' maintained. For me, it was like seeing old friends.

I wish that he could be persuaded to do another series ! Thank you, Mackenzie, for all the joy you've brought with this series over the past years & keeping the spirit alive this Christmas.

Never too much of a good thing..

[leevww · 10/10 · 29 December 2022]

Sublime and blindsided.. didn't see that coming.. Fabulous, shame the story line wasn't made into a series..even an abridged one .

Non the less it's a real treat to see the gang back..And.as usual it will take a few viewings to get to grips with it all.. Mackenzie Crook ,is somewhat of a modern day minstrel. And long may he continue to remind us of the more noble and kind disposition of our characters These characters are far too popular and of such great interest and love for him not bring them out again.. Their is so much more to do and say. Be encouraged DMDC cannot go the way of the Dodo .

The common man's Indiana Jones

[brazadoz · 8/10 · 4 July 2023]

After five years, nothing much has changed for the detectorists life. It's comforting to see that the costumes, down to Andy's shoes, remain the same. The Triumph looks great but shows some functional scripted wear and tear. Andy has faced some trials and still remains pretty much the same guy. I was initially put off by Lance's (IMO) out of character behavior. This is explained later on, but on first impression I was wondering if someone else wrote the script.

The acting is so enjoyable and the comedy/gags aren't blatant. So much is conveyed with a look or an expression. The protagonists express empathy and thoughtfulness throughout the series. Though the show is primarily about two friends and their hobby, I've enjoyed all the supporting characters so much that I wish Mackenzie Crook would do another series with the adventures of the DMDC finding their "gold"

Greetings from Ukraine!

[archaeologistu · 10/10 · 15 May 2023]

Good health! Greetings from Ukraine! Thanks for the new series of my favorite tape. Lucky to find her, by chance! Frankly, the third season, in comparison with 1 and 2, was bad. This 19 series is just perfect, like the 12 series of the first seasons. It would be great if they were developed at least a little more. Let them already find a burial place, if not for the king, then for the noble knight. I don't want the filling to end.

Please, if you have the guts, let this film develop.

Sincere greetings to everyone who created this beautiful book!

Waiting for new series!!!

Thank you. Good luck.

Too much of a good thing?

[dmorris13 · 6/10 · 27 December 2022]

I've loved this programme like a lot of people from the first time I discovered it. However, I'm beginning to think Mr Crook should start thinking like his old mentor and stop while it's still on a high. This special was okay; not up to the standards of the early days. I don't think this works as well over a longer format. One of the charms of the series episodes was that they seemed to be over just as you were getting into them. They were nuggets to be savoured. Series three was a close run thing, but all in all I think he pulled it off. However returning seems a step too far this time. It's like going back to an old lover: while you are there again it's still pleasant, but you know deep down you probably should have let it be.....The odd thing is I still want more!

Special

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 27 December 2022]

The Detectorists return for a Christmas special. Five years after the last episode.

This is not a special set in foreign lands, just a new field. Andy (Mackenzie Crook) and Lance (Toby Jones) have got permission from a farmer to explore a new field that has so far remain unexplored.

However a character change overcomes Lance as he discovers piece of gold. Greed overtakes him as he wants to take sole credit for the big find that all detectorists dream about.

Eventually Lance sees sense thanks to his wife and re-buries the item and invites everyone for an open dig.

Only for Lance's attention to turn towards an old Nokia mobile phone and Andy makes the re-discovery. One that would also save The Danebury Metal Detecting Club's scout hall.

It threatens to end their friendship as Lance fails to get the plaudits and seems bitter about it.

Detectorists has always been a gentle comedy about pastimes, friendships and small things with characters that have a lot of heart. It is regarded something of a holy grail to the metal detecting world.

Writer and director Mackenzie Crook did not shake up the formula too much. It was a pleasure to see them back on screen again.

As it was Christmas, there was an animated sequence of how something valuable could had ended up there.

Skip this one

[itsChimpanzee · 4/10 · 4 January 2024]

I love this show but would just say, if you're satisfied with the ending of series three, give this one a miss. It undoes a lot of the high that the main series leaves viewers on and creates a rift and tension that's uncharacteristic of the show. The Detectorists is like a nice cup of tea and a chocolate Hobnob. It's just nice, lightheaded escapism, and this special strays from that a little in pursuit of unnecessary drama. There were some fun moments and the ending is nice enough, but I preferred the onward journey that I had imagined for the characters in my head, to what's revealed in this final special.

Nothng surprising, but then fans of this show wouldnt expect surpises I guess

[Metal_Robots · 6/10 · 27 December 2022]

This episode was OK, but most of the story beats have been done before in previous episodes So, without wanting to give any spoilers, fans of the slow, meditative pace and gentle satire, who are happy too see more of exactly the same in this second Christmas special, will probably enjoy it.

The main story is strictly between our two main protagonists, all the previous characters get a foot-in but only briefly, so there's utterly zero character development for any of them except just a tiny bit for Crook's character's wife, the teacher.

The only real difference in this one over any previous episodes is the tone of the end, which to me at least, pretty much seals it as the final show.

I will give this a 6 out of 10 - it raised enough chortles from me to remain entertaining, but zero originality shows there's nowhere else for the writers to go now.

Wish that we'd never watched this episode/show

[sharkriver-66248 · 3/10 · 16 May 2023]

The last episode of season three was perfect. Andy and Becky had won the cottage at the auction. Andy and Lance had the hoard literally fall from the sky. The finder's fee for the hoard would help Andy pay Veronica back the money she gave them for the cottage. Toni was moving into Lance's flat and Kate had moved into Toni's narrow boat. A gentle, kind and satisfying end to a gentle and enjoyable show. Then along comes this last "Special" and it was all turned to dust. No joy, no kindness, no good Karma. Lance is dishonest, Andy is skint. It's ruined the entire series for us and we will never watch the "Special" again.

An Episode Too Far...

[derekobr-01067 · 5/10 · 28 December 2022]

I had hoped to feel welcomed back to the world of Lance and Andy. It had been a joy when the show was on air regularly. Now, however, we have a rift between our two best friends in account of greed and selfishness. Worse, Andy's partner Becky is written as a screeching, selfish cow. Almost from the start her character is taking it up to 11, when we haven't had the benefit of the traumas and crises that the couple have faced since the end of the last episode. Never jump to fifth gear from a standing position. There was no reason for her to be so unsympathetic, unless Mackenzie was going through a bad relationship at the time when he wrote it.

And the outcome of Lance's selfish scheme to contrive discovering his earlier find in public later screams of predictability. Of course it wasn't going to work out the way he expected!

There wasn't really any laughs to be had in it, even when "Simon and Garfunkle" made an appearance, usually a highlight of the episodes. It's definitely a case of an episode too far.

Dreary

[Fuficius-Fango · 5/10 · 29 December 2022]

On the whole I love Detectorists, but I found both Christmas Specials dreary. It wasn't necessary to kill off the house and the narrowboat and the previous finds and the money and the jobs. The Lord's prayer parody was ridiculous. The best joke was about Alice Roberts (I'm not a fan!) until I spotted her at the second viewing coming out of the BM behind Lance and Andy with her pink hair. She's not even at the press conference. Although I love the three series, they are pretty repetitive and cover too much of the same old ground (if you'll forgive the pun). Ultimately the macGuffin in this special is too incredible and not even self-justifying, since the army that carried it lost it, if not the battle. And it's not susceptible of being provenanced anyway. A bit of pure fantasy, but pointless, just like Indiana Jones' last crusade.