Father Brown TV show

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tommy999
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Tommy999

Guest
Realizing that he is only a fictional priest based on a creation of GK Chesterton, I was curious if Catholics feel the Father Brown character on the BBC TV program by the same name portrays Catholicism in a positive, negative, or neutral light.

I very much like the TV show and enjoy the “whodunnit” aspect of the plot and how Father Brown solves each puzzling crime every week. However, I am not Catholic and would be interested in what Catholics think about it.
 
I like the show 🙂
I’ve been watching it lately.Im not sure if the book is quite the same as the tv series? 🤔
 
I haven’t read the book so I’m not quite sure.
 
Last edited:
I think there’s been another thread on this topic a fee months ago. I think the general consensus is that the BBC has watered Chesterton down and secularized him right up!
 
Last edited:
I see. Thanks for the reply. My apologies for not realizing another thread existed on this topic.
 
Oh well, I didn’t mean to reprimand you. I personally don’t mind if everyone wants to discuss similar things more than once. : )
I just thought you might enjoy reading the responses on that thread as well. I think this is it.
40.png
Would the Real Father Brown Please Stand Up? Popular Media
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/issues/january-19th-2018/what-has-the-bbc done-to-father-brown/ My impression this is not he Knight of the Holy Catholic Church. But a failed ploy/plot of the Father (Jesuit Priest) who strode along Chesterton’s series of short stories. Luckily I’ve read the Father Brown stories, the ones produced by Acorn Media with Kenneth Moore (or More, forget correctly spelling), and the one with Sir Alec Guiness playing as Father Brown in the Great Detective. As the articl…
Click to expand...
 
I’m repurposing my comments from the prior thread. I’m in the early part of season 5 and the focus on saving souls over anything else is the aspect I’ve enjoyed the most. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show from a secular media entity where there’s so much emphasis on this. I find it really refreshing.

I can see the argument about it being watered down and secularized compared to the books, but I tend to count my blessings and I’m just happy to see a well-made show portraying a Catholic priest in an excellent light. There’s not enough of this kind of stuff out there right now IMO.

As a general rule, traditionalist Catholics seem to not like the show. All of my traditionalist friends dislike it, after having never seen it (based on internet articles like the OP one in the prior thread, I presume). I get the reasoning for most of their arguments, but like I said, I’ll focus on the good over the bad.

One of the things that (ridiculously) seems to set them off is the “connection” to Harry Potter (the main actor was in the Harry Potter movies). As the OP said in the prior thread: “And I don’t like Harry Potter’s uncle playing a priest.” That’s just silly and not a valid reason to theologically dislike a show. He’s an actor! It has nothing to do with Harry Potter.
 
Last edited:
Tommy999 said:
Realizing that he is only a fictional priest based on a creation of GK Chesterton, I was curious if Catholics feel the Father Brown character on the BBC TV program by the same name portrays Catholicism in a positive, negative, or neutral light.

I very much like the TV show and enjoy the “whodunnit” aspect of the plot and how Father Brown solves each puzzling crime every week. However, I am not Catholic and would be interested in what Catholics think about it.
Click to expand...
Its a great show.
 
Tommy999 said:
. However, I am not Catholic and would be interested in what Catholics think about it.
Click to expand...
It’s a good series , bu I prefer the 1954 comedy film version because it stars the irreplaceable Sir Alec Guinness .

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
OP. It is one of the few TV programmes I watch. I have stopped watching TV in the evenings apart from Father Brown, Call the Midwife and other good quality programmes from the BBC, nature and a science programme. I haven’t read the book yet but will when I have the time.
 
There are several books, and quite a lot of stories of Father Brown.
I really enjoy the show. There is an emphasis on saving souls, and the show itself is cheerful, the characters friendly. Watching it is like visiting old friends.

I have read that Chesterton wrote the stories before converting to Catholicism, but you can’t tell. Perhaps Father Brown had a hand in converting him; stranger things have happened.
My only objection is that Fr Brown In the show is too tall, and Flambeau too short. In the books Fr Brown is a short dumpy man, and Flambeau a very large, athletic guy. The shows reversed it, so I have to suspend disbelief even more.
 
I loved the short stories, I watched a couple if seasons, but had a difficult time with how much changed. I am not saying it’s bad, just not Fr Brown. In the stories, he is never portrayed as a parish priest, not always clear what his clerical role is. But his approach to all of the mysteries is always, albeit often subtly, based on his Catholic faith and his priesthood. He is shown as one who has a deep understanding of human behavior.
The show is built around his parish setting and the events that go along with it. This is just not Fr Brown. But I might go back and try it again.
 
Thanks to all who responded. I was just curious what Catholics thought of it.

I very much like the show. It is shown on TV on Sunday evenings on PBS where I live. I got the impression it portrays Catholicism in a realistic but positive light. Of course, the fictional episodes are set in the Cotswalds of England in the early 1950s, if I am not mistaken.

Father Brown’s crime-solving instincts and insights into human nature usually combine to expose the criminal and solve the crime – usually a murder of some kind. The show kind of reminds me of “Murder She Wrote” with a Catholic twist, except it is more entertaining. I miss that the character who played Sid Carter, the chauffeur, is no longer on the show. He added spice to the plots. However, the rest of the cast is doing their best to pick up the slack.
 
Last edited:
Having considered this a little more, I wonder if it even possible to show Fr Brown’s priesthood and it’s effect on his approach to crime and mystery solving on a TV or film as subtly as Chesterton could do by the written word. Perhaps what I liked the least about the show was necessary. I think I will try the show again.
 
Last edited:
From what I have seen, it is a good program. I haven’t watched a lot, but I do not see anything wrong with it.
 
Viki63 said:
There is an emphasis on saving souls, and the show itself is cheerful, the characters friendly. Watching it is like visiting old friends.
Click to expand...
I enjoyed the show for the same kind of reasons.

Fr Brown didn’t seem to do sermons on the sixth commandment; even though half his parishioners seemed to be embroiled in murder. I can imagine there would have been a good market for cheap houses in Kembleford, if you dared to live there!
 
I’m a big fan of the stories, and my wife was a big fan of the show. I watched a few episodes with her and liked what I saw, I just haven’t gotten around to watching it myself yet.
 
I think it’s alright. Some of the episodes are really enjoyable, although I find the later seasons a bit boring, focusing more on “gimmicks” in the sets and story premises than a compelling mystery. The lead actor does a good job throughout though and I find the show mostly comfy and inviting.

From a theological perspective, I don’t see too many problems with it, although I think I understand where people are coming from when they say they find it watered down or secularized. There were a few lines and scenarios that made me raise an eyebrow, and there’s definitely that feeling of “made in the 2010s” to it, but I think it’s mostly positive.

I also can’t speak on how it relates to the original stories, which I do want to read sometime.

I’ve watched up through the end of the fifth season, and so far my favourite episode has been the first episode of season 2.
 
Last edited:
Fair, and I’ve also found (and this applies to most shows of this kind really) that despite the setting being constant it rarely does anything to make it feel like a real place, which kind of loses any advantage keeping the setting the same has in the first place.
 
tafan2 said:
I am not saying it’s bad, just not Fr Brown. In the stories, he is never portrayed as a parish priest, not always clear what his clerical role is. But his approach to all of the mysteries is always, albeit often subtly, based on his Catholic faith and his priesthood. He is shown as one who has a deep understanding of human behavior.
The show is built around his parish setting and the events that go along with it. This is just not Fr Brown.
Click to expand...
This is a great point. I’m not well-versed in the books (I’ve read five of the Father Brown short stories), but the more I reflect upon it, the more I realize that I don’t really think of this show as the same Father Brown as the books. It feels like its own standalone set of stories with a different priest lead character.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top