You may recall that last summer I wrote a glowing post about the debut series of the BBC sitcom Detectorists. I touted this mature, gentle BAFTA-award winning show for its appealing characters and smart writing. Triple threat (writer, director and actor) Mackenzie Crook and his co-star Toby Jones brilliantly portray Andy and Lance, two ordinary guys who share their love of metal detecting and quiz shows and, on occasion, provide advice and emotional support to one another. This is quite probably as close to a bromance as two English blokes can ever get.
I was thrilled to hear another series had been ordered and was set to be broadcast in the UK in the autumn of 2015. Finally this week, Acorn TV made the entire second series available to its streaming service subscribers here in the US. And let me tell you, if you loved the series one you will not be disappointed as you reacquaint yourself with the members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club.
Without giving too much away, I can tell you Andy’s life has changed quite a bit. He and his girlfriend Becky (Rachel Stirling) have gotten married and now have a three month old cherubic son named Stanley. Becky has continued to work as a teacher while Andy, who has finally earned his archaeology qualifications, has become a default stay-at-home dad. However, Becky is itching to leave her boring job and petty co-workers behind and take her young family on an long planned adventure. Unfortunately, Andy seems to have settled into their comfortable domestic life a bit too well.
In other news, Andy and the other detectorists are concerned about Lance as he has been quite solitary and secretive since his ex-wife Maggie left town. Lance’s friends suggest he try out some on-line dating sites, but he has something much more pressing going on in his personal life that he obviously wants to keep to himself.
The DMDC also gains a new member named Peter (Daniel Donskoy). The young German man enlists their expertise in finding his grandfather’s final resting place – a WWII warplane crash site – with special help and attention from ancient history student Sophie (Aimee-Ffion Edwards).
The Antiquitsearchers aka Simon and Garfunkel (Paul Casar and Simon Farnby) are back with a new name and are up to no good as usual. Russell (Pearce Quigley) and Hugh (Divian Ladwa) have started up a jewelry retrieval service while club president Terry (Gerard Horan) balances his two passions – metal detecting and his eccentric but sweet wife Sheila (Sophie Thompson).
I found that plenty of amusing situations, human stories and just the right amount of heartfelt moments make this follow-up series a delight. However, I have to admit my favorite part of the show is when Andy and Lance are out alone in the fields searching for important artifacts when they inevitably come upon modern litter instead – ring pulls, combine harvester parts and can slaw (mangled aluminum cans).
I loot I live for though is the British pop culture trinkets the pair tends to find every few episodes. It’s getting more and more difficult for me to come across references I don’t know on telly these days. I virtually squeal with delight as I Google away, trying to find out why Lance and Andy’s discoveries are funny.
For example, Lance unearths a promising piece of Roman jewelry or so he thinks…
Status Quo is a classic British boogie/psychedelic rock band that formed in the 60’s and still exists today. They had next to no presence on the American record charts; however, if you watched the Live Aid concert in 1985 you may remember Status Quo as the band that opened the epic sixteen hour televised event with their hit song, ‘Rockin’ All Over the World.’
And here is a selection of the band’s pins and brooches from a posting on eBay. Perhaps Lance found one of these!
Another example of Lance’s spoils from this series is a Blankety Blank chequebook (without it’s obligatory pen).
Blankety Blank was a TV game show equivalent to our Match Game in the States. Celebrity panelists would be read a sentence by the host with a word or phrase left out. The panelists would fill in the blank and two contestants would compete to see how many of the celebrities answers they could match. The one with the most matches at the end of the show won and the loser apparently received the lovely consolation prize above.
Finally we come to Andy’s only significant find of the series – a Tufty Club Badge!
I take it that Tufty the squirrel was the mascot for a preschool traffic safety campaign. (Like we had Woodsy the Owl – “Give a hoot! Don’t pollute!”) At its peak, there were over 24,000 Tufty clubs sponsored by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
Learning the story behind Tufty puts this scene from Life on Mars into context and makes it so much funnier.
The point is Detectorists can be enjoyed on many levels. You don’t have to know who Jimmy Savile was or why Andy finding a “Jim Fixed It For Me” pendant in the last series made him throw it as far from himself as possible. (Google it and you’ll find out why that was an edgy gag.) You can just relax and enjoy the friendships, the quirkiness, and the Simon and Garfunkel banter and let the other stuff float past if you wish. And when you’re done, you can try out your own little gold dance right in the middle of your living room.
Best show ever! I have seen all of season 2 as well. It’s so good. I wish they would keep writing 🙂
Carmen, thanks for this post! I have been watching season 2 on the Denver PBS station. Last Saturday, the 28th. was the last episode they seem to have promised us. I tried looking on Netflix for this wonderful series but to no avail.
I did find one or two episodes of season one on YOUTUBE. Yes, I love the subtle and good natured humor and the beautiful scenery. My hubby and I were shocked to see Diana Rigg, the actress from “The Avengers.” I wish more TV was just good and simple and comforting like this one. Detectorists!”
From one of the comments it seems that there maybe is not going to be season 3? Oh dear!
Hey, by the way, this morning I discovered BBC Oxford radio. Right now I am listening to “Born to be Wild.” Wow! That takes me back in time.
Caterina-
The woman who plays Andy’s wife, Becky, is Rachael Stirling and she happens to be Diana Rigg’s real daughter.
Double check on Netflix. I just looked myself and found series one available to stream. Series one is also on Hulu if you subscribe. Acorn TV however has both 1 and 2.
A Christmas special was made after series 2 but the only way I’m aware to see it is on the DVD set. It’s not clear whether Mackenzie Crook is up for doing another series but since he’s the writer, director and star it’s up to him in the end.
Thanks for the tip on the radio channel!
What a lovely discovery this series is, recommended by a Brit-TV-savvy friend! I binge-watched Season 1 on Netflix and am in the middle of Season 2. I guess by now it’s clear there will be no more. Sad. Thank goodness for Google, so I can find out about such cultural references as “Status Quo.” I actually knew about Jimmy Savile from the news but had to look up “Jim Fixed It For Me,” since I had never watched the show. Knowing the history made Andy’s reaction much more meaningful. The writing is so rich that I’m sure I miss a lot, but I did want to share my appreciation of this gem: in discussing their activities and commenting that he doesn’t go any more, Lance says to Andy, “Nostalgia conventions aren’t what they used to be.” Priceless. You have to be alert every minute with these guys!
I have good news for you! There is a third series of Detectorists and it’s streaming now on Acorn TV. I am confident it will come to Netflix and other outlets eventually. That being said, Mackenzie Crook (writer, director and star) has indicated series 3 is indeed the end of the road for Andy and Lance,
Wonderful! I can’t wait. I will check Netflix from time to time. Thanks, Carmen
Thanks for posting all this information. I was watching the series for the tenth or twentieth time when I finally started to look these things up. Found the answers here! Thanks.
You’re welcome! Deciphering pop culture references is the thing I love most about watching British TV.