History Series / AgathaRaisin

Agatha Raisin, PR whizz, gives up her successful life in London, landing with a bang in the [[IdyllicEnglishVillage quiet village of Carsely]] with hopes of beginning a new dream life. Bored, lonely and used to getting her own way, Agatha finds that life in the Cotswolds isn't quite the picture-perfect existence she imagined... and when her high-flying city attitude is met with puzzlement and suspicion from country locals, Agatha enlists the few allies she can find. Among them are DC Bill Wong, a lovelorn local policeman; Gemma Simpson, her suffer-no-fools cleaning lady; and Roy Silver, a faithful former assistant from London. But with her unique brand of feisty truth telling finding little favour, it seems the community is not quite ready for the acerbic Agatha.

* AgeLift: In the books Toni Gilmour is a teenager who starts to work for Agatha. In the series Toni is an adult woman which makes sense since she becomes a love interest for the also adult Bill Wong.

** In "The Curious Curate" this happens to Agatha twice! First she's trapped in the house with the seeming murderer who tried to kill her. Agatha fights back bravely. Later in her home she realised the murderer was covering for another and is almost strangled to death by the real killer.
** In "The Wizard of Eavesham" she's knocked out and then tied up with the killer who has a total psychotic break.
** In the pre-Season Four Christmas special "Kissing Christmas Goodbye" the killer confronts Agatha alone in her apartment. Agatha has to use the Christmas turkey (still frozen), a large candy-cane and a snow globe to fight. The killer has a knife.
* AmateurSleuth: Agatha is PR expert who spends more time solving murders than she does doing public relations. At the end of season 2, Agatha decides to stop fighting it and becomes a licensed private investigator.

** Carsley is said to be somewhere between Bourton-on-the-Water and Moreton-in-Marsh, both in [[UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry Northern Gloucestershire]], yet the local police are based in Evesham, which is in the entirely different county of [[UsefulNotes/TheMidlands Worcestershire]], and is covered by a completely different police force (West Mercia), and, who, therefore, have no business investigating crime in Gloucestershire (that would be the job of the Gloucestershire Constabulary). It should be noted that all of this is avoided in the books themselves, where the local police are based in Cheltenham, which is in Gloucestershire, and would be the nearest large town in the area for where Carsley is said to be. It apparently only takes half an hour to get to Bath (try adding on another half an hour to that journey time, and you may be nearer the mark), and the local bus service is run by The South Gloucestershire Bus company, which is an entirely different administrative area from Gloucestershire, though it is included in it for ceremonial purposes, and, as the name may suggest, is actually to the south of the county.

* AutoErotica: The victim in the pilot is seen in a car with the woman he is having an affair, the camera pulls away to show the car rocking suggestively.

* BookcasePassage: In season one's "The Witch of Wyckhadden" the cool manor turned hotel has at least one of these, it even opens up into the library.
* BoundAndGagged: In "Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham", the killer uses [[DuctTapeForEverything duct tape]] to gag Agatha and bind her to her to a hairdressing chair.
* BratsWithSlingshots: In "Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam", the killer uses a military-grade slingshot firing ball bearings in an attempt to do in Agatha.
* CanonForeigner: Neither Gemma, Toni nor DCI Wilkes appear in the novels.
* ChekhovsGun: In "Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam", Gemma tells Agatha that a good cleaner always carries a squirt bottle of 3-in-1 disinfectant to ward of the amorous advances of any male householders. At the end of the story, Agatha stops the killer by spraying them in the face with 3-in-1 disinfectant.

* CordonBleughChef: In "Agatha Rasin and the Curious Curate", the second VictimOfTheWeek is a woman who is attempting to start up a boutique jam business. The problem is, most of flavours she makes feature combinations of ingredients that shouldn't even be made into jam; let alone used together.

* DestroyTheEvidence: In "Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham", Agatha has to destroy her smoke damaged clothing so she can claim she was nowhere near Johnny's house when it was torched. She bundles it all into her fireplace and sets fire to it just as DI Wilkes and Bill arrive to question her, leading to awkward questions about what the bad smell is.
* DoomMagnet: In the pilot the villagers note that there has not been in a murder in Carseley village for forty years before Agatha moves in. This was followed by eight more murders in season one. Lampshaded by Bill that Agatha has been investigating a lot of deaths.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: A subplot in "Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener" involves joyriders fanging around the village at night; doing burnouts and generally terrorizing the village. Ultimately the joyriders are revealed as [[spoiler:a couple in their 80s or 90s who always fancied being speed demons and decided it was never too late to live their dream]].
** In episode one Agatha drives like crazy to stop a murder and hits a tree. In episode one of season two she is driving fast when she realises her brakes have been cut, she hits another tree.

** At the end of "Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley", Agatha brings home a copy of the nude yoga dvd. As she and Gemma sit down to watch it, they immediately start tilting their heads at an odd angle.

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: In "Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate", the killer gives themself away when they mention what a close call James had had. Agatha remarks that no one knew James had been present at the murder, not even the police, and that the only person who could have known was the murderer.

** In "Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death", we learned that the victim and one of the women he was having an affair with gave away their affair to the whole village when they speak about meeting "at their regular place" backstage of a play but their microphones are still on.
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: In "Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came", Agatha Raisin is ranting about a suspect that called her "a dried-up, old spinster". Roy says that she's not dried-up. After a significant look from Agatha, he adds "Or old".

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: "Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden" has a lot of this: the "witch's" hair tonic really does work, an ancient prophecy about an inheritance turns out to prove true, and an attempt to speak to a murder victim via a seance is implied to have been successful.

* NeverSuicide: In "Agatha Raisin and Hell's Bells", everyone is prepared to write off the death of the VictimOfTheWeek as suicide; except Agatha, who keeps pointing out of the all of the discrepancies in this theory. Naturally, Agatha is proved right.

* NotSoGreatEscape: "Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Eveshem" has a scene that starts like this. Agatha is searching Johnny's house for evidence when the real killer arrives. Agatha starts scuttling around the house on her hands and knees, hiding behind furniture and ducking in and out rooms in an effort not to be seen. However, it turns serious when the killer decides to burn the house down to destroy any evidence, and Agatha finds herself trapped in a storeroom.

** The season one finale ends with it looking like Gemma and Bill are getting together. Subverted in season two [[spoiler:when we learn they broke up when Bill's mom was not a fan of Gemma and they learned they were not sexually compatible]]
** Season three's premier episode introduces Gemma's younger cousin Toni who becomes a junior detective. By the end of the episode Toni and Bill start flirting and making eyes at each other.
* PhotographicMemory: New character Toni introduced in season three is terrible as a temporary cleaner but her photographic memory helps her work with Agatha in solving crime.

* ProphecyTwist: In "Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden", one murder suspect wants to make a legal claim as heiress of a castle. A prophecy predicts that a curse on the family line will be broken when a "raven" takes power; and the suspect, who has dark hair, believes this refers to her. It's actually [[spoiler:the castle's maid, who's working there to learn the business and prepare to inherit from her father. She has naturally black hair that's not obvious, since it's dyed blue.)]]

* SituationalSexuality: In Season 4 in a wellness retreat Sir Charles and James are encouraged to touch each other "all over with love." Sir Charles invokes this by saying to his school friend James "it will just be like boarding school eh James?"

** James is knocked out so deeply by a blow to the head but the killer in "Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage", he is fully unconscious when the killer starts to bury him alive.

* VoodooDoll: While investigating apparently supernatural goings-on in "Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam", Agatha finds a doll of herself with nails stuck into it.
* UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry: Carsley is meant to in Gloucestershire somewhere. See ArtisticLicenceGeography above.

''Agatha Raisin'' is a British comedy-drama based on the novels of M.C. Beaton. It began with a pilot titled ''Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death'' in 2014, and was followed with an eight-part series that first aired in 2016

Agatha Raisin, PR whizz, gives up her successful life in London, landing with a bang in the quiet village of Carsely with hopes of beginning a new dream life. Bored, lonely and used to getting her own way, Agatha finds that life in the Cotswolds isn't quite the picture-perfect existence she imagined... and when her high-flying city attitude is met with puzzlement and suspicion from country locals, Agatha enlists the few allies she can find. Among them are DC Bill Wong, a lovelorn local policeman; Gemma Simpson, her suffer-no-fools cleaning lady; and Roy Silver, a faithful former assistant from London. But with her unique brand of feisty truth telling finding little favour, it seems the community is not quite ready for the acerbic Agatha.

** Carsley is said to be somewhere between Bourton-on-the-Water and Moreton-in-Marsh, both in [[UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry Northern Gloucestershire]], yet the local police are based in Evesham, which is in the entirely different county of [[UsefulNotes/TheMidlands Worcestershire]], and is covered by a completely different police force (West Mercia), and, who, therefore, have no business investigating crime in Gloucestershire (that would be the job of the Gloucestershire Constabulary). It apparently only takes half an hour to get to Bath (try adding on another half an hour to that journey time, and you may be nearer the mark), and the local bus service is run by The South Gloucestershire Bus company, which is an entirely different administrative area from Gloucestershire, though it is included in it for ceremonial purposes, and, as the name may suggest, is actually to the south of the county.

* ProphecyTwist: In "Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden", one murder suspect wants to make a legal claim as heiress of a castle. A prophecy predicts that a curse on the family line will be broken when a "raven" takes power; and the suspect, who has dark hair, believes this refers to her. It's actually [[spoiler:the castle's maid, who's working there to learn the business and prepare to inherit from her father. She has naturally black hair that's not obvious, since it's dyed [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue.]])]]

* DoomMagnet: In the pilot the villagers note that there has not been in a murder in Carseley village for forty years before Agatha moves in. This was followed by eight more murders in season one.
** Lampshaded by Bill that Agatha has been investigating a lot of deaths.

* LipstickLesbian: Subverted. In "Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley" Agatha uses this term for the lesbian couple but while both are not butch they do not dress traditionally feminine. But they are more feminine than the victim of the week who was bisexual but dresses more masculine in comparison.

* SpookySeance: In season one's "The Witch of Wyckhadden" a local "witch" Francie, is killed. Her sister Janine a powerful medium is convinced by Agatha to hold a seance to find out who is the killer. As expected all present hold hands, the lights flicker, Francie's ghost does seem to speak through Janine and then Janine is murdered before the killer can be revealed.

** In season four"s Christmas special "Kissing Christmas Goodbye" Toni can'g drive but still speeds around in Agatha's car hitting multiple things throughout the episode.

* CanonForeigner: Neither Gemma nor DCI Wilkes appear in the novels.

* EmbarrassingCoverUp: In "Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage", Agatha and James need to investigate an detox clinic. James introduces Agatha as a raging alcoholic whose entire life is a tissue of lies.

* ChekhovsGun: In "Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam", Gemma tells Agatha that a good cleaner always carries a squirt bottle of 3-in1 disinfectant to ward of the amorous advances of any male householders. At the end of the story, Agatha stops the killer by spraying them in the face with 3-in-1 disinfectant.

** Carsley is said to be somewhere between Bourton-on-the-Water and Moreton-in-Marsh, both in [[UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry Northern Gloucestershire]], yet the local police are based in Evesham, which is in a entirely different county [[UsefulNotes/TheMidlands Worcestershire]], and is covered by a completely different police force (West Mercia), and, who, therefore, have no business investigating crime in Gloucestershire (that would be the job of the Gloucestershire Constabulary). It apparently only takes half an hour to get to Bath (try adding on another half an hour to that journey time, and you may be nearer the mark), and the local bus service is run by The South Gloucestershire Bus company, which is an entirely different administrative area from Gloucestershire, though it is included in it for ceremonial purposes, and, as the name may suggest, is actually to the south of the county.

** Carsley is said to be somewhere between Bourton-on-the-Water and Moreton-in-Marsh, both in Northern Gloucestershire, yet the local police are based in Evesham, which is in a entirely different county (Worcestershire), and is covered by a completely different police force (West Mercia), and, who, therefore, have no business investigating crime in Gloucestershire (that would be the job of the Gloucestershire Constabulary). It apparently only takes half an hour to get to Bath (try adding on another half an hour to that journey time, and you may be nearer the mark), and the local bus service is run by The South Gloucestershire Bus company, which is an entirely different administrative area from Gloucestershire, though it is included in it for ceremonial purposes, and, as the name may suggest, is actually to the south of the county.

* UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry: Carsley is meant to in Gloucestershire somewhere. See ArtisticLicence/Geography above.

** Carsley is said to be somewhere between Bourton-on-the-Water and Moreton-in-Marsh, both in Northern Gloucestershire, yet the local police are based in Evesham, which is in a entirely different county (Worcestershire), and is covered by a completely different police force (West Mercia), and, who, therefore, have no business investigating crime in Gloucestershire (that would be the job of the Gloucestershire Constabulary). It apparently only takes half an hour to get to Bath (try adding on a other half an hour to that journey time, and you may be nearer the mark), and the local bus service is run by The South Gloucestershire Bus company, which is an entirely different administrative area from Gloucestershire, though it is included in it for ceremonial purposes, and, as the name may suggest, is actually to the south of the county.

** Carsley is said to be somewhere between Bourton-on-the-Water and Moreton-in-Marsh, both in Northern Gloucestershire, yet the local police are based in Evesham, which is in a entirely different county (Worcestershire), and is covered by a completely different police force (West Mercia), and, who, therefore, have no business investigating crime in Gloucestershire (that would be the job of the Gloucestershire Constabulary). It apparently only takes half an hour to get to Bath (try adding on a hour to that journey time, and you may be nearer the mark), and the local bus service is run by The South Gloucestershire Bus company, which is an entirely different administration area from Gloucestershire itself, and, as the name may suggest, is actually to the south of the county.

** Carsley is said to be somewhere between Bourton-on-the-Water and Moreton-in-Marsh, both in Northern Gloucestershire, yet the local police are based in Evesham, which is in a entirely different county (Worcestershire), and is covered by a completely different police force (West Mercia), and, who, therefore, have no business investigating crime in Gloucestershire (that would be the job of the Gloucestershire Police force). It apparently only takes half an hour to get to Bath (try adding on a hour to that journey time, and you may be nearer the mark), and the local bus service is run by The South Gloucestershire Bus company, which is an entirely different administration area from Gloucestershire itself, and, as the name may suggest, is actually to the south of the county.

* BookcasePackage: In season one's "The Witch of Wyckhadden" the cool manor turned hotel has at least one of these, it even opens up into the library.

* CanonForeigner: Gemma doesn't appear in the novels.

* PairTheSpares: The season one finale ends with it looking like Gemma and Bill are getting together. Subverted in season two [[spoiler:when we learn they broke up when Bill's mom was not a fan of Gemma and they learned they were not sexually compatible]]

* TapOnTheHead: Agatha is felled by a blow to the head while snooping in "Agatha Raisin and The Day the Floods Came".

** In "The Wellspring of Death" she works out the solution a minute too late and is trapped in her house with the murderer, but saved by James and Bill.
** In "The Wizard of Eavesham" she's knocked out and then tied up with the killer who has a total psychotic break. She gets saved by Roy and Gemma.

** In "The Wizard of Eavesham" she's knocked out and then tied up with the killer who has a total psychotic break, she's saved by Roy and Gemma.

* BiTheWay: In "The Walkers of Dembley" the victim has a boyfriend but hit on one friend who was a woman and seduced another friend who is also a woman. The victim of "The Curious Curate" seems to flirting with multiple women in the village, seduced at least one of them but was having a relationship with a rich businessman as well.