Line #40 Series/Campion


1	[[quoteright:332:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/season_1_89.jpg]]
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3	''Campion'' was a British series, adapted from the Literature/AlbertCampion books by Margery Allingham, which ran between 1989 and 1990, and featured Creator/PeterDavison as Albert Campion; outwardly IdleRich, but in reality a GentlemanAdventurer [[WeHelpTheHelpless who is willing to sell his skills to anyone in trouble]]. Aside from his enquiring mind and deductive abilities, his main attribute is his incredible range and depth of contacts, ranging from low class criminals up to the Chief Constables of a number of police forces. He was assisted on most of his adventurers by Magersfontein Lugg -- a burglar turned valet.
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5	!!This show provides examples of:
6	* AffablyEvil: Many of the villains.
7	* AssholeVictim:
8	** The victim in "The Case of the Late Pig" was at school with Campion and used to bully him, at one point holding Campion over a gas jet until he fainted.
9	** Also [[spoiler: Cousin George]] in "Police at the Funeral"
10	* BattleButler: Lugg. Also Scatty Williams in "Sweet Danger."
11	* BewareTheSillyOnes: Campion might act like a silly ass and compulsively make jokes, but you never should underestimate his mental or physical capabilities. Ever.
12	* BluffingTheMurderer
13	* BodyDouble: Campion employs one of these in [[spoiler: "Sweet Danger"]]
14	* BritishBrevity: Only two series, each consisting of four stories.
15	* CoolCar: A red 1932 Lagonda 16/80
16	* CordonBleughChef: Lugg. Herrings in tomato sauce for a start...
17	** As strange as it sounds, herring in tomato sauce is a thing you can [[https://www.amazon.com/MW-Polar-Herring-Tomato-6-Ounce/dp/B004TDU0RW?th=1 buy premade.]]
18	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: In "Sweet Danger," [[spoiler:the evil tycoon]] is crushed by a mill wheel. It is not nice.
19	* DeadpanSnarker: Inspector Oates
20	* DetectiveDrama: Not exclusively, but a number of the episodes did revolve around the traditional whodunnit format.
21	* DidNotGetTheGirl: All the women Campion's interested in end up falling in love with one of Campion's [[TheLancer friends/clients]], except for Amanda Fitton (but they never did any of the stories a few years down the line where Campion and Amanda actually start dating).
22	* DoItYourselfThemeTune: In the first series, the theme song (consisting solely of the word 'la') was sung by Peter Davison.
23	* FreudianTrio: Lugg is the Id, Stanislaus the Superego, and Campion the Ego
24	* FriendOnTheForce: Technically, Campion is friends ''with'' the force, as he lives next door to a police station. A more specific friend is Detective Inspector Stanislaus Oates, who takes Albert's calls and even saves his neck from time to time.
25	* GentlemanDetective: Campion, obviously.
26	* IHaveManyNames: Campion has used many pseudonyms including 'Christopher Twelvetrees' and 'Orlando'. Even 'Albert Campion' itself is a pseudonym.
27	* IronLady: Mrs. Faraday in "Police at the Funeral"
28	* TheJeeves: Subverted with Lugg. If anything, he's a PersonalMook.
29	* JoinOrDie: Campion receives one from the mastermind in "Mystery Mile."
30	* KarmicDeath: Happens to many of the villains.
31	* LightsOffSomebodyDies: In "Death of a Ghost."
32	* LockedRoomMystery: In "Flowers For The Judge."
33	* LondonGangster: Plenty of these.
34	* MacGuffin: The Gyrth Chalice in "Look to the Lady". The Crown, the Charter, and Metternich's Receipt in "Sweet Danger".
35	* MacGuffinGuardian: Is the guardian of the Gyrth Chalice real, or just a legend and a set of coincidences? It's left up to you to decide...
36	* NewOldFlame: Janet Pursuivant in "The Case of the Late Pig"
37	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Campion's stock in trade. By the time his enemies have seen beyond the glasses and the frivolous remarks, it's generally too late.
38	* PresentCompanyExcluded
39	-->'''Lugg:''' It's all nobs and nobodies with him, I can't stand either of them. Begging your pardon, ma'am, and present company excluded.
40	-->'''Noblewoman:''' Do you like anybody? Present company excluded?
41	-->'''Lugg:''' Suppose I must. Be hard to name any names though.
42	* RecruitingTheCriminal: Thos. T. Knapp in "Mystery Mile."
43	* ReformedCriminal: Lugg used to be a catburglar.
44	* SarcasticDevotee: Lugg
45	* SharpDressedMan: Goes with being a GentlemanDetective
46	* SmokeOut: Campion uses smoke bombs when his compatriots decide to deviate from his more subtle plan and go on a RoaringRampageOfRescue.
47	* TechnicalPacifist: Campion has a 'rule' not to kill -- partly because of his arrangement with the police and partly because it just wouldn't be gentlemanly -- but he's quite ready to punch people into the wall. And the table. And [[CombatPragmatist the bookshelf...]]
48	** Part of the conflict in "Mystery Mile" comes from the 'kill or be killed' situation he ends up in.
49	* TheVicar: Swithin Cush in "Mystery Mile."
50	* VillainousWidowsPeak: Peaky Doyle in "Sweet Danger."
51	* VitriolicBestBuds: Campion and Lugg. If they're not insulting each other, something's wrong...
52	* WeHelpTheHelpless: Campion's business card reads: Coups neatly executed. Nothing sordid, vulgar, or plebeian. Deserving cases preferred. Police no object.

Context Series / Campion