I could grumble about the missing elements in this episode: how there is very little suspense (the shooting of the jeweller's wife is so cursory, so hurried that we barely register it), how the plot gets mangled in the course of the story--it's a major flaw to omit the Paris scene, or Andersen's flight to Belgium, the mediocrity of some of the actors. Still, the decors look pretty good--those Hungarian technicians are capable of recreating French country scenes--and Atkinson is settling down in his part. The Bruno Cremer version is the one to see; it has far better acting and the action is more convincing.

First off, I must say that I've been an avid fan of British television detectives for many years .. starting with the wondrous (Granada Television) Sherlock Holmes mysteries. As I watched Rowan Atkinson in this episode of the new Maigret series, I was brought back to those days. Though the mysteries take place in Paris, and Maigret is French, I personally have no qualms about the production. To be honest, the thing that irritates me about the great Poirot series with David Suchet, is the fact that his accent is so thick, I cannot understand the dialogue sometimes. With this series, I don't have this problem whatsoever, and that is refreshing. The direction of these Maigret episodes is quite superb, and I quickly become absorbed into the story lines. More than anything else, I am most impressed with the casting of Rowan Atkinson as the lead. As a dramatic actor, his portrayal of Maigret is stunning. His steadfast calm, and confidence in good old-fashioned police work knits the cast together in each episode. He trusts no one, and lets the evidence lead where it leads. This "Crossroads" episode is the best so far, and I am really hoping they continue more of them. I'll be waiting with a bowl of buttered popcorn, knowing I won't be disappointed in any part of the show. Great stuff indeed !! .

As usual, I couldn't entirely follow the plot -- partly, let me add, because it was hard to make out all the dialogue -- but the look of this production was superb, ditto the atmosphere, the sense of time and place. (Those Hungarian location managers deserve much praise.) The performances are all first-rate. Rowan Atkinson is a surprisingly sour, solemn, owlish, glum, taciturn little Maigret, and he's not especially likable; that's far from the character I remember from the books, and one wonders why Madame Maigret is so faithful to him. However, he does leave one with the impression that he'd be capable of actually solving a knotty murder. And it was pleasing, in this particular story, to see Dorothy Atkinson again (surely no relation) -- always a fascinating actress.

I was certainly very excited, and from the get-go, at the prospect of Atkinson playing Maigret. At least to me, it seemed like a perfect match. And at last, here was a chance to see a Maigret of my generation.Certainly, they've put a lot of effort into this production, it's beautifully shot and acted. But maybe they've tried to hard to impress with the stories. There's certainly always another twist and turn, but my credulity was always stretched very quickly beyond breaking point.And it certainly was a challenge for the thespian of usually hyperactive, hyperverbal and hyperphysical role to turn out a pokerfaced observer of the human theatre, but I often had the Impression that Maigret was somehow recovering from a debilitating stroke: "Tell her ... that ... in this country ..." It reminded me less of Maigret and more of that wheezy wheelchair kid in Malcolm In The Middle.