In the early 2000’s, Chloe Carmichael was like the Mariah Carey of the UK, especially around Christmastime. Then she largely walked away from public performances and the celebrity lifestyle. Now she is dead. Since she was rich enough to live in London’s tony Chelsea district, her murder is DI Max Arnold’s problem. The poor guy also has a nasty tooth ache he never seems to have time to fix in the “Christmas Special” (a.k.a. “Everybody Loves Chloe,” the first episode of season three) from creator Peter Fincham’s The Chelsea Detective, which premieres tomorrow on Acorn TV.
Not only did Carmichael record an early 21st Century Christmas favorite, she donated all the royalties to charity. However, her manager at the time never agreed to donate his cut, which he still expects. In fact, he has been demanding them so vociferously, he talked himself into a restraining order, making himself a prime suspect in her murder.
Her roommate and reputed lover Zadie Evans also looks pretty bad, especially since she disappeared. When Arnold’s squad find her, she insists they are merely roommates and the drugs were all hers—or at least mostly hers. The whole relationship business was fabricated by “journalist” Silvie Wix, who was co-writing Carmichael’s memoir. Apparently, Carmichael openly speculated Wix might prefer her dead, because the book would sell better, so there’s that.
Poor Arnold has a lot to deal with. In addition to that tooth ache, his separated wife Astrid Fischer talked him into attending couple’s therapy. Plus, he must peddle around London on his bike like he is Dutch.
“Everybody Loves Chloe” is not very Christmasy for a Christmas special. Frankly, Die Hard decks more halls. However, it serves up some decent procedural work. This is not a great episode for featuring the rest of Arnold’s team (played by Vanessa Emme, Peter Bankole, and Lucy Phelps), but they still show off some nice camaraderie and rhythm together. It also boasts a colorful guest-star performance from Julian Wadham as a MP who has a mysterious connection to Carmichael.
This is a pretty strong episode from an established detective series, which should be more than enough for fans of British mysteries. The work is solid on both sides of the camera, but the Christmas cheer is decidedly restrained. Recommended for the series fanbase (and also for fans of 2000s pop), the “Christmas Special” episode of The Chelsea Detective starts streaming Monday (12/16) on Acorn TV.
