Rosemary & Thyme

For the Simon & Garfunkel album, see Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

Rosemary & Thyme
Rosemary and Thyme
Genre	Crime fiction
Created by	Brian Eastman Clive Exton
Starring	Felicity Kendal Pam Ferris
Opening theme	Variation on "Scarborough Fair"
Ending theme	idem
Country of origin	UK
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	22
Production
Producer(s)	Carnival Films / Yorkshire Television
Running time	20x60 minutes 2x120 minutes (including adverts)
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV (ITV1/STV/UTV)
Original run	31 August 2003 – 6 August 2007

Rosemary & Thyme was a British television mystery series that starred Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris as gardening detectives Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme. The show began on ITV in 2003, and the third series ended in August 2007. On 12 May 2006, ITV announced that the third series was the last.

The show is a mixture of gardening and detective investigation as the green thumbed sleuths delve into the world of crime, solving the various mysteries that happen to follow them around the country — and in other countries as well. It was created by Brian Eastman for his wife, Christabel Albery, an avid gardener.

The show was directed by Brian Farnham (10 episodes, 2003–2006), Simon Langton (8 episodes, 2004–2006), and Tom Clegg (3 episodes, 2003). Clive Exton, who helped create the show, contributed 10 of the 22 scripts throughout its three series run.

Plot

A cozy mystery series set in a variety of lavishly beautiful English and European gardens, Rosemary & Thyme features two women in transition who are brought together by a sudden death and discover their shared love of the soil and natural inquisitiveness. Forced to reassess their lives, they hope their new-found friendship will lead to future gardening commissions, not more detective work. But whilst Laura and Rosemary don’t think of themselves as sleuths – they are just as interested in a problem with a rosebush as with a dead body – mysteries have a habit of following them around. The fact that they are inconspicuous gardeners means that they overhear secrets and dig up clues which not only lead them to rectify the floral problems but also solve the crime and capture the criminal.

Main characters

Laura Thyme (Pam Ferris): The daughter of a farmer and an ardent home gardener; she was a Woman Police Constable (WPC) in North Kensington and an active member of "The CADS" (The Coppers' Amateur Dramatic Society) until she had children (Matthew, a policeman and Helena, a sculptor). Her policeman husband of over twenty years abandoned her for a younger woman he met at work.

Rosemary Boxer (Felicity Kendal): Has a doctorate in plant pathology and was a University of Malmesbury lecturer in applied horticulture for eighteen years, before her academic position was suddenly and sneakily removed (which pushes her to punch her ex-boss, a former beau, who fired her underhandedly). Rosemary also owns an old, beat up Land Rover 90.

Title

The title of the series is taken from the old English poem "Scarborough Fayre", later made famous in the song "Scarborough Fair" by Simon and Garfunkel from their album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. The title borrows from the first two lines: "Are you going to Scarborough Fair / Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme...".

Cast

While many stars of television and theatre have guest starred on the show, only four people (including Kendal and Ferris) have appeared in more than one episode, Ryan Philpott and Daisy Dunlop, who appeared as Ferris's children Matthew and Helena.

Episodes

Series 1 (2003)

• "And No Birds Sing" (31 August 2003) - 11.11 (viewers in millions)

Whilst Rosemary Boxer investigates some diseased trees at the home of an old friend, Laura Thyme is still reeling from being recently abandoned by her husband for a much younger woman. Leaving her home behind she finds herself in the same hotel as Rosemary, and together they uncover a sinister plot concerning Rosemary's ill friend.

• "Arabica and the Early Spider" (5 September 2003) - 8.00

Now working together, Rosemary and Laura are enlisted by an aging rock star to help renovate the grounds of his newly-bought mansion. However when the singer is found dead and the skeleton of a horse is found nearby, the pair discover a past rivalry is rearing its head once more.

• "The Language of Flowers" (12 September 2003) - 7.01

The two gardeners are asked by the Caldecott family to restore a grand water cascade in the grounds of their mansion-turned-health spa. Stumped by the long-decayed mechanics of the feature, Rosemary and Laura soon realise all is not well: a killer is on the loose and family ties are the motive behind a murder.

• "Sweet Angelica" (19 September 2003) - 6.94

Trying to uncover the source of disease in the lawn of a special language college, Rosemary and Laura are shocked to find a dead body at the roadside nearby. A ceremonial knife causes a stir at the school and everything appears to be centred around Angelica, one of the school's students.

• "A Simple Plot" (26 September 2003) - 6.51

Rosemary takes Laura to see an old Professor friend of hers, who is having trouble with his allotment. Flowers are dying at random and he suspects the nearby building site is to blame. A political dispute soon becomes evident and after the Professor is killed, Rosemary finds herself in danger.

• "The Tree of Death" (3 October 2003) - 7.25

Restoring a churchyard for an upcoming fayre, Rosemary and Laura befriend the local vicar, but soon become entangled in a murder enquiry when a man is found impaled by an arrow to an ancient yew tree where they are working. The suspects are many, and it is up to the two gardeners to save the day.

Series 2 (2004)

• "The Memory of Water" (feature length episode) (3 October 2004) - 7.08

Whilst restoring a walled garden at Lyvedon Manor, Rosemary and Laura find themselves entangled in the watery death of Jim, the mysterious cousin of the house's owner. Horticultural help arrives in the form of ex-cons from the local prison, and it is up to the two sleuthing gardeners to solve the mystery. Then Jim is seen alive by Rosemary, but a dead body is found on the river. A number of the players are named after characters in the Sexton Blake canon. A serious case of hypertrophy is preformed.

• "Orpheus in the Undergrowth" (8 October 2004) - 6.81

Laura and Rosemary are called upon by an old friend to help create a memorial garden in Notting Hill, based around the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. Helena, Laura's daughter, is angry with her mother, mistakenly blaming her for ending her marriage, while Rosemary's discovery of a Smooth Ink-Cap Fungus provides vital clues to the mysterious death of a recovering alcoholic.

• "They Understand Me In Paris" (15 October 2004) - 6.27

At Villa Glavany, in the French Riviera, Rosemary and Laura are helping their friend Dorothy prepare the 150 year old gardens for a public opening. Neighbour James Pretty is stopping at nothing to ensure that this does not happen. And how will Rosemary and Laura explain to Agathe, the French housekeeper, when they find Dorothy's husband dead in the living room? For Laura, this return trip to France brings back memories of "little cakes" she discovered years ago on a school trip--what she believed to be called "Raspberry Martyrs" but are actually called "Framboise Marthe" (Raspberry Martha in English).

• "The Invisible Worm" (22 October 2004) - 6.22

Roses are dying at Stagford Lodge Preparatory School, and classics master Richard Oakley calls upon the two gardeners to help restore the flower beds. On the last day of term, the mysterious ritual involving a member of staff dressed as a Stag turns sour when Simon Todd, the geography master, is found dead in the undergrowth, killed by a harpoon from the headteacher's prized harpoon gun. Rosemary and Laura must weed out the killer from the school's sinister staff before it is too late.

• "The Gongoozlers" (29 October 2004) - 6.18

Quinnie Dorell, a famous round-the-world yacht sailor, is roped in to boost the ratings of Gavin Patterson's failing TV garden makeover programme. Her fear of heights persuades Rosemary to present an overview of the developments from scaffolding high above the gardens, but a loose bolt causes her to plummet to the ground. Then visiting journalist Rosie FitzCarron is electrocuted in the swimming pool. Then a fiery car crash. With Rosemary recovering in hospital, it is up to Laura to solve the seemingly unconnected events.

• "The Italian Rapscallion" (5 November 2004) - 5.84

Rosemary and Laura travel to the Ligurian Coast in Italy, where their old friend Emma Standish is getting ready to open her new restaurant. But a tour around the famous Giardini Tremonti comes to an abrupt end when one of their party, Janice Alexander, is found battered to death in the shrubbery. With so many flamboyant personalities in the area, it takes all of Laura and Rosemary's sleuthing skills to solve the mystery. Then another body is found, tossed over the edge of a cliff-top garden.

• "Swords Into Ploughshares" (12 November 2004) - 6.11

Laura gets the shock of her life when it is announced that Rosemary has been shot dead in the grounds of Engleton Park. She later discovers that Rosemary's college pal Gemma Jackson was posing as her to gain access to the Roman dig nearby, and was killed. Gemma Jackson found a British Roman Short Sword. There was something on the tape that brought the professor to a specific place just what lured Gemma. Rosemary saw a biblical quote from Romans 2:4. Lord Engleton's connection with the Archaeological department provides clues to who may have committed the crime. But the murders soon start piling up, when Laura finds another body dumped in the mansion's greenhouse.

• "Up The Garden Path" (18 December 2004) - 7.52

Grania Monkton's secrecy over her hiring of the two gardeners makes Rosemary uncomfortable when they are asked to solve the case of the mysterious blight that has afflicted the competing gardens with Ammonium sulfamate in line for the trophy of the annual Rowfield Garden Open Day Scheme. Her suspicions are confirmed when Donald Westward, who is seriously disliked by all residents of the village, is found dead under a collapsed branch, and his garden savaged. Suspects are plenty, particularly unfriendly gardener Judd, and the Skinners, who don't fit in with the rest of the village. But it is up to our two heroines to capture the criminal and save the competition.

Series 3 (2005-07)

• "The Cup of Silence" (feature length episode) (23 December 2005) - 5.77

While a deadly weed threatens to overwhelm acres of vines, an unseen killer terrorises the population of Crickle Valley's vineyard and hotel. With the future of the entire area in doubt, can Rosemary and Laura solve the case and save this year's vintage?

• "In A Monastery Garden" (21 January 2006) - 5.20

Not everybody seems happy with Rosemary and Laura's presence in Wellminster Cathedral's old monastery garden. When a body is discovered amongst the herbs, the ladies realise they could be in serious danger. What dark secrets have this tight-knit community been concealing?

• "Seeds of Time" (28 January 2006) - 5.05

Rosemary and Laura are called upon to help re-organize the seed collection of famous botanist Edwin Pargeter in Kew Gardens. When a mysterious Chilean man is found dead in the Pargeters' back garden, it looks as if there is more to Edwin's seeds than meets the eye.

• "Agua Cadaver" (4 February 2006) - 5.69

Invited by a former boyfriend, a noted scholar of Spanish Islamic History, to his beautiful home in the hills of Southern Spain in Alcazaba "near Malaga" and Ojen Pueblo, the next town, to restore an old Moorish garden inspired by the Alhambra, Rosemary must not let the attentions of a jealous wife distract her and Laura from an intriguing mystery involving murder and mountainside's water supply. This episode reveals Rosemary's birthday as "Saturday, the 8th".

• "Three Legs Good" (11 February 2006) - 5.01

When Harley Street psychiatrist Pavel Volkar is murdered in Regent's Park, Rosemary and Laura are on hand to try and unravel the mystery. Accompanied by Holly, Volkar's three-legged dog, they begin to realise that Holly's misfortune may be linked to that of her deceased owner...

• "The Gooseberry Bush" (18 February 2006) - 5.48

Hired to create a memorial garden as a wedding gift, Rosemary is left holding the baby when she and Laura discover an abandoned child under a gooseberry bush. Is there a connection between the baby and the murder of a local artist? Also there is a women with a butterfly tattoo on her upper right back.

• "Racquet Espanol" (30 July 2007) - 5.39

Tragedy strikes at a Spanish tennis camp as the body of one of the Pro-Am tournament players is discovered. Initially dismissed as a drunken accident, Rosemary and Laura suspect foul play as they realise the resort is not as idyllic as it appears.

• "Enter Two Gardeners" (6 August 2007) - 5.27

Rosemary's cousin Charles is an actor in an amateur production and she and Laura are working on the garden of its open-air theatre. Then one of the actors shoots himself during a rehearsal, and the police find the gun was loaded with live ammo instead of blanks. It seems there's a murderer at work. Is someone out to sabotage the play, or is some other motive at work?

Finale

The final two episodes of series three ("Racquet Espanol" and "Enter Two Gardeners") were not aired with the rest of the series during 2005-06. They were eventually broadcast in late July and early August 2007.

Because of the outdoor nature of the show and the brevity of the British summer, it became the practice to set two episodes of each series in overseas locations. Two stories were already ready for shooting in Portugal when the ITV Network Centre decided to cancel filming for a fourth series.

Novels

Three novelisations, credited to series creator Brian Eastman and ghostwritten by crime writer Rebecca Tope, have been published in Britain by Allison and Busby and in Australia by Hardie Grant Books. These novels are:

• And No Birds Sing (first published in 2004, and based on the pilot episode)
• The Tree of Death (first published in 2005, and based on the final episode of Series 1)
• Memory of Water (first published in 2006, and based on the feature-length opening episode of Series 2)

DVD releases

The Complete Rosemary & Thyme will be re-released on DVD in the UK (region 2) in July 2011. It is also available on DVD in the US (Region 1), Australia (Region 4) and Japan (Region 2).

Audio CD

Composed and conducted by Christopher Gunning, a CD of incidental music and the opening theme (performed by John Williams) from the first two series of Rosemary & Thyme.

Short story

"The Case of the Dead Wait", by Peter Lovesey (January 2007 Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine)

External links

• "Official Carnival Films presskit"
• Rosemary & Thyme at itv.com
• Rosemary & Thyme at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Rosemary and Thyme Website