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In response to
"less time spent posting lists and more time spent on getting me more Murphy's Law!"
by
crash davis
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ratings killed it...
Posted by
Remlik (aka remlik)
Sep 22 '09, 09:51
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In 2003, Nesbitt played undercover police detective Tommy Murphy in the first series of Murphy's Law, after starring in a successful pilot episode in 2001. The series was conceived when Nesbitt was working on Playing the Field; he and producer Greg Brenman approached author Colin Bateman about creating a television series for Nesbitt in a similar vein to Bateman's Dan Starkey novels.[49] Bateman and Nesbitt were already well acquainted; Nesbitt had been considered for a main role in Divorcing Jack (David Caffrey, 1998), based on Bateman's original novel.[50] A 90-minute pilot of Murphy's Law was commissioned by the BBC, initially as a "comedy action adventure".[49] Bateman created a complex backstory for Murphy, which was cut at the request of the producers.[5] After the broadcast of the pilot, Guardian critic Gareth McLean wrote, "the likeable James Nesbitt turned in a strong, extremely watchable central performance, though rarely did he look taxed by his efforts, and his chemistry with [Claudia] Harrison was promising and occasionally electric."[51] In 2003, Nesbitt won the Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a TV Drama for the role.[52] The second series was broadcast in 2004.
By 2005, Nesbitt had become tired of the formula and threatened to quit unless the structure of the series was changed. He was made a creative consultant and suggested that Murphy keep one undercover role for a full series, instead of changing into a new guise every episode.[53] This new dramatic element to the series was intended to make it a closer representation of real-life undercover work.[49] Alongside his research with former undercover officer Peter Bleksley, Nesbitt hired a personal trainer and grew a handlebar moustache to change Murphy's physical characteristics and tone down the "cheeky chappie" persona that the audience had become accustomed to from his roles.[54] With his trainer, he worked out three times a week, boxing and doing circuits and weights.[55] After the first new episode was broadcast, Sarah Vine wrote in The Times, "In the past, when attempting a nasty stare or a hard face, Nesbitt has never managed much more than a faintly quizzical look, hilarity forever threatening to break out behind those twinkly Irish eyes. But here, it's different. He genuinely has the air of a man who means business."[56] The refreshed series marked another milestone in Nesbitt's career; he describes it as "a big moment" in his life.[54] Murphy's Law was not recommissioned for a sixth series, which Nesbitt attributed to the damage done to the fifth series ratings when it was scheduled opposite the popular ITV drama Doc Martin.[57]
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