I've just completed watching - on ITVX, and therefore in catchup - the existing three series of Professor T, a police drama featuring a Cambridge University college professor whose expert field is criminology. This drama, first aired in 2021, was brought to my attention quite accidentally about three weeks ago. You have to understand that I don't routinely watch TV, not with my current phone-and-laptop setup, and wouldn't normally be aware of any new programmes worth a look. Well, it's another well-produced and intriguing drama that has got me hooked. I'm very much looking forward to series four, especially as series three has ended on an agonising cliff-hanger.
If you too were unaware of Professor T, I should explain that each episode is a complete story in itself, a police investigation into a violent crime where the identity, personality or motivation of the perpetrator is obscure, and needs the Professor's insight. But in the background are a number of ongoing subplots to do with the characters in the cast and their relationships both professional and personal. There are several loose ends to take further in series four.
The Professor (Jasper Tempest) is played by Ben Miller, who was years ago the Detective Inspector (Richard Poole) in the first three episodes of Death in Paradise. It's a somewhat similar role, but this time the fussiness and uptightness of Richard Poole has been developed, Jasper Tempest openly showing symptoms of OCD and autistic-spectrum traits, in part brought about by his traumatic experiences when a boy which he needs to be released from. He has become stiff and awkward - though not unreachable - when faced with intimacy, or emotional matters that affect him personally. Notwithstanding that, he is a brilliant and super-perceptive advisor in criminal cases, and an inspiration to those few of his students, past and present, who have a genuine flair for criminology. He is nearly always right; and sooner or later earns the respect of everyone he encounters with his knowledge, directness and complete integrity. The fact that he can get conflicted makes him very interesting, and the object of deep concern from other characters. I should think the viewing public feels the same way. You so want him to relax his rigid self-control and express his emotions.
Of course, the Professor's odd character is exaggerated for dramatic purposes. Apparently his is not a true portrayal of how it really is to be OCD, or in any way autistic. I don't think this matters: his portrayal calls attention to these conditions, and emphasises how a person can be a respected force in society, and serve it well, despite what many would see as crippling personality defects. One early episode (Sophie Knows) is about a high-functioning eighteen-year-old Downs Syndrome girl, who rightly deduces who the murderer is, but can't tell. But she comes to trust the Professor, and in the end reveals her vital knowledge. The interesting thing is how she and the Professor instantly recognise a mutual mental kinship. They are on the same planet. That becomes the key to communication and revelation, and the unravelling of the mystery.
I'm obviously fascinated and very enthusiastic about this offbeat drama series. What has surprised me, however, is the extent to which the Professor's habits and controlled behaviour resonate with my own. I wouldn't say that I am OCD, let alone autistic, although in the past accusations on those lines have been levelled at me, and not always jokingly. I can't stand squalour, and I am very hygiene-conscious; but at the same time squeaky-clean housekeeping is not uppermost on my agenda: I can tolerate a little dust. Disorder is however a greater horror, and I confess to being unusually neat and tidy, and habitual without variation in how I arrange my possessions: everything is always put precisely in its proper place, and is therefore exactly where I expect to find it. It's one reason why I would never be able to live with anyone else. They would move my stuff and drive me up the wall. Then there's the detailed chronicling of my day-to-day life with my camera, the almost fetishistic references to my car and other possessions, the egocentric blogging...and on and on.
Beyond this, many would say that I am obsessively self-organised. I indulge in far too much forward planning. These are the marks of a person who needs to be in control of her own destiny, has to make the future go her way, and takes no risks - especially with her health and financial wellbeing.
I would defend myself by pointing out that I am on my own, with no safety nets to catch me if I fail to look where I'm going. I can't afford to be heedless. And my personal motto, Stay alive, stay free, chimes so much with that. All the same, much of what I do must seem odd and rather over the top. I've sometimes wondered whether my friends worry about me, perhaps seeing a pattern that indicates a gradual decline into a peril-obsessed old age. Certainly I've had bad thoughts about how I would cope if ever I got caught up in a real-life police investigation, and had to temporarily surrender my phone, which I rely on for organising almost everything. Would my life instantly fall apart? I hope not, but the fear is strong.
