The Lord Of The Dance – The episode begins with Frederick Thorncastle (John McCrea) scrambling to find a replacement for the regional finals after his caught glandular fever. He chooses Brenda Palmer (Rub-May Martinwood).
Father Brown (Mark Williams) and Mrs. Isabelle Devine (Claudie Blakley) meet and speak with August Bestwick (David Westhead) when they attend one of Brenda’s dress rehearsals. Brenda meets the other contestants before Frederick shows up late. As the rehearsals begin, Father Brown notices that Ron White (Dan Partridge) is having a difficult time. It is only seconds after this that he falls and takes Jane Hammill (Lisa Spencer) with him. Melody Byers (Laura Pigott) assumes that the injury is just a sprain before noticing that Jane’s shoes haven’t been properly scuffed. Ron swears that he scuffed them the previous night and takes a swing at Frederick after coming to the conclusion that he switched the shoes out of spite. Bestwick ends the rehearsal early. Not long after this, Ron apologizes to Father Brown for acting out in front of him. Father Brown tells him that he should be apologizing to Frederick.
At group rehearsals later that evening, Brenda saves Frederick from being crushed by one of the stage lights. The cops are called after Father Brown deduces that the light falling was no minor accident. This is confirmed when Sergeant Goodfellow (John Burton) and Chief Inspector Edgar Sullivan (Tom Chambers) arrive on the scene. While inspecting the mezzanine, Devine finds the tools and matches used to rig the light. She also finds a piece of purple material that looks as if it got snagged on a bolt. During questioning, Ron admits to owning the tools.
When Father Brown visits Ron in jail, he once again admits to owning the tool bag because he works as a handyman. In addition to this, he confesses to being in and out of jails and being well-versed in crime. It was in jail that he found religion. Before Father Brown leaves, Ron tells him that he overheard Colin Byers (Christopher Jeffers) accusing Frederick of cheating.
While Father Brown, Brenda, and Devine discuss the case over tea, they realize that the only people who knew where Frederick would be standing would have been Bestwick and the other contestants. Shortly after this, Father Brown and Devine question Colin and Melody about the light and Frederick’s cheating. Colin denies having anything to do with Frederick’s attempted murder and Melody says that Frederick should have been out of the competition when his old partner fell ill. On top of all this, the guest presenter, The Dancing Duchess (Angela Rippon), is Frederick’s grandmother.
At Brenda and Frederick’s private rehearsal, Father Brown wonders why Frederick would use his family connection to manipulate Bestwick if he wanted to establish himself outside the family name. After breaking into Bestwick’s room Father Brown and Devine realize that he is living there. They also find a packet of matches that match those found in the tool bag. After finding the matches, Father Brown realizes they come from a homosexual club, which Bestwick frequents. Frederick also discovered this after following him to the club one night and has been using the information against him ever since. Bestwick admits to caving to all of Frederick’s demands but denies having anything to do with his attempted murder.
Melody helps Brenda with her routine and tells her that she is doing so because she paralyzed her brother when insisting they do a routine that they hadn’t nearly practiced enough for. At the end of rehearsals the evening, Sullivan announces to the dancers that he has charged Ron with the attempted murder of Frederick.
The following morning, Devine and Father Brown find Brenda in the church, praying for help at the recital. Brenda gets nervous right before going live on stage and wants to go outside to get some air. Devine tells her that she doesn’t have time and no professional would dare to go outside in dancing shoes. Father Brown overhears this and is gone by the time Brenda goes on.
While Brenda and Frederick go on stage, Father Brown sneaks backstage to accuse Melody of trying to kill Frederick. Even though she took Jane to the hospital before the light fell, he remembers seeing her in the foyer with the dancing shoes on. After continuing to deny having anything to do with the light, he asks to see her scarf, which is missing a bit of material where it got snagged on the bolt. Melody admits to rigging the light because she suspected Frederick messed with her brother’s shoes the same way he might have messed with Jane’s shoes. During her confession, Father Brown realizes Melody has one last trick up her sleeve. Although he has to interrupt live broadcasting and makes a fool of himself, he manages to stop her last trick.
After the recital, The Dancing Duchess tells Fredrick that she has talked to Bestwick about his underhanded methods and is cutting him off. With the regional slot now open, Father Brown suggests Ron and Jane. The episode ends with Ron and Jane being declared regional champions.
Father Brown Review
What is there to say other than the fact that this was a typical Father Brown episode? I do appreciate the fact that they at least tried to make this one a bit different with the attempted murder. The problem is that after 12 seasons and tons of mirror series, it is just hard to be different anymore. I don’t even hate to say it but I do believe it is time to end this series. The episode wasn’t entirely horrible. It was just long winded and drawn out. I did enjoy the whole dance competition theme but other than this, there just was much to enjoy. I’d have to give the episode a 5 out of 10.
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