Fruit & Barley
Fruit & Barley is a Craitish comedy crime detective television series broadcast on CrTV. Set and filmed in Amblebridge, Victoria, the series follows the exploits of a mismatched case investigating duo: tough-talking local Chris Barley and the flamboyant Florian Fruit, a Riego native who recently transferred division.
Synopsis
DI Florian Fruit is transferred from the police force serving the liberal Victorian capital of Riego to join a station in the working-class northern city of Amblebridge. In his new role, he is partnered with DI Chris Barley, whose personality and demeanour are polar opposites to his own. Fruit is portrayed as stylish and effeminate, and his sexuality remains ambiguous, while Barley appears to be a typical macho man whose vices include drinking and smoking. Despite their differences, the pair become friends as well as colleagues as they work cases together over the series, and both characters are shown to not be the stereotypes first thought.
Cast and characters
As a Craitish production set in Victoria, the series' cast consists of actors from both nations.
- Matt Richardson-Whittler as DI Florian Fruit
- DI Fruit's flamboyant appearance and behaviour mean that most other characters assume he is homosexual. While his sexuality is officially ambiguous, and he only ever mentions having former "partners", he is usually distracted by an element of a case at the moment it appears he may disclose his sexuality when the topic does arise.
- Patrick Lydveldtsen as DI Chris Barley
- Amblebridge born and bred, DI Barley's masculine attitude can precede him. His insistence on calling colleagues solely by their surnames, coupled with his gruffness, regularly gets him in trouble with those who believe he is being homophobic towards DI Fruit.
- Tony McNether as DCI Nigel Weatherburn
- Fruit and Barley's commanding officer, who always appears stressed by the demands of those in positions above him.
- Denisa Hjester as DI Laura Weatherburn
- Daughter of DCI Weatherburn and a fellow inspector. Often helps solve Fruit and Barley's cases for them with relative ease.
- Sharon Belthorpe as Wendy Barley
- DI Barley's long-suffering wife. Regularly cooks for Fruit, whom she assumes must have never eaten a proper meal before moving away from Riego.
- Thimbleful O'Mangostein as Mick
- The Shirerithian barkeeper at the local pub that Fruit and Barley frequent when both on and off cases.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Fruit & Barley" | Fruit relocates to Amblebridge and gets acquainted with his new surroundings. |
| 2 | "Brute, Unfairly" | Fruit and Barley investigate a racketeering ring and cross paths with some hired muscle. | |
| 3 | "Cars and Bars" | The pair bond at Mick's pub after ending up in a car crash while in pursuit of a suspect. | |
| 4 | "Key-bored" | Stuck on desk duty after their accident, the duo ease the tedium with some mild competition. | |
| 5 | "Two Knives and What?" | A brutal homicide awaits the partnership's return to the streets, but something doesn't add up. | |
| 6 | "Riverboat Amblers" | An illicit casino is established on the river, but a loophole in the law means the pair have no jurisdiction. | |
| 7 | "Oh Craps" | Fruit goes it alone to infiltrate the casino but gets held hostage by the infamous Adraisia Triad. | |
| 8 | "The Fruit Never Falls Far" | Barley leads a rescue mission for his partner. Fruit is saved from drowning after being thrown overboard. | |
| 9 | "Perfect Match" | Fruit takes Barley to an Amblebridge United game to thank him. The pair stumble into a hooligan fight. | |
| 10 | "Two More Knives and What?" | Another murder case opens with striking similarities to an earlier unsolved killing. | |
| 11 | "Bent Copper" | Barley is suspended after he is suspected of planting evidence. Yet another murder victim is found. | |
| 12 | "Barley Legal" | As Fruit struggles with homicides piling up, Barley faces more than just disciplinary action. | |
| 2 | Season 2 in post-production. | ||
Production
The majority of filming is undertaken on location in Amblebridge, with many landmarks in the city being used for story lines. Some internal filming locations, such as the Amblebridge police station, are permanent sets situated in studios in Riego and the Craitish capital Cherry Trees.
Although the series is set in the present day, its style and æsthetics have been noted as being evocative of a bygone time, with retro clothes, vehicles and equipment being used by the characters. The filming techniques used also give the series a warmer and more grainy appearance to further enforce a nostalgic feel.
Reception
It was one of the few foreign television programmes declared suitable for viewing and distribution within the Unified Governorates, this in spite of it being set in a location (Victoria) once notoriously contaminated by the Vanic Taint.
