Just when I hear the name Dick Turpin, a rush of memories hit me. Remembering all the fun I had as a kid watching Sidney James and the “Carry on…” movies.

The historic person of Richard Turpin (1705–1739) was an English highwayman, son of a butcher, whose exploits were romanticized following his execution in York for horse theft. In the early 1730s, Turpin became involved with the Essex gang of deer thieves. The Essex Gang is also part of the new show available on Apple TV.

He is also known for a fictional 200-mile (320 km) overnight ride from London to York on his horse Black Bess, a story that was made famous by the Victorian novelist William Harrison Ainsworth almost 100 years after Turpin’s death. Ainsworth’s legend of Black Bess was repeated in works such as Black Bess or the Knight of the Road, a 254-part penny dreadful published in 1867–68. In these tales, Turpin was the hero, accompanied by his trusty colleagues Claude Duval, Tom King, and Jack Rann. These narratives, which transformed Turpin from a pockmarked thug and murderer into “a gentleman of the road [and] a protector of the weak”, followed a popular cultural tradition of romanticizing English criminals.

Apple takes the historic facts and turns it into a 6 part comedy show (so far), with a 30 minutes runtime per episode. Noel Fiedlung portrays the highway man, and I think his kind of humor is polarizing, and thus, I think there will be many people not liking the series at all. I know Fielding from his appearance in the IT Crowd. I like his sense of humor, but it took me one episode to get into it.

Dick Turpin is not a must-see, but a fun-to-watch.

Over the years, I’ve realized I enjoy movies and series most when I don’t know anything about them. Sure, I hear about the latest movies/shows and read about the cast and the media talking about them, but I avoid delving too deep. Surprise definitely enhances the enjoyment, and the lower the expectations, the less the disappointment.

A few weeks ago, I caught a teaser for “Argylle.” It didn’t reveal much about the plot; rather, it showcased the cast. And it worked; it grabbed my attention. However, I also gathered that this might not be high-quality storytelling but rather easily digestible entertainment for a Sunday night.

Thus, I decided to watch it one Sunday evening, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s difficult to write a review without spoilers, but I believe I can say that the movie doesn’t introduce anything groundbreaking to our cinematic universe. Yet, it’s an entertaining spy action comedy. That’s what I was in the mood for that Sunday night, and that’s what I got.

Don’t expect too much logic from this flick, as that will detract from the fun. Simply enjoy the vibrant and colorful visuals. I don’t understand why movies nowadays have to exceed a runtime of 2 hours, especially for such straightforward movies, but I believe a duration of about 100 minutes would suffice for a movie like this.

Anyway, I enjoyed the almost 2 and a half hours.