Dirk Gently (pilot episode)

"Pilot"
Dirk Gently episode
Titlescreen of the pilot, based on Gently's painted whiteboard.
Episode no.	Episode 1
Directed by	Damon Thomas
Written by	Howard Overman
Story by	Douglas Adams
Produced by	Eleanor Moran Jamie Laurenson
Featured music	Daniel Pemberton
Original air date	16 December 2010 (2010-12-16)
Running time	1 hour

The pilot episode of Dirk Gently is the first broadcast episode of the BBC Four television series inspired by Douglas Adams's novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. First broadcast on 16 December 2010 and repeated throughout the Christmas period, it was written by Howard Overman and stars Stephen Mangan as holistic detective Dirk Gently and Darren Boyd as his sidekick Richard Macduff. Recurring actors include Helen Baxendale as Susan Harmison, Jason Watkins as DI Gilks and Lisa Jackson as Janice Pearce.

In the hour-long pilot, "holistic detective" Dirk Gently is hired by an old lady to investigate the disappearance of a cat, a case that gives him a new fridge and re-acquaints him with two old friends from university. Together they uncover a plot involving time travel, unrequited love, depression and murder.

The comedy-drama is a loose adaptation of plot elements from Adams' 1987 novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, although it updates the detective to the present day and focuses on only a few of the original novel's characters and plot threads. Critical reception to the pilot was generally positive, and in March 2011 BBC Four announced that it had commissioned a three-part series of one hour-long episodes, the first continuing drama series produced for the channel.

Shooting commenced early in October 2010 in Bristol. The director was Damon Thomas and the producer was Chris Carey. Although it was commissioned by the BBC, it was produced by ITV Studios with The Welded Tandem Picture Company. The pilot was first broadcast on BBC Four on 16 December 2010 and was repeated a number of times during the next month. The pilot gained a commission on 31 March 2011 for a three-part series of one hour-long episodes to be broadcast on BBC Four in 2012.