Kathleen Costa

I’ve always been on the Murdoch Mysteries bandwagon, and was thrilled to binge the series started with season one. Of course, in the US, the series was only here and there and often at odd hours, so watching the beginning of the series was new and entertaining. From engaging crimes to clever solutions, from fanciful inventions to real-life figures and events, from challenging relationships to a few “I do-s”, I was in!

Since I love Scottish setting, accents, and men in kilts, as well as a Richard Briers fan, I was thrilled that I was able to binge Monarch of the Glen. Although filmed more than twenty years ago, I still loved it: a beautiful, yet failing manor, realistic family drama, and lots of Scottish traditions (bagpipes and whisky). The cast was great and the problems and challenges were engaging. I loved it!

I love the show with all its twists on mythology, superb cast with recognizable actors portraying well the mythical characters, entertaining individual problems to solve in each episode, and an engaging mystery about Jason’s background and prophetic impact. Heroes are challenged and evil is revealed, but it’s too bad that only two seasons were completed. The end left heroes setting off on an epic adventure, but evil preparing to pounce. I still liked the series and enjoy revisiting it.

I really liked this series, and despite being decades old, it was relevant and engaging. The cast was excellent with several recognizable actors, the stories were intriguing, but intense, the Vancouver setting was varied from urban to rural, and the graphic nature of detective shows wasn’t too bad. A new favorite.

Darby and Joan (2022) pairs iconic Aussie Bryan Brown (The Thorn Birds, Cocktail) as Jack Darby, detective sergeant (retired), with Italian-Australian Greta Scacchi (Presumed Innocent, Emma) as Joan Kirkhope, clinical nurse manager (retired). Joan was under the impression her husband Ian (John Waters; All the Rivers Run) was in Spain enjoying tapas and sangria, but with only one thing left to do and then homeward bound, he has a heart attack, and she finds herself in Australia, not Spain, identifying his body. Six months later, and against her daughter’s advice, she decides to return to Australia to track down where he’d been, who he’d met, and why he was there. Watch out! Heading out toward her first destination, Joan barely avoids an oncoming car. The car, however, flips upside down…Meet Jack. Suggesting he could hitch a ride from someone at her first stop, he grabs his fishing gear and his Australian Shepard Diesel and hops in her RV. Together the “platonic travel companions” follow clues in the items Ian had with him when he died: letters, a diary, and photos along with his cell phone and an unfamiliar key. Each step of the way they discover details about Ian’s past, well-hidden secrets, and a shocking unresolved issue with the police. But, they also learn about each other. Jack has 2-1/2 ex-wives, a detective inspector daughter, and a heart condition. Joan is a granny, “Jack [Joan]-of-all-trades,” and at ease asking questions. A perfect pair! The journey takes the duo through a diverse Australian landscape highlighting all that Queensland has to offer: a hidden cove, banana field, a woodsy campground, the ocean above and below, small towns, and big cities. In each location, they find themselves entangled in a varied list of crimes from a murder to a missing cache of guns, from camper-jacking to a diving accident, from arson to a possible fake drug test, from kidnapping to a hit and run incident that might end it all. Jack’s background as a detective is extremely valuable, but not without its problems stemming from his by-the-book attitude. Joan is definitely a willing partner in their sleuthing finding herself well suited for asking questions, theorizing scenarios, and chasing a few suspects. Earns 5+/5 Aussie Duos! This new series is clever, creative, and well-written with a surprisingly well-suited cast. Bryan Brown looks great at seventy-five in his well-worn cowboy hat and casual clothing, portraying a subdued and introspective manner of a detective, showing an honest relationship with his detective daughter, taking responsibility for his part in his “1/2” ex’s pain, and revealing slowly his feelings for Joan. Greta Scacchi is brilliant, and at sixty-two years old, she is now a plus-size woman. I commend the producers for not seeking out a thin or younger woman for the role, but more importantly, for Scacchi accepting the role. It is personally enjoyable to see a woman of her size with limited make up and less than a fashionable wardrobe cast in a strong, lead role. She’s real…and I love it! Ian’s mystery is resolved with a perfect result for heartwarming closure, yet not without a bit of gun play. It is suggested that Jack’s career ended, possibly with forced retirement, amid a scandal, one that in the final episode appears to be a frame job. The cliffhanger at the end for Jack, for Joan, for the two of them as more than friends begs for a second season.

Murder, They Hope (2021) is three 45-minute episodes reprising the trials and tribulations of former coach tour operators turned private investigators Gemma Draper (Siam Gibson) & Terry Bremmer (Johnny Vegas). Their tour business, as well as the coach, blew up when investigating murders at a struggling caravan park (Dial M for Middlesbrough), so now, while waiting for an insurance payout that may or may not arrive, they’ve turned to opening a PI business. However, as “two incredibly unlucky people,” they’re having a hard time and most success comes from happy, if not perilous, accidents. With limited funds, they are forced to live with Gemma’s snarky sister Monica who has a very inflated ego and competitive, one-upmanship relationship. Their snoopy manner also causes them to run afoul of Gemma’s snarky sister-in-law PC Vicki. The graphic novel opening sets the tone for a witty, fun-fest. The murder mystery, the banter, and the predicaments are entertaining with lots of quirky, if not snarky, retorts. Gemma is the brains, but she’s frustrated with confidence issues and the combative relationship with her sister and sister-in-law. Terry…well, Terry also has confidence issues which often are relieved with a bit of pie, crisps, and sausage rolls. There’s always a clever crime ultimately with an interesting motive, peril to avoid, and an arrest. Of course, our heroes don’t always get the accolades or payment for their services. I love it, and “hope” the series will continue.

Earns 5/5 Mince Pies…Perfect Fun! The idea that Agatha might be “Kissing Christmas Goodbye” might have something to do with her efforts to create the perfect Christmas, yet being entangled in the new case her PI agency has taken on. It must be solved or she’ll not enjoy or even participate in Christmas at all. Roy, her close friend and snarky comic relief, joins her on the new case because he doesn’t want to see his efforts wasted. They travel to Lower Taper to interview their new client: Phyllis, “everyone calls me Phil,” Tamworthy. Stopping in at the nearest pub for directions to the manor house, Aggie and Roy meet the local pagan coven who share their ire about Lady Tamworthy whose manner, attitude, and efforts to sell the town and their sacred land puts everyone on edge. When introduced to “Phil,” they discover she wants to hire the firm for protection from an “unwanted visitation,” her late husband, but soon they discover her adult children may be the more corporeal threat when it is reveal Phil has decided to sell everything and give it away in perfect renewed Scrooge-style. No inheritance, residents lose their livelihood, the gardener hollers foul over his wages, and the local pentacle-tatted pagans are losing their sacred land. With the Festival of Saturnalia in the background and another dead body discovered, Agatha is set to uncover the truth or you can kiss Christmas goodbye! Each day in Agatha’s case is creatively introduced thru the opening of a door in an advent calendar heralding suspicious predicaments, suspects galore, and a surprise ending at the point of a large candy cane. The mystery is clever and challenging to figure out since so many have legitimate reasons to want “Phil” dead, and ending with a hum candy cane duel. Although I still miss Gemma (Katy Wix), the cast is superior, interacting well like old friends. Ashley Jensen may not be Beaton’s original vision, but she’s become the iconic image I totally enjoy. Roy is still off-color fun, Bill and Toni are in the “meeting the parents” stage, Sarah is now the church’s curate sans her reverend husband, and Mrs. Boggle (Marcia Warren) is an absolute treasure as the cook, suspect, and undercover asset. Perfect for the holidays when in the end everyone is gathered around the Christmas tree toasting friendship!

The Silence (2010; 4 episodes) Earns 5/5 Signs of Wrong Place, Wrong Time…Excitement! “The Silence” is stars favorite actor Douglas Henshall (Shetland) as DCI Jim Edwards. Eighteen-year-old Amelia Edwards (Genevieve Barr), Jim’s niece, is eager to begin navigating the hearing world after receiving a cochlear implant, but she’s also dealing with overprotective parents, Chris Edwards (Hugh Bonneville; Downton Abbey) and wife Anne (Gina McKee). Her uncle Jim and his wife Maggie (Dervia Kirwan; Ballykissangel) offer to have Amelia stay with them on the days she has her therapy to cut down some of her commute and give her a chance to hang out with her “hearing” cousins. Amelia is eager about the freedom she’ll gain away from her parents, but it seems it would have been more prudent to have exhibited caution. She, first, witnesses an illicit affair, then a murder…a murder of a police woman, Jane Shilladay who works with the domestic violence unit. The killer fears a witness finding Amelia’s hearing processor which is difficult for Amelia to explain. However, she maintains her “silence.” DCI Edwards demands to be assigned the case since it occurred in such close proximity to his home. Amelia has kept quiet about witnessing the crime, and her parents worry about changes in her attitude. Edwards breaks protocol bringing his work home to review CCTV footage from the area, and Amelia interrupts to read the lips of the people on the tape. Edwards questions her accuracy, but enlists her help all the same. She finally, to her uncle’s angry frustration, admits to seeing not only the victim’s intimate encounter, but her murder. Edwards is concerned about his professional responsibilities to treat her as a material witness, but Amelia is his niece, and he chooses to puts his career on the line for family. It becomes more problematic when revealed law enforcement is involved in the murder and more. The drama is very compelling, well acted, and often very intense with family members being put in the crosshairs by the drug squad: frame jobs, careers in question, friends revealed as enemies, and Amelia floundering not knowing who to trust. Cracks in the family are exposed and long-held grievances need to be addressed. The last episode ramped up the tense emotions until…WOW! Douglas Henshall portrays the same diligence and dogged attitude tempered with vulnerability that made his Shetland DI Jimmy Perez an iconic favorite. Genevieve Barr, as Amelia, is excellent, and actually was born deaf, learning early to speak orally, but for the role she learned sign language. There wasn’t a second season, despite some final closure left to assume, yet three years later, Shetland premiered and is now airing its sixth season.

Suspects (2014-2016) Earns 5/5 Improv Honors with a Big Gasp in Series 5! “Suspects” is a police procedural focusing on a team of detectives from the Greater London Police force. Series 1-4 has senior detective, DI Martha Bellamy (Fay Ripley; The Delivery Man), leading her team of DS Jack Weston (Damien Molony) and DC Charlie Steele (Clare-Hope Ashitey), and in the final series 5, opening with a shocking event, Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Drummond (James Murray), DS/Inspector Alisha Brooks (Lenora Crichlow), and TDC Gary Roscoe (Perry Fitzpatrick) are added to the cast. In series 1-4, the team investigates a typical urban caseload ranging from murders to drug and sex-related crimes, missing persons to domestic and child abuse with compelling details and always a final, yet surprising, arrest, but in series five, the six episodes are related to the same case, The Enemy Within. The cast is excellent with several new-to-me actors doing well to present varied personalities, UK accents, collegiality, and a range of emotions. The drama focuses primarily on their professional side, exploring crime scenes and places of interest, interviewing witnesses and suspects, and discussing among themselves the details and direction of the case, but, except for a few personal remarks in jest, accusation, or basic insights about a character, the stories don’t go deeper into their background and motivations. However, this production has a different look from other cop shows. This show’s unique nature comes from how it is produced, filmed, and performed. It has a documentary or reality TV style emphasizing the feeling a film crew might be following this team as they complete their investigation. It is oddly compelling as the audience watches much of the drama as a first-hand spectator with angles at a distance, around corners, and through windows or screens with camera movements that are free to follow the actors around the squad room, through stairwells, on rooftops and the street, and in or outside of cars. CCTV footage and security tapes are also widely used to view suspicious behavior leading to suspects, witnesses, and the guilty parties. The most fascinating element is that the actors do not rely on a script. They are provided a detailed story outline for the individual scenes which gives their performance a natural, real-life appearance.