Death Valley (TV)

 

(2025- )
Created by Paul Doolan
Starring Timothy Spall, Gwyneth Keyworth
IMDB Entry

The pleasure of a mystery series (TV or book) is not just the mystery. It's the characters and their interactions, a trope that dates back at least to Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Death Valley* is a relatively new show that works because of the (non-sexual) chemistry between the leads.

DS Jane Mallowan** (Gwyneth Keyworth) is a detective in Wales. And, when tracking down a murderer, she knocks on the door of a neighbor to find John Chapel (Timothy Spall), the former star of a hit detective show, Caesar. A bit starstruck, she doesn't push back when Chapel offers her some advice. As is often the case in shows like this, the two form a team. 

Jane is smart, but has an unfortunate penchant for blurting out awkward comments and having to apologize.  Keyworth really shines in the role, managing to show intelligence even when she's saying exactly the wrong thing. 

Chapel uses his acting and story sense instincts to put her on the right path when she makes a mistake. He's also not afraid to use his fame to charm others into giving up information. Spall is a veteran of British movies and TV, and his owlish performance is a great contrast to the more awkward Jane.

The first season is available on Hoopla, where you can also find my novel, The Cadaver Princess. A second season ran in May of 2026, and hopefully will be available there soon.

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*Nothing to do with the Death Valley in the US.

**A combination of Agatha Cristie's married name and the first name of her character Jane Marple

The Worst Witch (TV movie)

 (1986)
Directed by Robert W. Young
Written by Mary Pleshette Willis, from a novel by Jill Murphy
Starring Fairuza Balk, Diana Rigg, Charlotte Rae, Tim Curry, Sabrina Franklyn
IMDB Entry

Despite what some people might think, J.K. Rowling was not the first person to write about life in a boarding school for wizards. A far earlier example is The Worst Witch  by Jill Murphy* from 1974, which was made into a TV movie in 1986.

Mildred Hubble (Fairuza Balk) attends Miss Crackle's Academy for Witches and is hopeless in her attempt to perform magic: he spells go wrong, and one teacher, Miss Constance Hardbroom (Diana Rigg) constantly belittles her.  Miss Amelia Cackle (Charlotte Rae) tries to be patient with her, and sees something of a talent, but Mildred's problems, coupled with teasing and practical jokes from the other girls, make life miserable for her. When Grand Wizard Hellibore (Tim Curry) attends for Halloween, Mildred is sabotaged when doing precisions brook flying and embarasses the whole school.  Meanwhile, Miss Crackle's twin sister Agatha (also Charlotte Rae) plots to take over the school and turn everyone into toads.

Now, the cast certainly sounds first rate. I became a fan of Fairuza Balk for her performance in the criminally underrated Return to Oz. I've been a fan of Diana Rigg even longer, since The Avengers. Charlotte Rae was successful in The Facts of Life.** And Tim Curry is Tim Curry.

The problem is, it never works. 

The special effects are cheap and not charming. There's a lot of flying on broomsticks, but it's painfully obvious that they're in front of a green screen.  More importantly, the cast overacts and seems to think that a movie for children must be performed in the broadest way possible. Tim Curry appears in one scene (with a musical number) and then once more at the end to justify everything. Charlotte Rae as her evil twin overacts everything. Everything is resolved far too easily.

Book author Jill Murphy started it at age 15 and finished when she was 18, which does help account for the point of view. It was based upon her experiences in school and was published when she was 24.  It has been the basis for a series of books and various TV and stage adaptations. Not J.K. Rowling level, but very solid.

There are still some compensations. Fairuza Balk manages to perform well, keeping things centered while the others chew the scenery. I liked the fact that she was unable to get a black cat, so has a gray and white one she names "Tabby."

The title song, "Growing Up Isn't Easy," was written by Charles Strouse and Don Black. Strouse was a major Broadway composer, writing Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, Annie, and other hits.  The theme was sung by Bonnie Langford, a star in the West End and soon to be one of Doctor Who's companions. I think I spotted her in one of the scenes with a couple of lines, but can't find any confirmation of that.

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*It may be the first to include magic as part of it.

**I saw her live on stage in Leading Ladies with John Astin at Ford's Theater (yes, that Ford's Theater).

W1A (TV)

 2014-2017
Created, Written, and Directed by John Morton
Starring Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes, Jason Watkins, Nina Sosanya, Hugh Skinner,Monica Dolan, Rufus Jones, David Westhead, Ophelia Lovibond, Jonathan Bailey, David Tennant
IMDB Entry

After the success of Twenty Twelve,* creator John Morton put together another TV show about the adventures of the beaurocrat Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville):  W1A**.. No longer working for the Olympic committee, he is hired by the BBC as Head of Values. He is -- to his horror -- joined again by Siobhan Sharpe (Jessica Hynes) from Perfect Curve PR, a woman who is always wrong but who thinks she's always right and spends most of her time saying cool at ever opportunity. David Tennant returns to handle the narration.

The various coworkers include his boss Simon Harwood (Jason Watkins), the Director of Strategic Governance, a cheerleader for everything that goes on.  Lucy Freeman (Nina Sosanya) is a producer there, frustrated by the bureaucratic madness. Will Humphries (Hugh Skinner) is an intern who is thicker than the Grand Coulee Dam, often saying yes to something and then immediately asking what it is., and uses "cool" even more than Siobhan does. Tracy Prichard (Monica Dolan) is in charge of communication and is somewhat brighter than the rest, but gives an apology before every idea she puts forth. Neil Reid (David Westhead) runs the news department and despairs at the hairbrained schemes people put forth.  Anna Rampton (Sarah Parish) is the no-nonsense Head of Output, one of the few who tries to avoid taking part in hairbrained plans.  D

The show also includes quite a few British TV stars as themselves as they are name dropped by the group.

The humor is similar to Twenty Twelve, as people make plans in a vacuum, cheering every half-assed plan and having them avoid disaster by dumb luck. There are also subtle running gags, like Ian's folding bicycle, which starts out with him not being able fold, then a status symbol as he competes with Simon for a newer and more expensive model.

The building itself is a source of gags. It's an ultra modern facility, with no offices or assigned work stations. Conference rooms as named for past BBC stars. It has a bleeding edge computer system for managing it all, which, of course, is buggy and unreliable.

Siobhan is hilariously clueless.  When they come up with a new logo for the BBC, they create a Star of David, and have no idea it has another meaning.  She tries to rebrand the Wimbledon tournament as WINbledon, ignoring any objections to the fact that it's just plain stupid. She gets away with it because of British politeness: Ian tries to set her right with softspoken objections, and she bulldozes over them.

I liked discovering a couple of minor characters were named "Ben and Jerry," and their last names are "Rosenstern and Guildencrantz." They show up at meetings and say "Hurrah" to every suggestion.

Very funny show.  There was a third show in this series, Twenty Twenty-Six, which I hope to see soon.

A minor quibble: Twenty Twelve ended on a deliberate cliffhanger and I loved the fact it was left hanging. This show unfortunately explains what happens.  I wish they hadn't.

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*It was critically acclaimed and won several BAFTA awards.

**It derives its title from the postal code for BBC headquarters.

Twenty Twelve (TV)

 

(2011- 2012)
Created, Written, and Directed by John Morton
Starring Hugh Bonneville, Amanda Bullmore, Olivia Colman, Jessica Hynes, Vincent Franklin, Karl Theobald, David Tennant
IMDB Entry

The mockumentary formula had established its place in television, with shows like The Office being big hits.  The British have taken it up, too, and one surprising example is Twenty Twelve, based around the 2012 London Olympics.

The show centers on the Olympic Deliverance Commission (ODC), a bureaucratic morass with vague roles and no clear goals. Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville) is the Head of Deliverance and presides over a group of incompetents who work hard but don't really accomplish anything.  Siobhan Sharpe* (Jessica Hynes) is Head of Brand, responsible for publicity; Graham Hitchens (Karl Theobald), Head of Infrastructure; Nick Jowett (Vincent Franklin), Head of Contracts, and Kay Hope (Amelia Bullmore), Head of Sustainability. As you can see, those titles are nebulously vague. Sally Owen (Olivia Colman) is Ian's personal assistant, about the only competent one in the group. David Tennant narrates the events.

Ian tries to make the group's plans come to fruition, but, of course, they don't.  Not as pure fiascos, but in minor failures due to bad planning based upon assumptions that never come off. The comedy is understated, with humor that you can easily miss until you think about it.  For instance, a character hires a coach, only to complain "What's the point of hiring a coach if they tell you what to do?"

Most notable is Siobhan, whose main role is to sit in meetings and say "cool" four times a minute while never putting down her phone. When forced to give advice, she hems and haws and then comes up with the most banal reply possible, though she raves about other people's ideas.  

Sally is quite competent, but mostly because she clearly has a crush on Ian, who is oblivious to it all.  Graham has no idea what he's doing and often agrees to something only to immediately ask about the most obvious point. Nick is the only one who understands how silly the plans are, but his cynicism is ignored. 

The show is subtle.  In one episode, Kay wants to celebrate sustainability with a ceremony that she suddenly comes up with at the last minute. They was to plant an acorn to symbolize it, but forget to bring one and use an acorn shaped candy. When its all over, you notice that one of the participants has a smear of chocolate on her clothes.

The show ran while the Olympics were being organized and won several BAFTA awards. There are some jokes that don't travel well, most notably when they talk about obscure British celebrities, but more than enough to make it a delight.

Creator John Morton also ran a couple of sequel series with Bonneville -- W1A, where Ian starts working for the BBC, and Twenty Twenty-Six, where he's involved in organizing the 2026 World Cup.

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*She isn't.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

 

(2012-2015)
Created by Deb Cox, Fiona Eagger
Starring Essie Davis, Nathan Page, Ashleigh Cummings, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Richard Bligh
IMDB Entry

Last week, I mentioned Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries as a show similar to Mrs. Bradley Mysteries. I realized I hadn't talked about Miss Fisher and it's time to fix that.

Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis) is a private detective, working out of Melbourne, Australia in the 1920s. Phryne is a very 21st century woman in the wrong time -- free spirited (especially sexually) and unconcerned with how she is supposed to behave. Jack Robinson (Nathan Page), a police detective, works with her, often frustrated by her blithe attitude to the cases. Dot Williams (Ashleigh Cummings) is Phryne's assistant, a straitlaced devout Catholic who is scandalized by her free-thinking attitude. Constable Hugh Collins (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) is Robinson's assistant, while Tobias Butler (Richard Bligh) is Phryne's butler.

As is the way for this type of show, the mystery, while complicated, takes second fiddle to the characters.  Phryne Fisher  is a delight, a modern woman who has no problem dealing with murders and doesn't care if she shocks people with her attitudes.  Essie Davis is wonderful in the role.

The other characters do pale in comparison.  The show develops a romance between Phryne and Jack Robinson, but it's a bit low key as Jack has trouble dealing with her attitudes.  Dot and Hugh are another couple, which leads to various subplots.

The show ran three seasons, with a movie after the third. There was talk of more, but nothing came of it, though a spin-off Miss Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries showed the adventures of her niece in the 1960s.

Mrs. Bradley Mysteries (TV)

 (1998-2000)
Written by Simon Booker, Gwyneth Hughes, Julie Rutterford from a novel series by Gladys Mitchell
Starring  Diana Rigg, Neil Dudgeon, Peter Davison
IMDB Entry

The British are great with mystery TV shows. In addition to PBS's Passport service, I like looking on Hoopla (you can borrow my novel, The Cadaver Princess, from there) and spotted something I hadn't heard about: Mrs. Bradley Mysteries.  Now Hoopla is not great at giving credits, but it was the type of thing I usually like, so I began to watch.  

Partly through the first scene, I stared at the screen and asked myself, "Is that Diana Rigg?"

It was. And her chauffeur/Watson was played by Neil Dudgeon, the second Inspector Barnaby from Midsomer Murders.   Further along, we found Peter Davison, the Fifth Doctor, in the recurring part of police Inspector Christmas.  The first episode also had David Tennant (Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors) as one of the suspects.

So you could see four of the icons of BBC television in the show.

Set in the roaring twenties, Mrs. Adela Bradley (Diana Rigg) is a wealthy widow who dabbles in solving mysteries, riding in a Rolls Royce with her chauffeur George (Neil Dudgeon). Mrs. Bradley is a someone scandalous author, her major work a marriage manual for young couples and she has a very advanced attitude toward sex. She had a dry and sardonic way of looking at things, even speaking directly to the camera from time to time.*

George does a lot of the dirty work for Mrs. Bradley, ferreting out evidence and being the muscle when needed. Also, Davison as Inspector Christmas is an outlier in this genre, a cop who welcomes the help from the amateur crime solver.

The mystery are pretty routine for the genre, but these sort of shows aren't about the mystery; they're about the personality of the characters and this has plenty of delights in that area. It was originally a movie, and four episodes were filmed after that, but no more. Rigg didn't need to star in episodic TV, so nothing else was produced.  

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*If you are familiar with the original Miss Fisher Mysteries, you'll see she's a precursor.

The Franchise (TV)

 (2024)
Created by Joe Brown
Starring Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, Isaac Powell, Richard E. Grant, Daniel Bruhl

As you might expect from reading my blog, I like movies. And I also like TV shows and movies about moviemaking. I also like satire, so I was delighted to discover The Franchise.

The film is about the production of a blockbuster superhero film, Tecto: Eye of the Storm. It focuses on Daniel Kumar (Himesh Patel), an assistant director who tries to handle the madness and egos.  His assistant Dag Nwaeze (Lolly Adefope) is new to the business and has a sardonic look at the process.

And there's plenty to be sardonic about. The lead actor, Adam Rudolph (Billy Magnussen) is very insecure and has a need to prove himself. It's not helped that Peter Fairchild (Richard E. Grant), a theater actor who grouses about how it's slumming and who also takes every opportunity to belittle Adam. Director Eric Bouchard (Daniel Bruhl) is an Auteur who keeps asking for rewrites and keeps mulling over the best way to portray the oddball things that are part of the film.

The production heads are not much better. Anita (Aya Cash) is the new producer and is also Daniel's ex. The big boss is Pat Shannon (Darren Goldstein), who changes directives and ideas all over the place. Steph (Jessica Hynes) is script supervisor, a job she is manifestly unequipped to handle.

There's a lot to like about this. First of all, the movie they're making is terminally goofy. One of the weapons is the Invisible Jackhammer. In order to give a female character a stronger role, she is given the "Stick of Maximum Potency," which Adam finds threatening to his ego. There is a cameo of another hero from the franchise called "the Gurgler." China asks for product placement for one of their tractors.

I did love a scene where Adam asks Steph to write some jokes for him and it's shown that she is unable to write anything at all.

The show only ran for one season, but it was chock full of plenty to laugh about. 

Year of the Rabbit (TV)

 (2019)
Created and written by Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley
Starring Matt Berry, Freddie Fox, Susan Wokoma, Alun Armstrong, Paul Kaye, Ann Mitchell
IMDB Entry

I've been a fan of Matt Berry for some time, even since I stumbled across Snuff Box several years ago. He has a great comic persona for being bombastic and very obscene, but always funny. So when I found Year of the Rabbit, I was delighted to discover he was its star.

The show is set in Victorian London. Detective Inspector Eli Rabbit (Matt Berry) is charged with trying to find a killer of young girls. Chief Inspector Wisbech (Alun Armstrong) assigns him to the case, along with a naive young assistant, sergeant Strauss (Freddy Fox). At the same time, Wisbech's adopted daughter Mable (Susan Wokoma) gets on the case as part of her desire to be the force's first woman police officer.

The investigation leads to plots, while Detective Inspector Tanner (Paul Kaye) is out to destroy Rabbit for reasons that are eventually revealed, but more recently because he blames Rabbit for him getting blown up by a bomb. A mysterious woman named Lydia (Keeley Hawes) is definitely someone to worry about. Rabbit is helped by John Merrick (David Dawson),* who is the leader of many criminal enterprises, and by Gwendoline (Ann Mitchell), who runs the pub where Rabbit drinks.

The show is an interesting combination of cop show and comedy. Matt Berry is a typical version of his usual character.  He seems to have written much of his own dialog. Berry has been in several shows, some of which are documented in this blog. but up until now, with What We Do in the Shadows, did not run for very long.

I was also delighted to see Susan Wokoma. I first noticed her strong appearance in Crazyhead and she is great as the somewhat commonly seen role of a woman who's trying to survive in a man's world.  Freddy Fox projects the right amount of naivety as Strauss.

The portrayal of John Merrick is interesting. Usually he's shown as a sad figure, as he was in real life. Here, he's strong, capable, and devious.

There was a second season announced, but it hasn't shown up.

Chuck Rothman is author of The Cadaver Princess, a hidden historical fantasy about magic events that fit in with historical fact.

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* aka, the Elephant Man

Avenue 5 (TV)

 (2020-2025)
Created by Armando Iannucci
Starring Hugh Laurie, Josh Gad, Zach Woods, Rebecca Front, Suzy Nakamura, Lenora Crichlow, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ethan Phillips
IMDB Entry

I've been noticing a trend in TV shows -- usually comedies -- that don't make it clear what the show is about. For instance, nothing about the title The Bear makes it clear that it's about running a restaurant. What We Do in the Shadows and Our Flag Means Death don't really indicate what the shows are about.*  But the one title that doesn't seem to fit the show is the comedy Avenue 5.

The show is science  fiction.  Avenue 5 is a luxury spaceship, giving people a tour of the solar system. It's commanded by Ryan Clark (Hugh Laurie), who genially greets and reacts to the passengers and owned by billionaire Herman Judd (Josh Gad). 

But trouble hits.  The artificial gravity goes haywire and the result is the ship's cruise now no longer takes eight weeks -- it's now going to be three years.  And we learn that Clark is just a figurehead; the real crew is hidden away from the passengers, and the real captain is dead. Billy McEvoy (Lenora Crichlow) is second in command, and the most competent one around and has to try to deal with the madness.

The rest of the real crew** try to deal with the issue, but it's up to Clark to deal with the passengers, and he is best at being a genial host, not a commander. Herman Judd is oblivious and useless, as it often pointed out to him by his associate Iris Kimura (Suzy Naskamura). Matt Spencer (Zach Woods), head of customer relations, is a walking  factory of useless cliches. Karen Kelly (Rebecca Front) is a pushy passenger who learns of the predicament and knows how to take  charge.  Meanwhile, back on Earth, Rav Mulcair (Nikki Amuka-Bird) tries to get a handle on the situation.  Also among the crew is Spike Martin (Ethan Phillips), a former astronaut.  

The comedy comes from the characters and their reactions. There aren't a lot of punchlines, but plenty of things that are just plain insane. Clark tries to keep a lid on the silliness, with the help of Billie, but no one listens.

One interesting running gag is that Clark is English, but speaks with an American accent unless he's stressed. This is a dig at Laurie's accent in House, where he uses an American accent throughout.*** Ethan Phillips was best known for playing Neelix on Star Trek Voyager; he's not very familiar looking without the prosthetics until he speaks.

While the early episodes stuck to the science, as time went on, that got lost in the comedy, but no one should mind.

The series was created by Armando Iannucci, the man behind Veep and The Death of Stalin. It ran for two seasons.

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*Vampires and Pirates, respectively.  And they don't make  it clear they are comedies.

**The one on the bridge they show passengers is made up of actors pushing fake buttons.

***When he auditioned for House, the producer commented on how it was good to have an American to play the role.

Extraordinary (TV)

(2023-2024)
Created and Written by Erin Morin
Starring Máiréad Tyers, Sofia Oxenham, Bilal Hasna, Luke Rollason, Siobhán McSweeney
IMDB Entry

I'm always searching for new things to feature in this blog and I came across a list of the best situation comedies of the 21st century. There were, of course, the usual names, but one I had never heard of. Extraordinary has a clever concept and makes the most of its premise.

It set in a world where everyone has superpowers, usually developed when you turn 18. Jen (Máiréad Tyers) is twenty-five but has no powers yet and is frustrated that they haven't shown up. She lives with her best friend Carrie (Sofia Oxenham), who works for a lawyer and can channel dead people, and Carries' boyfriend Kash (Bilil Hasna),* who can reverse time, but who doesn't have a job. Jen takes in a stray cat, naming him Jizzlord (Luke Rollason) before she discovers he's a shapeshifter and has been a cat for some time, and has little idea how to behave like a human.

Jen keeps looking for ways to unlock her power, mostly by trying to get the cash for a counseling program designed to help her. Kash tries his hand at being a vigilante, while Carrie has to deal with the dead people -- usually celebrities, of course -- who she brings back and interacts with. And Jizzlord has to learn about human things.

I was delighted to learn that Jen's mother is played by Siobhán McSweeney, who was spectacular in Derry Girls as the seen-it-all-before Sister Michael. Another surprise is Ardal O'Hanlon, who I remember from Death in Paradise; he doesn't appear, but his voice is easily identified.

It mostly a comedy of human reactions, but I do love the way things are set up. The various superpowers are not always the usual things.** And some remain in the background. I'm especially impressed by the guy walking around Cassie's office with a cloud over his head that seems to show his mood, though it's not explained. There's also Jen's boss, who is in her 50s, but who looks like a preteen girl.

Jen is a bit self-centered (a fact that is hit home in one of the stories), but still sympathetic. I especially like Luke Rollason who is just wonderful as the cat: naive without being stupid.

The show ran two seasons of eight episodes but was abruptly cancelled. You can find it on Disney+.

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*It was a couple of episodes before I caught on to the pun of Kash and Carrie. I did get the pun in the title very quickly, though.

**A couple seem to be taken from the great superhero series Misfits.

Homicide Hlls (Mord mit Assicht) (TV)

(2006-2022)
Created by Marie Reiners
Starring Caroline Peters, Bjarne Madel, Meike Droste, Petra Kleinert
IMDB Entry

One of the great things about the Internet and TubiTV is the ability to find TV shows from all over that the standard streaming services don't carry. I happened to stumble upon Homicide Hills, a charming German police series.

Sophie Haas (Caroline Peters) is a chief of detectives in Cologne who is sent to be the head of the police in Hengasch, a small town in the Eifel mountains.* It's a small force, with Dietmar Schaffer (Bjarne Madel) and Barbel Schmied (Meike Drost) the only other cops. Thing rarely happen in Hengasch, but when Haas arrives, there are murders galore. Dietmar's wife Heike (Petra Kleinert) is a nosy type who gets involved with the police business.

Caroline Peters** is great as Haas. She is very expressive and her expression is a source of the show's humor. Bjarn Madel is amusing as the slightly clueless deputy who is overwhelmed by his busybody wife. Meike Drost is the more serious of the two officers. All have quirks to make the show so watchable.

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*Hengasch in German sounds like "hanging butt." 

**The name sound English, but she was born in and lives in Germany.

Perfect Murders (Crimes Perfait) (TV)

 

(2017-2023)
Starring Isabel Gélinas, Arthur Mazet, et al.
IMDB Entry

My local library offers Hoopla as a service to patrons where you can borrow books and video on your library card. That was how I stumbled upon Perfect Murders*, an interesting addition to the detective genre.

Its structure is similar to Columbo: we first see the meticulously planned murder take place. The police are called in to investigate. Like Columbo, the detective latches onto the clues until they prove what happens, but one twist is that the motive is not revealed until the end. The police are often quite blunt as to who they suspect, but they have to add up the clues.

Another twist is that there are multiple detectives. I have trouble keeping them straight, partly because the show is a French/Belgium co-production and they are all unfamiliar.** They are all nicely drawn, smart detectives, with interesting outside lives. The one that stood out best for me was Agnès Gélinas (Isabel Gélinas) and Thibaud (Arthur Mazet). Agnès refuses to used computers or cell phones, and has two husbands. Thibaud is more straitlaced and a bit nonplussed by her attitudes, but she is a crackerjack detective.

This doesn't give short shrift to the other detectives, all of whom have their own quirks, but the multiple detectives do make it hard to keep them straight.

The plots are cleverly done and the motives, once revealed, are cleverly constructed. 

Read my novel, The Cadaver Princess, a tale of body snatchers in early Victorian London.

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*The French title translates to "Perfect Crimes," so I think they decided to jazz it up for English speaking audiences.  Of course, the crime is usually a murder, but not always.

**The show is in French with subtitles.

Transplant (TV)

(2020-2024)

Created by Joseph Kay
Starring Hamid Haq, Laurence Leboeuf, John Hannah, Ayisah Issa, Jim Watson, Airen Gulamgaus
IMDB Entry

Hospital emergency rooms are a perfect place for drama, and the Canadian series Transplant* is a nice example of the genre.

What sets it apart is the background of the lead doctor. Bashir "Bash" Hamid is a Syrian refugee, a doctor who is trying to establish himself in Toronto. He has no luck until a truck crashes into the restaurant where he has been forced to work. His experience of first aid in a battle zone help him save lives, including that of Dr. Jed Bishop (John Hannah), head of the emergency department at York Memorial Hospital.**  

Bash has to start as a resident, taking on the duties in the ER. He's joined by several other residents. Magalie "Mags" Leblanc pushes herself and can't leave any problem behind. June Curtis (Ayisha Issa) is a surgery resident who keeps to herself. Theo Hunter (Jim Watson) is in pediatrics and is away from his wife and daughters, causing tension. Bash also has to care for his 12-year-old sister Amira (Sirena Gulamgaus) and with issues due to his Syrian connections.

It is the usual ER parade of emergencies, but the characters hold it all together, with compelling stories both inside and outside the hospital. It's certainly not The Pitt, but is an honorable attempt at the genre.

It is currently available on Peacock.

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*Also broadcast on NBC.

**One sign of the quality of writing is that Bash's running into Bishop does not seem contrived.

Dept. Q

 

(2025-)
Created by Scott Frank, Chandni Lakhani
Starring Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne, Jamie Sives, Katie Dickie
IMDB Entry

Dept. Q  is a UK TV series about a cold case. This is hardly new, but what makes it work and stand out are the characters involved.

Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) is a police detective who is returning to duty after being shot in a botched investigation. Morck barely survived, and his partner James Hardy (Jamie Sives) is paraplegic due to the attack. But it's clear that no one is welcoming Morck back -- and for good reason.  He's sarcastic and arrogant. His boss, Moira Jacobson (Katie Dickie), tells him he is to head a new cold case unit, but it's clear to keep him out of the way -- his offices are in the basement in an old locker room decorated with urinals. 

Morck is joined by Akrim Salim (Alexej Manvelov), a former policeman from Syria who is an civilian employee, not a cop, but who attaches himself to Morck's unit. He goes through the cold cases and finds one about Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), a prosecutor who vanished four years earlier on a ferry ride. Morck thinks she's dead, but Akrim insists on following up. Soon Morck is drawn into the case and we learn quite early that Merritt is alive and a prisoner.  Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne) is a detective assigned to desk duty after a breakdown, but joins Morck to do more than file papers.

It's not a mystery since we know quite early that Merritt is alive. The story is discovering where she is and who has captured her.

The acting is excellent. Matthew Goode's Morck is much like Gregory House, but more intense and sarcastic and with little sense of humor. Alexej Manvelov portrays Akrim as a fascinating character: quiet, polite, patient on the surface, but ruthless when necessary. Chloe Pirrie is strong as a character that has been broken down by her experiences.

The show is strong stuff. Some of the scenes, especially with Merritt, are intense and may turn off viewers. But the result is great television.

The main mystery is resolved, but a second season is planned.  I'm looking forward to it.

Dept. Q (TV)

 (2025)
Created by Scott Frank, based on the novels of Jussi Adler-Olsen
Starring Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Jamie Sives, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne, Katie Dickie, Tom Bulpett
IMDB Entry

I generally prefer cozy mysteries to dark ones, but something dark is well worth exploring.  Dept. Q is clearly one of those.

DCI Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) has returned to the force after being shot and nearly killed and his commander, Moira Jacobson (Katie Dickie) gives him a special assignment to look up and try to solve cold cases. Morck hates the assignment, but a Syrian refugee and former policeman, Akram Salim (Alaxej Manvelov) starts to help, despite Morck not wanting him. Akram stumbles upon the case of Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), who vanished off a ferry four years previously. Everyone things she drowned, but she had left her brother William (Tom Bulpett) -- who has aphasia due to a brain injury -- behind. Akram thinks it's more than just a suicide and prods Morck to look into it. Since he has to do something, he looks into the case, expecting to find that Merritt is dead.

Of course, it turns out she isn't and is trapped in a horrific situation. They are soon joined by DC Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne), who suffers from PTSD and wants to do more than just paperwork.

Matthew Goode is superb as Morck. He's super smart, but also sarcastic and insulting to other detectives. In many ways, he reminds me of Dr. Greg House. He carries the show brilliantly. Also excellent is Alexaj Manvelov as Akram, soft spoken, polite, and not one to be trifled with. He could be a star on his own.

The show can be hard to watch, especially where Merritt is involved. But Morcvk, Akram, and Rose are fascinating to watch. It's currently streaming on Netflix.

Secrets We Keep (TV)

 

(2025)
Created by Ingeborg Topsøe
Written by Ingeborg Topsøe, Ina Bruhn, Mads Tafdrup
Starring Marie Bach Hansen, Excel Busano, Danica Curcic, Simon Sears, Lars Ranthe, Lukas Zuperka, Frode Bilde Rønsholt, Donna Levkovski, Sara Fanta Traore 
IMDB Entry

Netflix doesn't limit itself to English language shows and movies and I love to see what's being done in other countries. Secrets We Keep is a Danish production that shows an intriguing mystery with deep characters.

Cecilie (Maie Bach Hansen) and Mike (Simon Sears) are a wealthy Danish couple who have an Filipino au pair Angel (Excel Busano) to take care of their pre-teen son Viggo (Lukas Zuperka). Katarina (Danica Curcic) and Rasmus (Lars Ranthe) are their friends and neighbors, also with a Filipino au pair Ruby (Donna Levkovski). One day, Ruby vanishes and Cecilie becomes upset because the night before Ruby asked to stay with her; Cecilie sent he back. She worries that something bad might have happened to Ruby, and becomes more alarmed when she discovers the box for a pregnancy test near a trash bin where she had spotted Ruby nearby. She takes her concern to the detective Aicha (Sara Fanta Traore), who begins to look into the case. Katarina and Rasmus do act suspiciously, but nothing is clear.

The mystery unfolds slowly. Cecilie keeps wondering what might have happened, but finds little satisfaction or any nead clue.  Aicha is stymied by the Rasmus and Katarina, who use their wealth to put up roadblocks. The mood is dark.

There is excellent acting throughout and the mystery is slowly revealed.  Maie Bach Hansen is excellent at Cecille, the only one with a conscience.

Worth seeing out.

North of North (TV)

 (2025)
Created by Stacey Aglok MacDonald, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Starring Anna Lambe, Maika Harper, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jay Ryan, Braeden Clarke, Kelly William, Kiera Cooper
IMDB Entry

Netflix seems to think any half-hour live-action show is automatically a comedy. This can be misleading when it describes a show that is primarily dramatic, with a bit of humor to leaven it. Still, there are plenty of good ones, and North of North is definitely in that camp.

It's set in the town of Ice Cove in the Nunavut territory of northern Canada. Siaja (Anna Lambe) is married to Ting (Kelly William), her high school sweetheart. After his obliviousness causes her to fall into the water and nearly drown, where she has a vision of the Inuit goddess Nuliajuk and realizes she can't stay with Ting any longer. She takes her daughter Bun (Kiera Cooper) and crashes with her mother Neevee (Maika Harper). Her decision scandalizes the people of the town, all of whom think Ting is a prince and she's crazy to leave him. She gets a job at the local community center, helping its somewhat clueless director, Helen (Mary Lynn Rajskub) Later she meets a Alistair (Jay Ryan), who is there to assess whether to set up a research facility in the town and who, to her embarrassment after she kissed him, turns out to be her father who Neevee kept secret from her (and him). 

The show is lighthearted as Siaja tries to remake her life despite the disapproval of many of the town's citizens. It's gentle humor based on character reactions.

The show was shot on location in the town of Iqualuit, the home town of Anna Lambe, leading to some beautiful vistas of the land. It shows Inuit culture in a current day setting; the producers even used Inuit designers for all the clothing. It portrays the culture in a current day setting.

Lambe is great as Siaja, as she tentatively explores life on her own. Maika Harper* plays Neevee as a prickly person, but who has a deep secret that is eventually revealed when she explains why she cut out Alistair completely. The show also deals with the cultural clash between the Inuit and white Canada, including some ugly truths. Kelly William is interesting as Ting; he's not a bad person, but can't see how his own self-centeredness is what cause Siaja to leave.

There are some nice touches. Many of the people are Inuit, so they still have the traditions of hunting. There's a cute sequence where Bun shoots her first caribou. I spotted the fact that the had a child-sized rifle -- and it was pink.

The show is quite charming, with interlocking stories and secrets revealed.

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*Who also comes from Iqualuit."

My Life is Murder (TV)

 

(2019-2024)
Created by Claire Tonkin, Rick Maier
Starring Lucy Lawless, Ebony Vagulans, Tatam Warren_Ngata, Marting Henderson
IMDB Entry

There's a lot of TV outside of the US and the UK and when you stumble upon something with a well-known actress in the lead, it requires a closer look. My Life is Murder is a gem from Austrailia/New Zealand, a cozy mystery with sharp writing and strong characters.

Alexa Crowe (Lucy Lawless) is a retired cop who is still a sharp investigator and is hired by the police as a consultant to look into crimes that seem a bit fishy. Alexa is assisted by Madison Feliciano (Ebony Vabulans), a computer hacker who finds information online.

The mysteries are cleverly wrought, but the big reason for watching the show is Lucy Lawless* as Alexa. She smart, clever, and witty, something of a pain, but willing to put herself on the line to solve the case. Ebony Vabulans is also excellent and the dialog between the two is always a joy.

In the third season, they added Beth (Tatum Warren-Ngata), a friend of Madison's, who takes over when she is away and become part of the team. The third season also adds Will Crowe (Martin Henderson) as Alexa's ne'er-do-well brother.

The first season was set in Melbourne, Australia, but Alexa and Madison move to Aukland, NZ for the second season. Lucy Lawless is a New Zealander, and I suspect that had a lot do to with the move. A nice little touch is the way the title of the show is displayed in each episode as part of the background.

The show is on Acorn TV and -- if you're library offers it -- Hoopla. It's a charming little detective show that's a lot of fun.

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*I knew her from Xena, of course, and didn't realize she was a natural blonde.

No Good Deed (TV)

 

(2024)
Created by Liz feldman
Starring Lisa Cardellini, O-T Fagbenie, Abbi Jacobson, Lisa Kudrow, Denis Leary, Poppy Liu, Teyonah Paris, Ray Romano, Luke Wilson, Anna Maria Horsford

IMDB Entry

I sometimes wonder the decision process for categorizing a show on a streaming service. I've seen thing flopping because the expectations in the promotional material mislead audiences. No Good Deed is a prime example.  

It's billed as a dark comedy, and while there are quite a few darkly comic moments, it's better described as a mystery and a drama.

It's centered around Paul and Lydia Morgan (Ray Romano, Lisa Kudrow), who are trying to sell their house.  Lydia was a concert pianist, but has developed tremors that make playing impossible.  Three couples are introduced looking over the house. JD Campbell (Luke Wilson) is an out-of-work soap opera actor whose wife Margo (Linda Cardelli) is having an affair. Leslie Fisher (Abbi Jacobson), a prosecutor, and Sarah Webber (Poppy Liu), a doctor, are a couple looking to move up. Dennis Sampson (O-T Fagbenie) is a best-selling author who is suffering from writer's block*; his wife Carla (Teyonah Parris) is pregnant and worried that Dennis's overbearing mother (Anna Maria Horsford) might come to live with them. Paul and Lydia are also visited by Paul's ex-con brother Mikey (Denis Leary), who is clearly up to no good, and plays a little blackmail game on them.

The concept doesn't seem like much, but the key to understanding it is that everyone has secrets they're keeping from their partner.  Some are small; others are enormous and everything centers around selling the house.

The main plot line involves why Paul and Lydia are selling the house, a mystery that is slowly revealed (and solved) as the show goes on. Most of the humor depends on plot twists, so there aren't a lot of laughs throughout (especially when we learn more about Paul and Lydia), but when there is one, it's a big one.

I've liked Lisa Kudrow as an actress since I saw her in The Opposite of Sex.  This is primarily a dramatic role; there's a scene in the final episode where she is spectacularly good. Ray Romano also shows some strong acting chips and the entire cast is wonderful. Lisa Cardinelli has a great presence also. Denis Leary also shows a great deal of depth as his character is not what he seems.

The story is extremely well-written, both in character and plot. It unfolds the mystery slowly, but it's not just finding the perpetrator, but is shows how it affects the people involved.**

No Good Deed is on Netflix, and deserves a binge.

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*Authors in movies often have this problem.

**I noticed a nice bit of foreshadowing in the first episode, and the title is a clever bit of wordplay

The Last Detective (TV)

(2004-2007)
Created by Leslie Thomas
Written by Richard Harris
Starring Peter Davison, Sean Hughes, Emma Amos, Tob Spendlove, Elizabeth Bennett
IMDB Entry

The British love their mysteries. I keep coming up with programming that feature a detective -- professional or amateur -- who solves crimes, usually murders.  Since I'm a big fan of Doctor Who, I definitely wanted to see Peter Davison in The Last Detective.

"Dangerous" Davies (Peter Davison) is a police detective who is scorned for being a nice guy, unwilling to be cruel to the people he arrests.* After the events of the first episode, he's even more scorned by the police, who make him the low man in the office, only assigned to the crimes that no one else thinks are important. But Davies is a dogged investigated underneath his mild exterior, letting him discover crimes that are more complicated than first thought.

His personal life is messy. His wife Julie (Emma Amos) is divorcing him, but is only separated and still seems close, even if she does sleep with other men.** The other detectives treat him like a joke, and his boss, Ray Aspinal (Rob Spendlove) shows his contempt. His one friend in Mod Lewis (Sean Hughes), a pseudointellectual and overall flake who can't seem to hold a job.  Also of note in the early shows is his landlady, Mrs. Fulljames (Elizabeth Bennett***), who has a great and annoying fondness for Rogers and Hammerstein.

Davies suffers from contempt from all quarters, but soldiers on. Davison is excellent as a man too mild-mannered to object to the abuse and jokes, but who still goes about solving the crimes.

I was delighted to spot Sian Phillips -- Livia from I, Claudius -- in one of the episodes.

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*The name is ironic.  His actual first name was never revealed.

**In the first episode, one comes to her house when he leaving, which leads to a mildly awkward conversation.

***Best known to me for her role in The Sandbaggers.