I'm not the bloody queen

Someone always has to be the first.  In this case, DCI Jane Tennison wants to be the first woman to head up a murder investigation squad for the Metropolitan Police.  She encounters many obstacles along the way, including opposition and hostility from male co-workers and complaints from family members as her energy is focused on catching a suspect.  Dame Helen Mirren does an outstanding job portraying DCI Tennison in the 7 episodes that make up the series Prime Suspect: The Complete Collection.

Jane Tennison has worked her way up the ranks of the police force, and now is eager to head up an investigation into serious crime. As the series begins, she gets her chance when the lead investigator dies of a heart attack soon after a girl is discovered in her flat.  Before his death, the investigator had identified the dead girl as Della Mornay, but once Jane is put on the case, she discovers that not only is the identification incorrect, but that the former chief, DCI Shefford, knew the supposedly murdered girl.  Tennison's job of discovering the murderer is made even more difficult by the fact that her subordinates resent that she has been put in charge.  Shefford's former partner, DS Bill Otley,

is openly hostile toward her and encourages disrespect among the other officers.  This makes Tennison even more determined to solve the case and get results quickly.  Her focus on her job causes rifts in her personal life, from missing important dinners with her partner to not participating in important family celebrations.  Throughout it all, though, Tennison remains calm, cool and determined -- at least on the outside!

In Episode One, Jane has to sort out why a dead girl of good character was found murdered in a prostitute's flat.  There is a suspect, but getting him nailed down won't be easy.  As a bonus in this episode, the dead girl's boyfriend is played by a very young, very pretty Ralph Fiennes!

Episode Two starts out with Jane getting friendly with a hunky young policeman on a training course out of town.  When workmen doing repairs in a back garden come across a body, Jane has to cut the training course short and return to London to head up the investigation.  Racial tensions are involved, since a young black girl went missing from that area several years previously.  A "token" black officer is brought in to work in the case, and it turns out to be the same policeman Jane recently had an affair with.  So she has to try to solve the case, as well as attempt to keep her private life private.

Jane has transferred to the Vice Squad at the start of Episode Three, so she's the one who's given the task of finding out who was responsible for the death of teen aged "rentboy" Colin Jenkins, who was found burned to death in the flat of a transsexual singer.  Again, Jane's personal life intervenes when a former lover, on a book tour, comes back into her life.

Episode Four has three separate stories, including one involving an abducted child, another about a murdered man with dodgy financial dealings, and a third in which killings similar to those in her first

case throw doubt on her earlier work.  Once again, she has to deal with obstructionist fellow police officers and a personal relationship that is tested.

Tennison has been transferred to Manchester in Episode Five, but soon gets a murder to investigate when a young drug dealer is found dead outside the flat.  A known drug lord, called The Street, becomes involved in the case and starts his own investigation.  The police seem to have an informer working with the drug dealers, and once again, Jane is involved in an ill-advised affair, this time with a superior officer.

The war in the Balkans has migrated to London, at least it seems that way when tensions between Bosnians and Serbs result in murder in Episode Six.  Jane's investigations ruffle enough feathers that she's under pressure to retire, but with her realization that her job is everything to her, she's determined to bring the guilty to justice.

In the final episode, a 14 year old girl doesn't return home after basketball practice.  Her family lives in an area overrun with troubled teenagers from a nearby shelter, so did she get mixed up with the wrong crowd?  Jane is due to retire quite soon and this, coupled with the ill health of her father, causes her to become increasingly dependent on alcohol.  Will that get in the way of her solving her final case?

The first series was filmed in 1991, and the final one in 2006, when Jane is working on her last case before retirement.  It is very interesting to see the evolution of the character -- from working hard to prove herself as "one of the guys" to becoming a respected leader to eventually becoming isolated and dependent on alcohol.  Throughout her career, though, her energy and determination are focused toward solving the crime and catching the guilty party, no matter what the personal costs might be.  The series also looks at some of the issues that were prevalent in society at the time, including sexism, racism, homophobia, and the abuse of children. 

The final disc also contains a very interesting bonus feature, "Behind the Scenes" of Prime Suspect.  Many of the cast and crew of the series give their impressions of working on the series, and how it changed the face of TV.  The female detective who was the main inspiration for Jane Tennison, Jackie Malton, discusses how she gave advice to Lynda La Plante, the creator of the series.  Ms. Malton was frequently called on to read the scripts and give her feedback, which resulted in the series being more realistic and Jane's character facing the same problems that real-life policewomen were dealing with at the time. It was also interesting to learn that the early episodes were actually filmed in Manchester, with vehicles such as double-decker buses and Evening Standard vans brought in to give atmospheric authenticity!

The complete collection is available on Blu-Ray and DVD, and you can also watch the individual episodes on demand on Acorn's website.

Disclaimer, I received a copy of Prime Suspect: The Complete Collection in exchange for this review

Final Verdict for Prime Suspect: The Complete Collection:  Four Gherkins, for being a realistic view of a pioneering female detective

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Online premiere!

Jack Irish is an Australian lawyer whose life has fallen apart.  A disgruntled client kills Jack's wife, and after that, Jack (played by Guy Pearce) no longer has the will or desire to continue with his career.  Instead, he fills his time with jobs that don't require a lot of thought or concentration -- collecting outstanding debts, betting on horses to manipulate the odds at the racetrack, and woodworking.  He also spends his free time in a pub with a less than youthful clientele.  In fact, he's done a pretty good job at leaving his old life behind.  Then he gets a call from a former client who subsequently ends up dead and Jack finds himself being drawn back into the world he thought was firmly in his past. 

This is how the first Jack Irish episode, "Bad Debts."  The DVD set won't be available in the U.S. until October, but it's already available to watch online from our good friends at Acorn Media!  It's super easy to access:

Just go to Acorn TV at http://www.acorn.tv

You can sign up for a free 30 day trial and access Jack Irish and plenty of other great programs!  If you decide you're hooked after the 30 days, you can subscribe for just $2.99 per month or $29.99 for an entire year.  Yep, for less than the cost of one DVD series, you can have online access to loads of great programs!  Your Acorn TV subscription will also allow you to view the programs through Roku, iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, Google TV, etc.  So really, if you are a fan of great programming you can't see anywhere else, this is a great service!  I tried it out on my computer, and I can verify that the process to access the programs is easy and the picture quality is perfect.  There were also no problems what-so-ever with the streaming process (although this will likely depend on your Internet service provider and connection).  If you're able to stream through a device already, you'll have absolutely no problem with Acorn TV.

"Bad Debts" not only draws Jack Irish back into his old life, when he was a practicing attorney, it also jolts him back into a relationship.  In the course of investigating the death of his former client, who had recently been released from prison for a hit-and-run accident, Jack contacts Linda Hillier, a local reporter who covered the original story.  They begin to suspect that Jack's client might not have been responsible for the accident.  Their digging into the story leads to some very powerful individuals who would prefer that the story not be revived. 

The second episode that is available online is called "Black Tide."  In this episode, an old friend of Jack's father asks for help in tracking down his missing son.  The son, Gary, has stolen a great deal of money from his father but has good reasons for having gone missing.  Jack and Linda are still trying to continue their relationship, although Linda is now off working in Sydney, and their long-distance relationship runs into some snags.  Once again, powerful people aren't pleased when Jack comes snooping around.

Disclaimer:  I received online access to Jack Irish from Acorn Media in exchange for this review

Final Verdict for Jack Irish:  Four Gherkins, for being a thrilling look at criminal investigations down under

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It is the task of history to change people

While the somewhat nefarious doings of national spy agencies have been much in the news lately, the spy working to gather secret information for his government has long been a favorite topic of writers (and readers of thrillers).  One of the great masters of the spy thriller genre is John Le Carré.  His somewhat meek, unassuming spy George Smiley was the unlikely hero of several novels spanning height of the cold war between the east and the west.  On August 6, a Blu-ray edition of Smiley's People, featuring the bespectacled retired spy, was released by Acorn Media.

George Smiley has retired from the service (or the Circus, as those who are current or former employees refer to it), but he has never given up the hunt for his Soviet counterpart, a man known by the codename of Karla.  Smiley is drawn back into the world of espionage when one of his old operatives, "Gregory" contacts the agency and asks for an urgent meeting with "Max" -- Smiley's code name.  Before Smiley can be contacted, "Gregory" is found murdered in the woods on Hampstead Heath. 

 

 Smiley is called back by the current crop of intelligence officers to find out more about "Gregory" and what he knew.  Smiley is dismayed to learn that things in the spy business have changed a bit since he's been gone.  There's now a Steering Committee which stands between the intelligence officers and the government.  This committee, called the Wise Men, has to be informed of all activities undertaken by the intelligence service.  They are hoping that Smiley can tell them what Gregory (a former Soviet general called Vladimir) knew and if he had passed this knowledge on to others.  Smiley finds out that when he attempted to arrange the meeting, Vladimir had mentioned that it concerned the Sandman, the shadowy Soviet spy that Smiley also knows as Karla.

 

Smiley begins his investigation into the death by moving among the Russian expatriate community attempting to re-trace the recent movements of Vladimir and discover what it was he wanted to tell him.  In the course of investigating, he comes across a film negative containing some compromising information.  This leads Smiley to different European locations as he attempts to track down the elusive Karla. 

 

The series was first shown in 1982, so there are no high-tech gadgets.  It would be interesting to hear what a young person would think about the equipment shown, such as rotary telephones, "dumb" computer terminals, Polaroid cameras and film negatives.  Still, George Smiley is definitely a man who relies on tried and true methods (physically visiting places and questioning people) rather than letting technology do the hard work.  It's very interesting to see all the secrecy and heightened tensions that were so apparent during the Cold War. 

This set also includes deleted scenes from all 6 episodes, production notes, and an insert with a glossary of main characters and terms.  There's also an interview with John le Carré from 2002 in which he discusses both his career as a writer and his involvement in the making of this series.  He had worked in the foreign service himself, but didn't visit Russia until 1989, during the waning days of the Soviet Union. It was quite interesting to learn that he had intended for the George Smiley character to be central to many books, but after the character became so identified with Alec Guinness, he decided to give Smiley a much shorter career! 

 

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of Smiley's People from Acorn Media in exchange for this review 

 

Final Verdict for Smiley's People:  Three Gherkins, for being a fascinating look at the work of a spy during the height of the Cold War

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Better an empty house than a bad tennant

It was certainly not easy for Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby to come to Causton to take over the reigns from his cousin, DCI Tom Barnaby.  After all, the county of Midsomer, while undeniably charming, seems to have more than its fair share of violent deaths.  Luckily, DCI Barnaby is ably assisted by DS Ben Jones, as they investigate the dark doings in the surrounding villages in Set 22 of Midsomer Murders. 

The four episodes which compose Set 22 are:

The Sleeper Under the Hill -- a farmer is discovered disemboweled on the Stonehenge-like rock formation on his property.  The local New Dawn Druid community had recently expressed outrage at his plan to cut off access to the stones, but were they angry enough to commit murder? 

 

The Night of the Stag -- DCI Barnaby and DS Jones are enjoying a cool drink at the local Cider Fayre

when Barnaby suddenly becomes violently ill.  No wonder, as the body of Customs Officer Peter Slim is discovered in the cider vat.  Slim had been on the trail of some illicit alcohol, so the detectives attempt to track down the source of the brew, known as "the Beast," too.  But then there's that odd temperance preacher Reverend Grigor and some strange ancient rites that also need investigating.

A Sacred Trust -- At the Midsomer Priory, where only four nuns now reside, vandals break the stained glass window.  The nuns don't want police involvement, but they can't refuse police assistance when one of them turns up strangled in the chicken coop.  Soon after,  £60,000 worth of silver is discovered to be missing from the safe.  Who would want to murder and steal from nuns?  It's up to Barnaby to keep their numbers from dwindling further.

 

A Rare Bird -- the fiercely competitive world of birdwatchers is the setting as the president of the Midsomer-in-the-Marsh Ornithological Society is found murdered.  There was the big dust-up that happened at their most recent meeting, when one member swore he'd seen the rare Blue Crested Hoopoe, which had never been sighted in England before.  Harsh words were exchanged, but was that enough to cause the murder?

 

As always, there was plenty of lovely scenery to be glimpsed amongst all the corpses and blood!  This series also introduced the new medical examiner, Dr. Kate Wilding (played by Lily Allen's real-life stepmother, Tamzin Malleson).  She's amazingly able to pinpoint time and manner of death without too much trouble, which makes Barnaby's job considerably easier, as he's able to sort out his suspects based on alibis for the time of death!   DCI Barnaby and his wife are shadowed in all their activities by their very active and inquisitive dog, Sykes, whose photo even takes a prominent place in the living room.

 

I was interested in how this series looked at some of the more negative aspects of village life (well, aside from all the murders and spying on your neighbors which seem to be par for the course!).  For instance, in one episode there was a character referred to as "The French" because his family had only moved to the village in Norman times (that is, around the year 1066).  Obviously, all these "in-comers" are unwelcome in Midsomer!  This set also features an interesting bonus feature titled, "Midsomer in Conversation" where the principle actors talk about their careers and their work on the series.  These episodes originally aired in 2011-12.

 

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of Midsomer Murders: Set 22 from Acorn Media in exchange for this review

 

Final Verdict for Midsomer Murders: Set 22:  Five Gherkins, for being a beautiful, if unsettling, look at life in a picturesque English county

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Trouble bubbling away under the surface

Midsomer Murders has become a beloved series all over the world due to the beautiful settings and interesting characters who make up the fictional county of Midsomer in England.  On July 29, sets 1-5 of the series will be released.  In Set 1, the five episodes that make up this new release are shown in their original UK broadcast order from 1998.

DCI Tom Barnaby has the misfortune to live in the lovely town of Causton, where bodies are forever turning up having been dispatched in all sorts of gruesome and imaginative ways.  Luckily, he likes nothing better than to get involved in solving a murder case.  He's also fortunate that every village seems to have more than its fair share of nosy residents who have nothing better to do than spy on their neighbors (some even take detailed notes on the various comings and goings).  Although he never seems to be in any danger from the assorted killers, he does take his life into his own hands on a daily basis, both by eating his wife's dubious cooking and by being driven around by his less-than-attentive Sergeant, Gavin Troy.

The episodes that make up this set are:

The Killings at Badger’s Drift -- An elderly woman is found dead at the foot of her staircase, her neck broken.  Was it an accident or murder?  Barnaby soon discovers a link to a mysterious "accidental" death a few years previously, and when new bodies start turning up, he has to work fast to connect all the deaths.

Written in Blood -- The Midsomer writer's group is thrilled to have the noted author Max Jennings speak at one of their meetings.  They do think it's odd that there seems to be some tension between Jennings and their host for the evening, Gerald Hadleigh.  When Gerald is found dead the next morning, secrets everyone has tried to keep hidden will eventually be uncovered.

Death of a Hollow Man -- Tom and Joyce Barnaby are involved in helping the local Causton theater group with their production of "Amadeus."  While the play is still in rehearsals, the body of a woman turns up in a local lake.  She happens to be the only living relative of the star of the show, the arrogant Esslyn Carmichael.  When a horrible event takes place on opening night, Barnaby must once again attempt to connect the dots and discover the culprit behind the murders.

Faithful Unto Death -- People in the village of Morton Fendle aren't very happy with George Hollingsworth.   He's convinced people to invest in his project to turn an old mill into an artists' center, but the project has gone bust and everyone has lost their money.  When George's wife Simone is kidnapped, Barnaby must try to figure out which disgruntled investor is behind the deed. 

Death in Disguise -- The Lodge of the Golden Windhorse is a commune where people come to escape the modern world and gain wisdom from "the master," Ian Cragie.  Barnaby is called in when one of the members ends up dead at the bottom of a staircase.  Was it an accident, or was he pushed?  The various members of the commune all have secrets, and sorting them out will eventually find the killer(s) -- yes, more than one person meets their demise!

The settings are always so gorgeous in Midsomer Murders that it's a shame the only people who seem

to live in the area are either murderers or murder victims!  I enjoy all the personal touches we get to see of Barnaby's home life, with Joyce's ever more outlandish recipes, their daughter Cully's boyfriends and trips abroad, and poor Sergeant Troy attempting to do his job in the shadow of his somewhat sarcastic boss.  This set also features a map of  Midsomer County , as well as interesting production notes.  I was astounded to read that it costs over $2 million to film each episode of Midsomer Murders.  And I thought they just found a gorgeous village and pressed "record!" 

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Midsomer Murders: Series 1 from Acorn Media in exchange for this review

Final Verdict for Midsomer Murders: Series 1: Five Gherkins, for being an engrossing look at the murderous residents of a lovely part of England

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It is not places that matter but people

The recent banking scandals that have rocked the world economy have at times seemed to be a battle between management and workers.  This is a problem that is also at the heart of the series North & South based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell.  This new DVD release features all 4 episodes of the series that was originally broadcast in 1975.

Young Margaret Hale, after years of living with her aunt in fashionable London society, returns home to the idyllic Hampshire countryside to live with her parents.  Margaret has become disillusioned with the vanity and shallowness of society, and expresses a desire to live a quiet life and associate only with "simple folk" such as laborers and farmers.  She expresses a disdain for those who are "in trade" and admires those who earn a living by hard work.  Her father, a vicar, soon shocks Margaret by announcing that he is giving up his post.  He cannot accept the 39 Articles that have become church dogma.  Since his housing is provided by the church, they will have to leave.  He asks Margaret to tell all this to her mother, putting her in an awkward position, but she does so. 


Margaret dressed for a walk in the woods with her father

Margaret's godfather, Mr. Bell, suggests that Mr. Hale become a private tutor, and even arranges his first pupil, a Mr. John Thornton (played by a young Patrick Stewart -- with hair!).  The only catch is that this pupil is in the northern industrial town of Milton.  The family moves north and Margaret is especially horrified by the grimy and dirty city, so different from the lovely countryside of her former home. 

Mr. Thornton proves to be an eager pupil.  He only attended school until age 15, when his father committed suicide and left John to support his mother and sister.  He feels his lack of education, even though he has become a successful textile manufacturer and employs many people in his mill.  Margaret, true to form, makes friends with some of the poorer people in town, including young Bessy Higgins.  Bessy is coughing away her life after working in Thornton's carding room at the mill, which meant that she inhaled small fibers that are now making it difficult for her to breathe.  This causes Margaret to become even more disillusioned with the powerful factory owners and their seemingly uncaring manner of dealing with their workers.

Mr. Thornton, naturally, has fallen in love with Margaret, because he sees her as the epitome of a refined, cultured lady.  Margaret does not return his affection and things only get worse when the workers talk of staging a strike for better wages.  She tries to get Thornton to sympathize with the plight of the workers, but Thornton feels that if they don't like their wages, they don't have to work for him. He has a plan to ship in workers from Ireland if there is a strike, and he has the support of the military in case there is any unrest.

Margaret attempts to be a peacemaker between Thornton and the striking workers, and succeeds only in becoming the subject of gossip, as everyone assumes she his more fond of Thornton than she should be.  There are also other mistaken assumptions which cast Margaret in a bad light.  Mr. Thornton's dour mother is the first one to frown and gossip about Margaret's character.  As usual, when confronted with the "evidence" of her questionable behavior, rather than explaining, Margaret just says if people think so badly of her, well, she can't change their minds.  I can't see any modern heroine not setting the record straight -- probably at high volume and with nothing like the ladylike demeanor of Ms. Hale!

Mrs. Thornton disapproving as usual

Eventually, there are some changes of fortune for most characters that turn all preconceived notions around.  Will Margaret ever come to see Mr. Thornton as anything other than a selfish tyrant?  Will Mr. Thornton be able to convince Margaret that he loves her?  Will Mrs. Thornton ever manage a smile?  These questions area all answered in a very satisfactory manner by the end!

I enjoyed this adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel.  The only other work of hers I was familiar with was Cranford, so it's good to see the dramatizations of her works reaching modern viewers. 

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of North & South from Acorn Media in exchange for this review.

Final Verdict for North & South:   Three Gherkins, for being an interesting look at a love story set inside the industrial revolution

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A dark look at the twisted side of a beautiful city

Set in the Spanish city of Seville, the new series Falcón features Marton Csokas as Inspector Jefe Javier Falcón.  The two full-length mysteries featured on this DVD are as much about the complicated personal life of Falcón as they are about the crimes he solves. 

The first mystery, "The Blind Man of Seville" begins on a gruesome note.  A man has been found dead in his house, bound to a chair and murdered.  The gruesome part is that he was obviously forced to watch a film before he died, and he was unable to look away because his eyelids had been removed.  Javier Falcón is put in charge of finding out what happened, but before he's able to solve the crime, more bodies will turn up.  Additionally, he will find out some unpleasant truths about his own family.  His father, the famed artist Francisco Falcón, is a world-renowned painter whose work is much sought after and the subject of a huge exhibition.  He recently passed away, and has left instructions that Javier destroy all the work remaining in his studio at the time of his death.  Javier has benefited from his father's celebrity by living in the family home, a large and beautiful house in a fashionable section of Seville.  Javier keeps having flashbacks to some hazy but unpleasant memories surrounding the death of his mother, which occurred when he was a young child.  After he discovers the truth about his family and the connection to the first dead body, nothing will ever be the same for him.

"The Silent and the Damned" is the title of the second mystery.  In this one, a wealthy construction magnate, Rafael Baena, has been found dead in his home.  Although the death could conceivably be a suicide, Falcón has his suspicions that the death might actually be murder.  This case, which happens three months after the events of the first story, is the first one Falcón is assigned to after returning to the police force after taking some time off.   Unfortunately, after solving the previous case, the press is more than interested in him, and so any attempts he makes to investigate the crime result in the media descending on him.  His boss decides that Falcón is too much of a distraction for such an important case, and so Falcón is given a seemingly less high-profile case to investigate:  the discovery of an unidentified body (thought to be a homeless person) in a field.  Falcón's co-worker, Jose Luis Ramirez, is only too eager to take over the investigation of the first case and make a name for himself away from the shadow of his more famous and flamboyant colleague.  The case will have far-reaching implications, however, as an American financial advisor, played by Rosie Perez, inserts herself into the investigation and proves to be more involved than she initially indicates.

Falcón himself is a conflicted character, even before he discovers the truth about his family history.  He is separated from his wife, although they are still in contact with each other.  She comments to him that he "has no heart" and asks if he "still walks the streets at night."  We do see him wandering the streets, and he is continually buying and using some sort of powdered drug, although this doesn't seem to affect his personality or abilities at all.  He seems to be the same person both before and after taking the drug, and in some instances even contemplates taking the drug before putting it away unused and continuing with his day.  He begins a new relationship with the lovely widow from the first case, Consuelo, but always keeps her at a distance.

The city of Seville is also an important character in this series.  In the first film, we only see beautiful and vibrant parts of the city. In the second film, after Falcón's perceptions of his own life are altered, we visit many more gritty and dangerous parts of town.  It still looks like a beautiful city!  There are some interesting extras, including some interviews with the author of the books that this series is based on, Robert Wilson.  He gives some insight into why he chose Seville as the setting for his books, and describes his shock at finally getting a glimpse inside the house he used as the Falcón family home -- it was nothing like he had imagined, but I'm sure the mental picture he painted was an improvement on reality!

I really enjoyed seeing the conflicted character of Falcón, even if the flashback sequences were a bit confusing (to me, anyway) at times.  The city of Seville is also gorgeous and seems to have no end to beautiful settings to choose from!  I hope to get to see more mysteries featuring Inspector Jefe Javier Falcón, and to find out if he and Consuelo were able to have a relationship in the end, or if his demons were just too great to overcome.

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of Falcón from Acorn Media in exchange for this review

Final Verdict for Falcón: Four Gherkins, for being a look at what goes on behind the beautiful facade of Seville and how one man tries to get to the truth, no matter what it costs him

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Treating us like moronic dinosaurs

They're up to their old tricks again.   The aging crime solvers and their glamorous boss (Amanda Redman) are still out there solving crimes and generally sticking their noses where they don't belong in New Tricks: Season Nine.  These 10 episodes mark a turning point in the series:  the departure of beloved Jack Halford (James Bolam) and the introduction of new team member Steven McAndrew (Denis Lawson).

These episodes are a welcome visit with old friends.  Brian Lane (Alun Armstrong) is as neurotic and worried as ever as his OCD comes into play during investigations.  Ladies' man Gerry Standing (Dennis Waterman) still has a go at chatting up attractive women.  DS Sandra Pullman (Amanda Redman) struggles with her attempts to find the solutions to old crimes, even when attempts are made to reign in the investigations.

In the first episode, "A Death in the Family" the UCOS (Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad) team is called in to investigate a crime that happened over 150 years ago -- the unsolved murder of a young woman.  Since the investigation is being driven by the slimy Stephen Fisher, an intelligence officer, and not the police, the team members are reluctant to investigate, especially since if they solve the crime, there would be no way to prosecute the guilty party.  Still, they are "persuaded" to see what they can come up with.  At the same time, the team members are rocked by the news that their colleague Jack Halford is going to retire.  Actually, he's going to retire again, since UCOS is made up of retired detectives.  This time he's planning to leave the force and move to a house in France.  He confides some disturbing news to Brian, who then feels the weight of keeping a secret.

In episode 3,  new colleague, in the form of retired Scottish detective Steven McAndrew, joins the team to work on the cold case of a missing girl.  This girl disappeared without a trace 8 years ago, and the case was never solved.  McAndrew worked on the case, and now that new evidence has surfaced, he comes out of retirement to help UCOS get to the bottom of things.  The girl's DNA has turned up at the scene of a convenience store robbery, giving credence to McAndrew's belief that the girl is still alive.  McAndrew's personality and methods at first rub his new co-workers the wrong way.  He's rather chatty and his thick Scottish accent is sometimes difficult to decipher (at least according to Gerry).  He also provokes fights in order to steal cell phones, and isn't above exerting some "pressure" on unwilling suspects in order to get them to talk.  His unorthodox methods are undeniably effective, though, so he eventually earns the grudging respect of the team.  After the case of the missing girl is solved, McAndrew is persuaded to come out of retirement and join the team full-time -- although Jack's desk is still a no-go area!

The cases the team work on are all interesting and provide a variety of challenges for them.  One case even takes McAndrew and Gerry to Glasgow.  The shadowy world of intelligence officers and their shady pasts (including that of their boss, D.A.C. Strickland) also play a part in the crimes the team gets involved in.  Even though they are retired, the team members are more than willing to get involved in physical altercations with the bad guys when necessary!

I really enjoyed seeing the old gang again.  Even though the departure of Jack did lend a somewhat somber aspect to the earlier episodes, the jaunty new team member, Steve, does help to give some new blood to the team.  His unusual methods and adjustment to the group are enjoyable to watch.  I hope this new team will be together for new adventures for a while!  The DVD also included some video extras, including one on the "New Cop on the Block" and a look at preparing for an action-packed day of filming in "The Day of the Stunt." Some familiar faces also pop up here and there, including Sarah Smart (Wallander) and Sharon Small (Inspector Lynley).

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of New Tricks: Season Nine from Acorn Media in exchange for this review

Final Verdict for New Tricks: Season Nine:  Four Gherkins, for being a welcome visit with some old friends (who just happen to solve crimes in their spare time!)

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Galway is the graveyard of ambition

Being a well-known ex-cop isn't all it's cracked up to be.  In this case, the former police officer is Jack Taylor and the setting is the Irish city of Galway.  Iain Glen plays the unconventional character in this new release of the first 3 films made based on the characters from the novels of Ken Bruen.

Episode 1, titled "The Guards" begins with Jack assaulting a high-ranking politician after a short car chase, leading to his dismissal from the Guards (in Ireland the police are referred to as the Guards or the Garda Síochána).  Jack, who also has a severe alcohol problem, is left with little option but to accept an offer of money in order to investigate the disappearance of a missing young woman. Even though he refers to private investigators as being awfully close to informers in public opinion, Jack starts a new career as a "finder."  In addition to the one missing girl he's attempting to find, Jack is soon also caught up in the investigation into the deaths of four other young women who have been found in the river in startlingly similar circumstances.  The Guards are quick to dismiss the deaths as suicides, but Jack isn't so sure.  His old colleagues on the force, including the gorgeous Kate Noonan and the generally sympathetic Superintendent Clancy, pop up from time to time with varying degrees of helpfulness.  Mostly, they just try to get Jack to return his "regulation Guard-issued all weather coat," to which he still has an inexplicable attachment.  Before the case is solved, Jack will gain a love interest and lose several good friends.

During the second episode, The Pikemen, Jack picks up a sidekick in the person of eager young wannabe PI Cody Farraher (Killian Scott).  A year has passed since the events of the previous episode, and Jack has returned to Galway after some time in London to investigate a suspicious death.  In this case, an old friend of his late father asks Jack to find out what happened to his son, who fell to his death from a building.  Once again, the Guards are only too eager to stamp the case closed after deciding the death was a suicide.  As Jack attempts to discover what really happened, he begins to hear stories about a vigilante group in Galway who are meting out their own forms of justice.  Apparently, this type of informal punishment seems to be having a positive effect, as a news report on TV states that Galway is now the "safest town in Ireland."  Jack is disturbed by the brutal punishments being handed out in the name of justice -- a burglar has his arm cut off, another criminal has his tongue cut out, and so on.  Jack begins looking into the vigilantes (who call themselves the Pikemen, after a group of Irish rebels from the 18th century), and is approached by a young man who wants to be his assistant.  At first, lone-wolf Jack is dismissive, but then he begins to see how a pleasant-looking young assistant could be useful in doing a lot of tedious tasks, such as research and the questioning of witnesses.  Soon the "Cody and Taylor" agency is hard at work on the case.

The final episode in this series, "Magdalene Martyrs," takes a look at an issue that has been in the news recently:  the brutal conditions that young, unmarried girls endured when sent to Irish Catholic-run institutions in the 1960s.  In this case, a woman approaches Jack to help her uncover the true identity of "Lucifer" a brutal nun mentioned in her recently-deceased mother's journal.  The mother has recently committed suicide, and after reading the diary, the woman is certain that the cruel treatment her mother received during her time as an inmate at "St. Monica's Laundry" is the reason behind her mother's death.  Jack has little to go on, and soon a known gangster is demanding that Jack turn over the diary to him -- and keep his nose out of the case.  At the same time, the sons of one of his former police colleagues are brutally ambushed and killed, and Jack is attempting to get to the bottom of their deaths as well.  Jack's cold and distant mother may also have some information about what happened in the laundry so many years ago.

I found this series to be quite entertaining.  Jack can be a bit hard to like sometimes, with his heavy drinking and his disregard for the rule of law (when it suits him).  His genuine concern for getting to the bottom of things, however, as well as his loyalty to those around him do help to make him more human and sympathetic.  I see that there are several other Jack Taylor episodes that were shown in 2012, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of Jack and Cody in the future!

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of Jack Taylor: Set 1 from Acorn Media in exchange for this review.

Final Verdict for Jack Taylor: Set 1:  Four Gherkins, for being a gritty look at a flawed detective

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The Carters are going to keep you very busy

Changing careers can be a daunting prospect, but leaving the family business is even more challenging when you're a Carter and the family business is crime.  After the father of the family, Mack, is sent to prison, the remaining parent, Lindsay, played by Amanda Redman, decides that it's time for the family to go straight in the new dramedy Honest. 

Lindsay and Mack Carter have raised their children by running any scams they can.  They also aren't above the occasional burglary, if there's a rumor of rich pickings inside a house or business.  Mack learned the business from his father, Norman, who spent some years in prison due to his safe cracking.  Lindsey is shocked when Mack gets a four year prison sentence.  Everyone expected that Mack would only have to serve a few months (as usual), and this devastating news causes her to re-think her priorities. 

There are 4 Carter children, all of whom receive their mother's news about going straight with varying degrees of scorn.  Oldest daughter Kacie is determined to become famous -- she hopes to become a model, but anything that will get her face in the news is progress.  Twin sons Vin and Taylor have gone different ways in life.  Vin has followed the family business of hustling and burglary, usually accompanied by his lovable but dim friend Reza.  Taylor is a lawyer, but he has obtained his job by false pretenses -- claiming to be a Muslim at a time when the firm was only hiring "minority" candidates.  He also doesn't mind pretending to be his brother when it is to his advantage (which admittedly, isn't often).  Youngest daughter Lianna is an aspiring filmmaker.  She's technically still in school, but she's blackmailing the headmistress of the school so she doesn't actually have to attend classes.

The day Mack is sent to prison, another family member moves in:  Granddad "accidentally" sets fire to his house and needs a new place to stay.  At first he seems to have gone senile, but soon Lianna is able to work out that he was just lonely living by himself.  She becomes very close to her grandfather and extremely jealous when he starts dating a woman from his past, Margaret (they were cellmates in prison before Margaret's sex change op).

Lindsay starts her foray into an honest living by cutting her ties with the family's fence, Donnie, who is in love with her.  Now that Mack's out of the way, will he possibly have a chance with her?  She has a variety of jobs over the 6 episodes of the series.  She goes to work in the office of a friend's car business, but Mack's jealousy gets in the way.  She also works for an insurance agency and at a garden center, but her new honesty policy doesn't always fit in with her job duties.  Maybe when she goes to work making racy underwear for her friend's lingerie business, she's finally found her calling.

The Carter family has long been a thorn in the side of DS Ed Bain (a nod to Ed McBain, or just a coincidence?).  He pays frequent visits to the house to attempt to recover any stolen property that's been reported -- much to Lindsay's annoyance (although he's usually right).  He is accompanied by the young Constable Harrison, who develops an obsession with oldest daughter Kacie, who is thrilled to have her "first proper stalker." 

As well as Lindsay's employment woes, we get to follow the trials and tribulations of the children.  Kacie gets her 15 minutes of fame, but the way she does it doesn't make her parents proud.  Vin commits a burglary at the wrong house, and is forced to work off his debt.  Both Vin and Taylor get involved with dangerous women, and Granddad's "woman" friend turns out to be more than meets the eye!  Meanwhile, Lianna's blackmail plots don't always work out as well as she'd hoped.

I really enjoyed following the fortunes of the very unorthodox Carter family.  Lindsay is a strong, determined woman who has her hands full trying to keep her family together and out of jail (well, the ones who aren't already in jail).  I was a bit disappointed to learn there wasn't a second season of Honest, because this cast of characters had plenty of potential to get into more mischief!  This set includes 6 episodes and text interviews with the cast as well as a photo gallery

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of Honest from Acorn Media in exchange for this review
Final Verdict for Honest:   Four Gherkins, for being a humorous look at a felonious family

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A Walk Through a Historically Beautiful Town

England has so much history and beauty to explore that sometimes it can be overwhelming.  That's why I was thrilled to watch the wonderful new DVD A Walk Around Warwick, released by UK video production company Leofric Films.  This walk around the lovely town is led by historian Dr. Sylvia Pinches.  As we get to see the beautiful highlights of this city, there are also local experts who also provide a great deal of information about the past and current aspects of some places of note. 

Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, located beside the River Avon.  It has been settled since Anglo-Saxon times.  Unfortunately, in 1694 a devastating fire swept through the town and destroyed many (but not all) of the buildings.  After the fire, many changes were made, in terms of both the town layout and the regulations surrounding the construction of new buildings. 

One of the buildings which partially survived the fire was the lovely Collegiate Church of St. Mary.  The church was originally built nearly 900 years ago, and contains the tombs of many people of note.  Robert Dudley, favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, and his wife Lettice have a tombs in the church, as well as Richard Beauchamp (who presided over the trial of St. Joan of Arc), who gave his name to the chapel.  Another tomb contains the remains of Thomas Beauchamp and his wife Catherine.  This tomb is notable for the fact that the effigies of the couple are depicted as holding hands.
 

The town is also bordered on each end by East Gate and West Gate.  It was through these gates that people would enter and exit the city of Warwick.  The openings in the center of the towers show where travelers had to pass.  At the top of each tower was also a chapel, where people preparing to leave the safe confines of the city would stop to pray before embarking on their journeys.  There is also a fragment of the old city wall left, although no one is certain whether the wall encircled the entire town, or just portions of it.

Not so pleasant aspects of Warwick's history are also pointed out, including the building where the public scaffold used to be, the location of the public stocks, and a dungeon that used to hold "Quakers and non-conformists."  A fascinating old cell door from the prison is also on display, showing just how securely prisoners were kept away from the rest of society!

Robert Dudley's influence is still felt in Warwick in the Lord Leycester Hospital.  This lovely old building originally dates from the 1400s when it was built as a guild hall.  In 1571 Dudley took over the building and designated it as a "hospital" (in terms of hospitality, not medical, we're assured!) for old soldiers who retired from the service of Queen Elizabeth I.  The building is beautiful but also somewhat scary, as it does look as if it's getting ready to collapse into the street.  We are assured that it has always looked that way, however, due to being constructed with unseasoned oak (as most things were in those days, because it was easy to work with).

The town is dominated by the lovely Warwick Castle, which was originally started in the 11th century, and rebuilt in stone in the 12th century.  Throughout its history it passed through several hands, and even was used as a prison during the English Civil War.  King James I gave the castle to Sir Fulke Greville, who repaired it after many years of neglect and turned it into a country home in the early 1600s.    It is now operated as a tourist attraction.

The DVD is arranged so that the viewer has several ways of watching.  First, you can just play the DVD and join Dr. Pinches as she takes a walk through the city, pointing out highlights along the way.  There is also a map, with numbered points of interest.  If you choose this option, you can jump to any number on the map and go to that point in the walk.  The chapters are also displayed, so you can easily jump back to a favorite location and watch it again!  The DVD also includes extra interviews with some of the local experts from the film, as well as helpful Visitor Information. 

We also learn many other interesting facts from Dr. Pinches, including how the word "eavesdropping" came into being, and why graffiti can be so useful to historians (the carved in kind, not the modern spray-painted type!).

I'm ready to visit Warwick and see all the amazing sights!  I'm glad to have some guidance on what there is to see in this charming town.  It was really fascinating to have Dr. Pinches point out the many intricate and fascinating details on the buildings which might otherwise be overlooked by a casual visitor.  I especially liked the carving of "Old Tom" on the side of a timbered house that was originally built in 1634.

You can see a preview from the DVD at the Leofric Films website.

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of A Walk Around Warwick from Leofric Films in exchange for this review

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