Britain certainly has no shortage of dark and gritty crime dramas but sometimes what’s needed is crime which is silly and irreverent. Bright and bubbly. Death by cheese, perhaps. Here are a handful of shows which keep things on the lighter side without sacrificing (too much) in the substance department.
~Midsomer Murders There is a running joke about the body count in Midsomer Murders. At 2-3 bodies per episode over 20 years of broadcasting, the fictional county of Midsomer is clearly the most dangerous place to live in England. It is, however, quintessentially British, with gorgeous gardens, quaint village pubs, stately homes and charming cottages. I find it just a touch bland, to be honest, but this is a wildly popular series aired in over two hundred territories, so what the heck do I know? And the show is certainly not without humour: occasionally dark, often wry. It’s just that sometimes I struggle to know if tongue is in cheek or if it’s being played straight. The mysteries themselves are decently written and generally entertaining and vary from your bog standard drownings (once in a vat of soup – OK, maybe not so standard), stabbings and poisonings to death by arrow, vintage claret and, yes, wheel of cheese. I know, a wheel of cheese, but when you have to come up with so many ways to die, some are going to be a little, uh, cheesy.
~Agatha Raisin Now this show IS campy and proud of it! It stars Ashley Jensen in the title role as a successful public relations specialist who leaves her glamourous life behind to fulfill a life-long dream of moving to the Cotswolds. Once there she enters a quiche contest (with a store bought quiche! Why mess up the kitchen?) to try and fit in. Unfortunately, the aforementioned quiche kills someone and Agatha finds herself suspect numero uno in a murder inquiry. In an attempt to prove her innocence she starts her own investigation, solves the murder and launches her second career. The whole show is as brash and off-beat as the platinum-blonde Agatha who is always wildly (and entertainingly) overdressed for village life. Now, the mysteries aren’t exactly complex and nobody’s going to win any awards here, but it’s so delightfully bright and champagne bubbly as to be perfectly irresistible and deliciously moreish.
~Rosemary and Thyme A touch twee, but what this show lacks in the spit and polish department of a PBS production it makes up for with a laid back charm all its own. Pam Ferris and Felicity Kendal are both stalwarts of British telly and here they come together as Laura Thyme, ex-policewoman whose husband has just left her for a younger woman and Rosemary Boxer, plant pathologist who has just been laid off from her university job. The two meet through a mutual acquaintance but are ultimately brought together by a nosey curiosity and a love of gardening. Over time it becomes apparent that they have an uncanny ability to dig up dead bodies along with the shrubbery. The real beauty of this show lies in the settings, which include a variety of English manor houses and their grounds along with well known spots such as Kew Gardens and Regent’s Park. To add some variety, or maybe to dodge shooting in the troublesome English rain, several episodes take place abroad: the French Riviera, the hills of Spain and the Italian coastline. Lighthearted and humorous it’s like hanging out with a couple of old friends.
~Death in Paradise British DI Richard Poole is sent out to a French Caribbean Island to investigate the death of a British police officer and then is railroaded into staying. He’s not terribly happy about it given his dislike of sun, sand and heat and he rebels by proceeding to wear his suit and tie and carry his briefcase on a daily basis, all of which produces plenty of fish-out-of-water jokes. The show has an identical formula for each episode. Opening scenes set up the story and introduce us to that episodes guest characters until someone is murdered and the local constabulary come rushing in. Photographs are taken, questions are asked, secrets are revealed. Towards the end of the episode DI Poole has a lightbulb moment, gathers together all the suspects and murderer and motive are revealed. The investigation team then heads out for a celebratory drink at the local watering hole. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff but it has its virtues. Did I mention that it takes place on a French Caribbean island? There’s something to be said for an exotic, tropical locale with murders that take place on island time. Watch it now or save it for the dark, depths of winter when you find yourself dreaming of somewhere warm.
~Queens of Mystery Newly promoted DS Matilda Stone is assigned to her hometown, the picturesque village of Wildermarsh. The three aunts who raised her still live there and it just so happens that they are all writers of crime ficition and own a bookstore called Murder Ink. Which puts them in the rather brilliant position of being able to “help” Mattie solve her cases. This is an Acorn original and to be honest I’m still a little on the fence about it. I might have stopped watching if it wasn’t for the fact that one of my favourite actors, Julie Graham, is in it. It wants to be like Agatha Raisin, but doesn’t quite get there, and the voice over (albeit by the highly esteemed Juliet Stephenson) grates a little. By the last episode things had grown on me a bit. The three aunts are suitably quirky, their endless attempts to set up Mattie on blind dates can be entertaining and the voiceover does offer up some rather amusingly wry asides. There’s also a mystery threaded throughout regarding the childhood disappearance of Mattie’s mother and several scenes of a crow flying around which seemed to suggest a hint of magic to come. I’ll certainly tune in to a second season to see how all this matures, although to be honest, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if there wasn’t one.
~Miss Fisher’s Modern Mysteries It’s not too often that a spin off show comes along which manages to equal the original. I have waxed poetic about the joys of Miss Phryne Fisher here, and now her niece, Peregrine, has arrived in town to pick up her mantle. It’s the 1960’s and Phryne has gone missing Amelia Earhardt style. Peregrine has inherited her aunt’s estate along with her bold spirit and joie de vivre and while she might be a beauty school dropout in her twenties, lacking Phryne’s polish and detecting abilities, she more than makes up for this with some serious life skills. But it’s Peregrine’s youthfulness and enthusiasm combined with the sixties setting which gives this new rendition an edgier, hipper feel. There’s a lavish modern pad, swanky sports car and yet another to die for wardrobe…just with shorter skirts. All in all a fabulously psychedelic spin on the original which is nothing short of groovy.
~Murder in Suburbia “You know what I like about suburbia?” Ash asks her partner. “The effortless way it all works—deceit, murder, wife-swapping. And still the hedges get trimmed.” And there you have Murder in Suburbia in a nutshell. No violence. No bloody gore. Nothing deep or heavy. Things are clean and tidy and plot lines lean towards parents vying to get their kids into good schools (someone’s always going to die over that one) and teachers killed in hit-and-run accidents. Unpleasantness hides behind white picket fences and lurks in organized pantries to be rooted out by our lead detectives. Caroline Catz and Lisa Faulkner star as Kate “Ash” Ashurst and Emma “Scribbs” Scribbins. The former comes from a posh, private school background and is a little uptight. The latter is street smart and carefree with plenty of sass. Both are single, but with two different approaches to the dating scene so there is lots of talk about men (and their gorgeous boss whom they both have a crush on). But what really makes this show shine is the never ending, sparkly banter between the two lead characters who have fabulous chemistry. The wit and sarcasm is rapid fire and delightfully entertaining. Who cares if the mystery to be solved is a little thin – quite frankly the real crime here is that only two series were made.
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