The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

The Last Detective Television Show…

THE LAST DETECTIVE: COMPLETE COLLECTION Is the Last Detective just that… the Last Detective?

If you are looking for a mystery series to watch that has heart— then try The Last Detective. We found this series quite by chance, and we are absolutely delighted that we did. It is based on the novels written by Leslie Thomas.

The series stars Peter Davison (from All Creatures Great and Small and the Campion series) as the “Last Detective.” I am not going to ruin it by telling you why he is called this, but there actually is a reason for the title of the series.

Davison’s portrayal of “Dangerous” Davies is brilliant. He actually looks the part of a middle-aged policeman in a dead-end job. (He’s quite unlike the beautiful, buff 28 year old actor they would cast over here in the U.S.A.!) Dangerous is someone we would actually trust if we were in a predicament which required us to interact with the police.

[On a huge aside— why is British television so much more believable than the fare we get over here?]

Dangerous has a… how would I describe him… crazy, kooky, out-there… side kick named Mod (after Tchaikovsky’s brother) who is delightfully played by Sean Hughes. Their (almost) philosophical conversations are… again, for the lack of another word…. believable.

In Season One (2003) we are introduced to the major players in the series. Dangerous, Mod, Dangerous’s boss, coworkers, and ex(?) wife… who has custody of their St. Bernard, which Dangerous is “allowed” to take on lengthy walks with Mod. Even Dangerous’s landlady is deliciously three-dimensional, although she does not have a lot of screen time.

The Last Detective’s Season Two (2004) continues with four more wonderful episodes. I am always very happy to find a series that is able to continuously deliver a great product. I just cannot say enough about Peter Davison’s excellent portrayal of Dangerous. Not only is Dangerous believable, but so are the plots.

As for Season Three, although we already own it, we are taking our time to watch the four episodes. We really don’t want to get to the point of not having anymore Dangerous Davies shows to watch!

The good news is that Season Four has already aired in Great Britain and the discs have just been released!  (As for a Season Five… When I initially filed this review I had found something that said they were working on the fifth season. Of course, now I can’t find that information… so it could have just been a bit of speculation that I saw… Let’s keep hoping that they are working on the fifth season!)

This series focuses on character and plot. If you’re looking for a series that you can add to a list that would include Inspector Morse, Foyle’s War and Brother Cadfael—then this is a series you should definitely check out.

Although in the past, I have been dismayed as to why British television only makes a small number of episodes per season, I now understand why they prefer that system over ours. Our television shows put out an hour episode each week for the entire season (except of course, when they tirelessly repeat the shows), and the characters are interchangeable, two-dimensional. Why not put out four or six two-part shows that are truly worth watching!?!

Knock on wood >>>> If I am ever in a position in which I have to be questioned by the police>>>>> I hope I get a policeman just like Dangerous. I hope that Dangerous Davies is truly not The Last Detective.

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

*****I wrote this review way back in 2007, but we still think it’s a terrific series. If you are a member of Netflix, they have the DVDs. Also, your library might just carry the DVDs. It truly is an exceptional British television mystery series. June 2014

The Politician's Wife… miniseries

The two main characters in this (yet another British!) miniseries are such good actors that it is no surprise I was swept away with the intriguing plot. Actually, the plot was so good that I probably would have enjoyed The Politician’s Wife anyway,  but Trevor Eve and Juliet Stevenson are such treats to watch, that they made it all that more fun for me. (Juliet Stevenson seems like she was absolutely born to play this part! She is able to convey such a range of human emotions…)

Trevor Eve plays Duncan Matlock, the Tory Minister of the Family who is Britain’s golden boy politician and a devoted family man. (And, of course, he would be…. since he IS the Minister of the Family!) OR IS HE?

Juliet Stevenson plays his wife, Flora. Her family ties enabled Duncan to go as far as he has politically, and she has worked tirelessly campaigning and socializing for his political gains. She has given up her professional aspirations/ambitions so that she can micromanage Duncan’s family and social life.

Enter a young Minnie Driver…. Need I say more!?!

This is not a miniseries for the entire family. It deals with several “adult themes.” I saw The Politician’s Wife years ago when it first aired on (I believe) Masterpiece Theatre. I was recently delighted to find that they had finally released it in DVD form. I did not, however, remember a few of the graphic “adult situation.” So, I again must stress… this is not a for-the-entire-family fare.

As the wife of the Minister of the Family, Flora is expected to do what any great woman who has been relegated to the background is expected to do: Stand By Her Man! I found the plot totally believable… even her father’s reaction rang true. And, Flora does just that, and more… much more!

(I cannot tell you more because the plot is one that is easily given away. As a matter of fact, I almost feel like telling you not to read the reviews that the miniseries has gotten from other sites. They are replete with spoilers…)

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

Bramwell… the Series

Several years ago, I was lucky to have been one of the people who started viewing a new (very British!) Masterpiece Theatre presentation called Bramwell. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the foresight to tape any of the episodes, so my husband and children missed it… until it finally became available to either rent or purchase. (Produced by Whitby Davison Productions Ltd.)

It is not a mystery, but in my opinion, it has cozy “written” all over it. But, be forewarned… since it is a Victorian medical series, there is a fair amount of blood in it.

Bramwell is based on the fictional life of Doctor Eleanor Bramwell, portrayed by Jemma Redgrave (of the famous British Redgrave family) and she is absolutely wonderful in this role. She is able to convey the innate feisty-ness that it would have taken in the late 1800s for a woman to become a doctor. But at the same time, she is able to capture the very feminine reserve it also must have taken for an intelligent, capable woman to have been able to to “make it” in a man’s world back then.

The first season of Bramwell is comprised of three discs. It sets up the series by showing us Dr. (Eleanor) Bramwell’s succession from working under a leading surgeon to finding a sponsor for a clinic she opens in the slums of London. Dr. Bramwell is stubborn, as well as smart, and has the youthful quality of sometimes jumping before evaluating the jump…

The wonderful actor David Calder portrays the senior Doctor Bramwell. Calder’s performance shows us how Eleanor’s doting father could have raised her to believe (or should I say “know”) that she could indeed become a good doctor… despite London’s (or should I say “the world’s”) disapproving attitude. Remember- the late 1800s was a time when society women stitched floral patterns on their needlepoint canvases. It was not a time when these same “dainty” women stitched up gaping, open wounds! 

Season two of the Bramwell series follows Dr. Eleanor Bramwell’s experiences at “The Thrift.” The Thrift is the name of the clinic she opens in London’s “bad side” of town.

The sets/scenery seem flawless to me… as do the costumes. The entire cast is excellent. One of the characters I absolutely love in this series is Nurse Ethel Carr, played by Ruth Sheen. Sheen is great in everything I have seen her in, but her portrayal of Nurse Carr is so good that I found myself (almost gleefully) awaiting her next scene.

Season three has just been released (January 8, 2008.) When I wrote the review of this series it had yet to be released.

Bramwell’s fourth season is it’s final season, and has been available to either rent or purchase for the longest amount of time. I don’t know why they started with the last and worked their way to the front but, that is apparently what they did. (That is a mystery to me!)

If you are planning on watching the series, be sure to start at the beginning and follow the correct chronological order.  Since I am waiting until I am able to watch season three, I have not watched season four yet. I watched it when it was on Masterpiece Theatre years ago… which, at this point, is almost like saying I haven’t ever seen it!

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

The Boston Strangler on AMC…

Here is another movie I happened to see listed that I thought might be interesting. As with the Mrs. Pollifax: Spy movie I blogged about a few nights ago, I can’t vouch for it. I haven’t seen it yet, but will surely set up some type of taping machine when they show it…

The Boston Strangler…. with Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, and George Kennedy airs on the AMC channel on Tuesday, August 28, from 3:30 to 6:00 AM (Central). When I looked the movie up on Netflix, I saw that it is one hour and 56 minutes long, and AMC has a block of two and a half hours saved for it’s airing…. Undoubtedly, there will be a lot of advertisements. I sure hope they don’t cut any of the actual movie time to allow even more ads!  (Didn’t you prefer AMC when it didn’t show any ads? I certainly did!)

While I know that The Boston Strangler is by no means a cozy mystery type of movie, I still thought that some people might be interested in the mystery part of the movie. One reviewer on the Netflix site said that this movie isn’t a slasher-type of movie. (If made today, it probably would be!) I am hoping that the reviewer was correct about that!

Anyway, I just thought that I would blog this now, in case anyone wants to tape it.

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