The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Rosemary and Thyme update….

We finally finished the third season of the Rosemary and Thyme show, and I have to say that it improved immensely. After that baby-in-the-jeep episode, I wasn’t at all sure if we would continue watching the shows. But, I’m glad to say that we persevered.

We found that they have gone for a more comedic type of relationship between the two main characters, which tends to make them more believable. I have to say that I am glad that we rent the shows from Netflix. Because we just rent the shows, we feel like we can stop at any time. And, we have done just that on several occasions with other shows.

We are members of both Netflix and Blockbusters…. more on that in a later blog.

A Little of This, and A Little of That… Best Authors, TV Movies

Well, I just finished looking up the few authors who I had not read from the Agatha Awards Best Novels page. As I was doing the research for the little "blurp" on the authors, I noticed that most of them have not only been nominated for the Agatha Awards, but also for (other) very prestigious mystery author/book awards.

Anyway, I have posted the names of the five last authors on the What’s New on the Site page.

On another note…… my husband and I started re-watching the Cadfael movies, and, even though we have read the novels and have seen all of the productions, we are enjoying them immensely. It’s funny how some things can never lose favor, isn’t it? Of course, (Sir) Derek Jacobi is great in any role he takes on… We "saw" him in Manor House, a part that he only narrated, and he was terrific in that. And, if you have read my previous blog about I, Claudius, you know how we felt about him in that! (Actually, I just checked my TV & Movies page and see that I haven’t written about I, Claudius…. something I have to remedy!)

 

House of Eliott……Definitely Cozy, Though Not a Mystery

My husband and I just finished watching the House of Eliott DVDs, and I’m not quite sure how I feel. As with most series that we watch, I miss the shows when they are over, as they seem to almost  become a part of our lives for the brief time that we watch them. After devoting an hour every day for , let’s see……… 34 episodes, I feel like I am “addicted” to finding out what the characters are going to do next. When the show is over, I am left thinking about the characters and wondering what they are up to NOW!  I missed the series when it first aired on the A & E network, and can’t imagine how I did that!

The House of Eliott series was created by Jean Marsh (of Upstairs, Downstairs fame).The three-year series revolves around two sisters and their photographer friend. The sisters (played by Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard) and their photographer friend (Aden Gillet) live in London during the 1920s. The sets are beautiful, and are only surpassed by the wardrobe. 

I have to say, this series was a little different for me than most. I actually enjoyed the first season’s shows more than the following two seasons. I won’t plant any spoilers here, but I was very sorry that they got rid of two particular characters who I thought added an incredible amount of energy to the series. But, other than that, I think that it is fair to say that House of Eliott, season one is incredibly believable and very interesting.

The second season of the House of Eliott continued telling about the sisters’ plight, and I enjoyed this season almost as much as the first. I was, however, again sorry to see two more characters leave the show. They were characters who (or should that be “that”?!) added a nice background to the main story line.

I have to admit that during the third season, there were times when I caught myself thinking: “You have got to be kidding!” I almost felt like I knew the characters more than the cast, writers, directors, etc. did. I found myself thinking……….. “Jack wouldn’t have done that.” OR “Bea wouldn’t have said that.” ETC.  Even so, I was very sorry to finally watch the last episode of the show. I will miss our nightly visits with Jack, Bea, and Evie!

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

Inspector Alleyn Mysteries…..

If you are a Ngaio Marsh fan, and/or a fan of BBC productions, then you will surely enjoy the DVDs that feature Scotland Yard Inspector Roderyck Alleyn (as played by the wonderful Patrick Malahide.)  The main characters are Inspector Allyen, his girlfriend, artist Agatha Troy (Belinda Lang) and Detective Inspector Fox (William Simons).  Beware, though, if you expect over-the-top performances from these accomplished actors….Malahide’s portrayal of Inspector Allyen is very upper crust British, without a lot of emotion. If you expect overacted enthusiasm and emotions, then you had better pass on these BBC productions and stick with some of today’s current TV fare…

My husband and I both enjoyed Season One (1993) and Season Two (1994) of these shows. The only thing that we didn’t like about the series of shows is that they didn’t make more of Ngaio’s books into movies. We did not see the shows when they first aired on television, and wonder how we missed them.

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

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