247. Web-series Reviews – 92

The other day I was browsing something when I came upon a link that said Top 20 detective series of all times. When I visited the site, I found that I had seen 16 of them😊.  And the balance 4, I had them with me for the past 1-2 years😊.  So, I prioritized seeing these 4 and closing out the top 20 detective series of all times! One more bucket list item ticked off😊!!  I am still about 10 short of the top 50😊!  Will update once I complete them too!

More web-series reviews… 

Vera – Running since 2011 and the 12th season has been green-lighted and will be out in 2023!  A total of 46 episodes so far across 11 seasons with a runtime of one and half hours per episode.

The central character is Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, who is obsessive about her work and driven by her own demons. If she's lonely she doesn't show it; she faces the world with caustic wit, guile, and courage. Her trusted, long-suffering colleague is Sergeant Joe Ashworth. Together they approach every new case with unparalleled gusto and professionalism.

A trivia - This show is based on the works of crime author Ann Cleeves. Her stories are set in Northumberland and North Tyneside, where the author has lived for more than two decades. According to Cleeves, the variety of the area and landscape gives the stories texture.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Brenda Blethyn is the best. Only in England would they make a terrific mystery series about a frumpy middle aged woman who leads a homicide squad. No romance, no sex, just plain good mystery and terrific acting. I have just finished all 8 episodes and cannot wait for the next season. If you enjoy brainy mysteries and fabulous cinematography then this series is for you. DCI Vera Stanhope is sometimes temperamental, often blunt, rude and then kind and compassionate. She seems so alone and damaged but her work is her therapy and Her relationship with her Sargent (David Leon) is a thing of beauty. It is mother-son, sometimes best friends, and occasionally adversarial though it is obvious they are devoted to one another. These are murder mysteries that are complex, character rich and rooted in the personal histories of those involved. These stories are not dependent on gore and shock value but are smart, intelligent thrilling puzzles that draw you in for the ride. Watch one and I guarantee you will become a fan!

Another review from IMDB...

Gutsy, gritty police drama series has an unusual format and a great star: Brenda Blethyn.

This is not a weekly series, nor is it a miniseries. It's a yearly series of four 90-minute movies that loosely tie up together, especially in the character of Vera Stanhope, a driven and crotchety character who excels in her work but who has trouble connecting to the people around her or in dealing with her past life.

Brenda Blethyn is just perfect as the middle-aged copper and just as changeable as the North England weather. She's just as likely to lash out at her colleagues as she is at the suspects in the series of murders she must solve.

Chief among the supporting cast are David Leon as Vera's sergeant Joe Ashworth, later replaced by Kenny Doughty as Aiden Healy. There's also Jon Morrison as Kenny Lockhart and Riley Jones as Mark Edwards. In the first couple of seasons, Peter Ritter as the weirdly comic pathologist Billy Cartwright is a delight. But there are plenty of other quirky coppers and suspects lurking about the Yorkshire dale and towns. The location shooting is quite stunning as well.

The mysteries are based on characters created by Ann Cleeves and most of them are excellent. It's never easy to guess the killer. You won't see a parade of famous actors but that works in the show's favor.

A great show for mystery fans and those who like great acting.

And how is it possible that this great show has never gotten a single BAFTA nomination?

My Take – DON'T MISS IT😊

 

Life on Mars – 2 seasons from 2006-07. 16 episodes of an hour each.  After being involved in a car accident in 2006, DCI Sam Tyler wakes up to find himself in 1973.

A trivia - John Simm was once offered the chance to sign on for a third season, but he declined. He later regretted that decision. In an interview in September 2018, he said that if this show would ever be revived in some way, he would love to play Sam Tyler again.

The introductory credit goes like this... My name is Sam Tyler. I had an accident, and I woke up in 1973. Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever's happened, it's like I've landed on a different planet. Now, maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home.

One of the reviews from IMD...

Sam Tyler: "I need you to connect me to a Virgin number -"

Operator: "Don't you start that sexy business with me, young man. I can trace this call".

A lot of people may not know what the TV show "Life on Mars" is about and to be honest I didn't too. I overhear people talking about it but I never got a chance to watch it and has years past I forgot all about it, until I FINALLY got a chance to watch it and I'm a bit disappointed with myself for not watching it sooner because this show is freaking excellent.

Life on Mars gives me that classic nostalgic good cop and bad cop feeling, also taking place in the 70's, this is perfect for a series and how could people overlook this brilliant and well made show.

John Simm plays the main character (Sam Tyler) and John Simm has said the script for this show was "Bonkers", and he was right but my god does it work so well in this show. John Simm and the rest of the supporting crew was just terrific and they wasn't that one person who did a terrible job, no they all did terrific. They cast the right people in the right roles and that's just good to see.

Philip Glenister (Gene Hunt) was simply brilliant as this mean, bad cop who wants the case done badly, which makes him a lot of fun to watch. Sam and Gene back and forward was just TV gold.

The 70's soundtrack used in the show was also terrific and I listened to those tracks about loads of times now. The story was great and interesting, the cast as I said before was great and the writing as well was fantastically well written.

Now this isn't going to get the perfect rating of 10/10 because it isn't up to that level, but it still get's a strong rating of 9/10.

P.S. If you haven't seen this show then... well, watch it please.

My Take – Excellent series.  This has a higher IMDB rating than Vera😊!

 

DCI Banks – Ran from 2010-16 with 32 episodes of 45 minutes each.  It is actually 16 stories of one and half hour each, each story broken into 2 episodes.

The tenacious and stubborn DCI Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.  All the stories based on Peter Robinsons's novels.

A trivia - DI Helen Morton (Caroline Catz) does not appear in Peter Robinson's original novels. She was introduced in Series 2 as a temporary replacement for DS Annie Cabbot (Andrea Lowe) who took maternity leave because Andrea Lowe was pregnant in real life. She remained even after Annie's return in Series 3.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

The Brits have always known how to create a realistic depiction of daily activities of a police district, without constant shootings and chases, with officers rather "ordinary and boring" than driving luxury cars and wearing fashion clothing... Although there are dozens of frosts-morses-lewises out there, there is always room for more - and DCI Banks is another good result, pleasant to follow also then when the course of criminal activities or solution is not totally to your liking.

Alan Banks is certainly the very leading character, but he is not a lonely wolf, but a team players (with some reservations), depending on his colleagues' judgments and opinions - thus different from Frost or the Swedish Wallander, for example. I have not read any of Peter Robinson's novels, but I find Stephen Tompkinson a talented performer here - particularly bearing in mind that he has had more comedy roles to play... The female detectives, however, tend to remain somewhat sketchy, despite having different looks, approaches and background.

Anyway, a good series recommended to all fond of similar creations, without too much oppressiveness and violence. You might want to watch the episodes in sequence and without episode splitting, otherwise some nuances and events related to the characters' private life may remain misty.

My Take – An excellent series!

 

Foyle’s War – Ran from 2002-2015.  28 episodes of one and half hour each.  Christopher Foyle is a Detective Chief Superintendent in the Hastings Police. It is 1940 and England has its back to the wall in the war against Germany. With this constant threat as a backdrop, plus having to deal with political interference and prioritisation of the military, Foyle quietly goes about doing what he does best: solving murders.

A trivia - Writer and creator Anthony Horowitz based the character of Sam Stewart on his childhood nanny and governess Norah Fitzgerald, who had been a WAAF driver during World War II, and used to tell Horowitz stories of her wartime experiences and exploits.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

This is a compelling and oddly comforting drama. There is the setting and the time -- Hastings, on the southern coast of England during World War II. Hastings of course was the site of the last successful invasion of England, in 1066, and that threat seems real in the early days of the war. In the series, it is a provincial town where Deputy Chief Superintendent Foyle tries to solve local crimes of theft and murder, while dealing with wartime problems of black markets, sabotage and espionage. In addition to meddling from police superiors with their own agendas, Foyle must contend with bureaucratic and military interference from London as the war creates situations that lets criminals go free.

Then there are the scripts and the actors, not to mention the overall quality of the production -- lucid photography, theme music with echoes of Brideshead Revisited, period clothing, vehicles, etc. The writing is measured, intelligent, no wasted words. Honeysuckle Weeks and Anthony Howell in the supporting roles of Samantha Stewart and Paul Milner are excellent and play off each other well.

But the show belongs to Michael Kitchen and you wonder why you've never seen this actor before and when you will see him again. He conveys the competence and integrity you want in your hero, but the real attraction, I think, is that he is the ultimate father figure. He is concerned about people without wearing it on his sleeve; gruff, even curt, but letting us glimpse the tenderness behind it; and he is wise, not only a clever detective but wise in the ways of the human heart. He is a father not only to his son, Andrew, an RAF pilot, but also to Sam and Milner and to any number of characters in the various episodes, including his goddaughter in the last (final?) episode. Invariably, this father knows best. While he conveys a sense of vulnerability, you never have the feeling Foyle has really made a mistake. This is why I think the films are comforting. With all the chaos of war, and darkness of human behavior, Foyle moves through it all, self-possessed, caring, and ultimately, even when circumstances beyond his control keep him from actually incarcerating the wrongdoer, successful in protecting his charges from evil.

Another review from IMDB...

What to say about this amazing series that puts the viewer in the middle of England before, during, and after World War II.

Michael Kitchen is the widowed Chief Inspector Foyle, an excellent police detective, too old to fight, who wants to get into government service as the country prepares for war. But he's needed at home because yes, even though it's wartime, people are still out murdering.

His team includes a man who lost his leg fighting overseas, Milner (Anthony Howell) and his pert young driver, Sam (Honeysuckle Weeks).

What is unique about this series is the atmosphere and attention to detail in the dialogue as well as in the production. These are people who deal with coupon books, rations, farms conscripted, boys fighting, debilitating injury, bombings, PTSD, lack of food, wealthy people annoyed by the war who leave the city to avoid bombs, profiteering, gas shortages - it's an amazing look at what England suffered. And what they thought - when and if the Americans entered the war, would they help England, for instance. And then the problems when the war is over, and we know England faced lots of those.

It's all the more fascinating because we still tend to glamorize WW II in our country.

Foyle's War completely transports you into this world.

The murder mysteries are fascinating and solved cleverly by the brilliant Foyle, an acute observer. His is not an easy character to warm up to - in fact, you never really do. He doesn't let loose with his emotions, and even when he does, all that happens is that his speech becomes clipped. He's very reserved, even when watching his only son go off to war, and he's a man of few words. But the pain is on his face when he looks at his wife's grave.

Foyle also doesn't hesitate to break the rules. He's loved and respected by his team and those in the station, though.

Michael Kitchen isn't good in this role - he's phenomenal, creating a multilayered character ruled by his brain and his respect for the law, but also with a heart he doesn't show.

As Sam, Honeysuckle Weeks is delightful, young, fast-talking, loyal, and helpful, and what's great is her life changes throughout the years, as does Milner's. Anthony Howell is wonderful as Milner, also with the British reserve as he tries to cope with his disability and, in the beginning, a wife who can't cope with it at all. His life also changes, and so does he.

Truly one of the best series I've ever seen. Don't miss it. The scripts are great, the mysteries are fantastic, and you'll find yourself wrapped up in the English world during very dark days.

My Take – DON'T MISS IT😊!!

Cheers till next time😊!!