Series 4 of Endeavour furthers the adventures of “young Morse” at the venerable Oxford constabulary, our hero finally getting his promotion.
Detective Thursday continues to be the more relatable of the two policemen, but Morse needs to remain an enigma for decades more so the show’s job is not to give us all the answers. Or at least all the answers that make sense.
Finished the fourth series on April 11, 2018
We recently watched the 2015 BBC’s presentation of An Inspector Calls, an adaptation of by J.B. Priestley’s play of the same name.
She enjoyed it more than I did; the twist at the end helped the preceding minutes make sense but that understanding wasn’t carried through to the end, meaning I found the conclusion unable to hit the high mark I felt the tale was going for.
Inspector Goole, circa 1912
There was a message, and the context of the upcoming World War, I get that – but the explanation at the end didn’t provide enough clarity to carry that message home.
Watched the last episode of BBC’s excellent The Musketeers on February 3, 2017.
The third series was the last and I appreciate that they gave each of the characters a send off.
CurrerBell and I finished the first series of BBC’s Broadchurch on January 6, 2016.
Like so much we see from across the pond it was plodding, thoughtful, intense, sickening and a joy to watch all at the same time.
We have yet to see the second series yet as we just haven’t been able to muster the drive for it yet; we know once we start it we’re going to be in for a dramatic and exhausting ride.
We watched the final episode of the BBC’s Wallander entitled “The Troubled Man” based on the book of the same name by Swedish author Henning Mankell this past Sunday (10/16/16) evening, and it was a calm and thoughtful end to a great series.
(Spoilers follow)
This final fourth series ended with Kurt Wallander more at peace then we’ve seen him up to this point. Instead of drinking himself to self-destruction, the detective is exercising and spending more time with his daughter and granddaughter.
While I usually like a show to keep going if the quality is there, Wallander reminded me that keeping things at a certain clip (four series is this case) means that the main characters are made to grow – you don’t have years and years for them to stay the same and only make a change at the very end.
a cold cup of Sweden
(Sidenote – I believe roughly half of the script was Kenneth Branagh frantically looking about and saying, “Hakan?”)
I also appreciated that Kurt survived to make that growth, to see his memory slipping and accept what’s happening instead of going down in a tragic/heroic gunshot. The rifle he slung across his back gave me pause on that, but all turned out well-ish.
His father showing up at the end was a nice touch as well.
On a show that paired a bleak landscape with even bleaker human nature, to have Wallander find a measured peace was fresher than the wind blowing off the nearest fjord.
BBC America’s drama The Game takes the most comforting aspect of the Cold War – knowing exactly who your enemy is – and shoots it in the back of the head.
With silencer equipped.
You spend most of the Continue reading →
