Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Mystery > British TV > Murder In Suburbia - Series 1

Murder In Suburbia – Series 1

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Episodes: B

 

 

In the continued hit or miss of Detective dramas on British TV, Murder In Suburbia is one of the hits, featuring two lady detectives with lively and very for-real interactions that help the show and its very well-written teleplays move that much better.  Some might say this is more of an American style, but since the U.S. networks dropped the ball on the Mystery show outside of the tired police procedurals (though Numbers is in a class by itself) another show had to surface somewhere to do this kind of series right.

 

It should be said that it too is not as much a police procedural as it is just a smart detective show where the leads just happen to be police.  They do not fetishize on the evidence, which is fine for something like CSI, but becomes an excuse to not have as much suspense and cuts into the Mystery side of things.  Not only are their intelligent mysteries, but they are so seamlessly part of the narrative that it never feels conventional, which is not always easy to pull off.  Cheers to Nick Collins for putting it all together.

 

This first set has six episodes, none of which have titles, but all of which are solid.  Caroline Katz as Detective Inspector Kate “Ash” Ashurst and Lisa Faulkner as Detective Sergeant Emma “Scribbs” Scribbins may just land up becoming one of the great all-time TV detective teams if this show stays as good as this season or even picks up.  We can only hope.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image originated in digital high definition, which has some good color in shots, but is a bit muted otherwise and the HD has the usual detail limits versus film.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo can be played back in Pro Logic, but does not sound as good.  Text cast filmographies are the only extras, but the show is a hit and another season (aka series) is on the way.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com