Year: 2013-2017
Seasons: 5
Episodes: 44 plus two tv movies
Special Notes: I watched all the seasons and one tv movie via my local library.
Summary:
A surgeon helps the police solve murders.
Mild Spoilers
This show is incredibly good. Let’s dive right in.
Doctor Blake is the police surgeon in this small Australian town. He has a past tainted by WWII but he brings a playful personality when he helps the police solve murders. He can rub people the wrong way when he proves he knows more than they do or flouts their orders. There are those who support him, like his housekeeper Jean. She helps him solve mysteries by being the person who knows everyone and their past. At least one policeman is on his side too.
The mysteries weren’t ridiculously hard to solve and sometimes questions that should have been asked right away were ignored until later. Unlike another mystery show I’m watching, Death in Paradise, the way the mysteries were solved never felt overly formulaic. Aside from the unbelievability of so many murders taking place in a small town, I don’t remember any of the murders being farfetched.
Doctor Lucien Blake is one of my favorite characters in the show. He’s smart, sure, but he does it in a charming and subtle way. When something bothered him, he wouldn’t ignore it but searched for its place in the mystery. He’d push to find the answers, no matter what kind of trouble it created for him. He needed to be right and was baffled when a conviction he had about a case proved to be mistaken. At times he’d drink too much and had outbursts no one wanted to hear. But he could get in touch with a person’s feelings and often diffused the situation with words. When decisive actions were called for to catch the killer, he wouldn’t shy away from handling it himself.
Jean didn’t care for Lucien in the beginning but came around in the end. She took a more practical approach and saw the people for people and not suspects. I’m adding her to my very short list of fictional women I actually like.
Charlie Davis. What a cute muffin. He’s one of the policemen who worked with Lucien and became close with the doctor and Jean. I loved his character arc, his personality, everything. He entered the show in season two and at first I didn’t trust him. But then things were revealed and he became amazing. I need more Charlie.
All the other reoccurring characters did a great job. Some started as enemies and became friends, others were antagonistic but had a moment of redemption and still others just got better as the show went on. It’s rare for me to see such a vivid cast and have a definitive view of all their personalities. And the use of facial expressions instead of words really paid off. I saw some priceless reactions. The murder-of-the-week casts didn’t stand out as much, but the main/supporting cast carried it brilliantly.
The show spans the late 50s and early 60s and the old-fashioned sets and clothes became a whole character unto itself. Problems normally solved with cellphones and the internet needed a different approach and it’s refreshing to see people be more hands-on.
There were some negatives sprinkled throughout. The first season drops you right in the action and doesn’t take a lot of time to tell you who everyone is. There’s one person I thought was related to Lucien but after an episode or two I realized she was just a lodger.
Since Lucien was only employed as the police surgeon, when he solved the murder all the time it made the police look incompetent. That’s how it is in most mystery shows that revolve around an outsider helping the police, but it would be nice to see the police and outsider be on equal footing. It’s not as obvious here as I’ve seen in other shows, but it is there.
Some plot lines disappeared or were poorly handled and a few characters waffled for unclear reasons. If it hadn’t been cancelled I wonder if they’d have picked the thread up again, but I’ll never know.
One random thing I’ll add: hearing exclusively Australian accents is so much fun. I’ve seen many British and American detective shows and Aussies are a welcome respite.
I only saw the first tv movie so I can’t comment on the second one. They want to make more tv movies without Lucien but I’m not sure I’ll watch them.
Aside from it essentially being cancelled, I have very few complaints about this show. I can’t wait to rewatch it.
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