Blue Murder: Set 2

"Blue Murder, Set 2,"a crime drama/police procedural, chronicles the doings of a Manchester-based contemporary female British detective who's both a top cop and a single mum to four. It was made by British Independent Television (ITV), and is a ratings hit in the United Kingdom, but has not yet been broadcast here. It is, inevitably, reminiscent of Helen Mirren's Prime Suspect 1; though the mysteries tend to be somewhat kinder and gentler.

In the lead role, DSI Janine Lewis, Caroline Quentin(Jonathan Creek - Season One, Men Behaving Badly - The Complete Collection (The Original British TV Series)) gets a chance to prove herself a substantial actress, as well as a talented comedienne. In her job, she faces drive-by shootings, abducted children, and police corruption; at home, the, praises be, no longer all that young, nor all that slim, detective interviews nanny candidates, and attempts to comfort her bullied young son. Ian Kelsey ("Casualty") co-stars as her second in command, handsome DI Richard Mayne; he provides romantic and sometimes professional tension. And as Detective Schapp, Nicholas Murchie turns in particularly flavorful performances. The series is filmed on location in Manchester, a busy Midlands city that we don't get to see much of here, and it looks good. Enough extras have been hired so that the city bustles as it should, too. The actors have been encouraged to trot out their Manchester accents, which add a lot of atmosphere to the productions, and, thankfully, Acorn Media has added unadvertised subtitles, so that we can actually follow what's happening, local slang and all. However, the series' direction could be tightened a bit; the actors sometimes tend to stand around, posing.

In Episode 1, "The Spartacus Thing," we meet a fairly dysfunctional family. Mrs. Hickson has killed her husband's dog: he has strangled her with a dog chain, and served only eighteen months for it. Upon his release, he is strangled in strikingly similar fashion. Fifteen members of his dead wife's family confess to the murder. This episode piles up the most unlikely events to reach a conclusion.

Episode 2, "Make Believe," concerns three-year old Sammy Wray, who apparently vanishes into thin air from a neighborhood playground. Soon, the body of a child of similar age turns up nearby, wrapped in a sheet in a drainage tunnel. The plot's tight, has some good twists and turns, is emotionally involving, and will keep most viewers' attention.

Episode 3, "In Deep," follows a group of four college friends who used to fish together at a nearby lake, where the body of a man eventually identified as Mickey Day, small-time crook and drug dealer, is found. Now someone's picking off the college friends, one by one. This episode, too, must pile up the most unlikely events to reach conclusion.

Episode 4, "Steady Eddie," tells the story of Eddie Carter, popular copper's cop, who preferred walking the beat to climbing the slippery ladder of departmental promotion. When a jewelry heist goes wrong, and Carter is killed in a drive-by shooting, Janine and her team are forced to investigate him, and find out some things about him that they'd rather not have. Again, an absorbing mystery, with plenty of twists and turns.

Now, I'm not sure who's been asking for kinder, gentler British mysteries; surely, not me. I find Hetty Wainthropp Investigates - Complete Collection acceptable, because, after all, the title character is played by Patricia Routledge, better known as our Hyacinthe Bucket, from the hilarious Britcom Keeping Up Appearances: The Full Bouquet. And Rosemary & Thyme - The Complete Series works, because you've got those lovely gardens to look at, and the female leads are both, also, apt and talented comediennes. However, if you like female-headed, female-oriented, mysteries, and prefer them softer-edged, this may just be your cuppa.

best female detective series from the Brits available. Great action, not too gory and believable characters

I love this lady. She is an excellent copper and is so different from Jane Tennison. I love her of course. This lady is married and has four children. She is tempted to have a cozy with her partner Richard. They never quite make it together. So she balances her family with her job and breakfast is a funny business. Good murder mysteries too.

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