Blue Murder

Just streamed the series on Netflix over the weekend...quite enjoyed it. They put together a very good ensemble cast that played off one another rather well throughout the 5 seasons. Sure there were some hiccups now and again...characters appearing then vanishing without notice or trace...lol...and on a police drama too ;P. It gives a more realistic view of the police that make up the squads in the UK, 'real' people with 'real' lives mucking up the works and managing somehow to keep all the balls in the air. DCI Lewis is as 'real' as it gets being a full time cop and mom...never quite getting it all right...but life is messy and this drama really brings home that reality. The story lines played out as well as any drama on TV British or US. Sorry to see it didn't survive a while longer...I grew to really like the characters and would have liked to see where they got on to. :) Well worth a watch if you like police dramas...Brits got this spot on I think.

Loved, Loved Caroline McQuentin and Ian Kelsey in this series. I wish it had run more seasons. I would have liked for the two of them to get together, eventually.

British cop series; quite entertaining IMHO! You'll like this a lot as it's quite original and spicy too. Series ran from 2003 through 1008? For about five seasons I think. It's full of intelligent and cohesive dialogue and detective processes. You'll being paying attention as each episode runs in many sub plots and clued up mysteries at once. Enjoy on Amazon, and tell me what you think! ? Murf

Discovered this gem during pandemic 2021. It is witty and smart. The actors are excellent. Caroline Quentin & Ian Kelsey have a chemistry and express so much through body language and facial expressions. The only downside is that Blue Murder didn't have a consistent format/formula/run time so the series didn't flow the way others do.

This is a series that should have all the advantages with excellent casting and good production values yet it start out not knowing what it is supposed to be or where it is going. The writers and/or the producers seem to think that if it cannot be outright comedic it must at least have moments of light relief. The beginning feels as if it is transparently a vehicle for Caroline Quentin, based perhaps on her long running appearance in Jonathan Creek but that itself is disrespectful of her undoubted skill as an actor.

Only by season 4 does it finally settle down to be serious drama without the interpolated moments of jollity to tell excellent stories told with very fine performances across the cast.

Having achieved that it throws much of it away in the last season by paring the story-lines and episode length down to a mean 45 minutes (not counting advertising). Even the last story presented over the last two episodes fails to recapture the depths of the previous season and a side plot concerning DCI Janine Lewis's family that is obviously designed to elicit sympathy for her fails to do so by dragging up all the single mum woman police officer tropes on offer.

So close to being good it sabotages itself.