The Brokenwood Mysteries

/refers to Seasons 1 and 2/

Being an admirer of British and Scandinavian crime dramas, from time to time, I "look around" to realise what is going on regarding related field in other countries. As far I can recall, The Brokenwood Mysteries is my first watch of series coming from and depicting New Zealand - a country so far away, but with lots of interest and praise.

In spite of evident similarities and benchmarks with particularly UK series, I liked The Brokenwood Mysteries from the beginning: realistic characters, beautiful landscape, often black humour making you giggle... True, in and "old" fashion, one episode is dedicated to a single case and a small township in a safe country cannot be a venue of frequent felonies, but the story, characters and environment is so pleasing (at least to me residing tens of thousands miles away) that I just followed all the 8 cases continuously, often "forgetting" the commonness of the case or its solution/ending. Besides, the viewers can obtain additional information about wines, rugby and other areas or branches as each case deals basically with a certain activity.

So, all in all, I liked the series and might recommend it to our local TV stations to be screened. But I am sure that NZ and neighbouring viewers might have their reservations on the series and its originality...

PS Seasons 3-10 are still pleasant, including with several characters reappearing in other circumstances and functions. That is why it is recommended to watch seasons and episodes in sequence although one has to dedicate some time and energy - the net duration of an episode is approx. 1.5 hours...

Came across this well done series from the "you may like " section and was pleasantly entertained. The show built the characters quickly and the result was a wonderful mix of personalities with a nice mix of serious and humour ,especially from Fern and Neill. The Medical Examiner is like someone everyone knows, and the banter between all the cast is the strongest part of the show.

I quite enjoyed this little romp in the countryside - not an intellectual pursuit (you can usually work out "whodunit" about halfway through) but still fun. I saw a review saying it was derivative and unoriginal and they disliked the overtly individualistic detective - well yes, he does seem to be a little "try hard" but what do you want - a guy in a nice suit and Ford Focus? How boring would that be - I think some people miss the idea of "entertainment". So good stories, interesting characters, beautiful scenery and enough to keep you entertained for 90 minutes. I hope they make more with perhaps a little more oomph but not so much that it looses it's quaint country feel. I'd give it a B with a comment of "could do a little better". But well done anyway - enjoy

I enjoyed the first season of Brokenwood. No, it does not have big name actors, a big budget, heavy sex and swearing but it keeps your interest and is entertaining.

If you want all the hype, hoopla and jabberwocky of US based shows this is not for you.

I agree that some of the acting in the first episode was below par but it picked up in future episodes.

Some of it is hokey and there is also quite a bit of subtle humour from DI Mike Shepherd which can easily pass by the viewer. No, he is not suave, sophisticated and debonair but I like the character.

The episodes are up and down so you must be a patient viewer. In season 1 I enjoyed 2 of the 4 episodes. The first and last episodes in my opinion were below par.

I also liked the quirky country music in the background. It is a bit different from the norm.

I watched it on DVD so I could use the captions to help understand some of the kiwi accent (eg the "chicks" in the mail).

Try it out and see if you like the show. Don't try to compare it to some of the pommie shows just take it on its own merits.

POSTSCRIPT I am now into the third season of this series and each season is better than its predecessor. I have now upped my rating of the show to a 8.25 from a 7. The only real criticism I have about season 3 is the new background music they used. It is not as good as the music in the first two seasons.

Really enjoyed seeing a program in NZ that wasn't trying to portray either Auckland as "Little Sydney" all glam and international or South Auckland as "Little Harlem", for the 1.5mil that live in Auckland, there are stories from the other 3 million outside of the city.

The settings were real without LOTR CGI, the characters were not over the top, the stories had their twists and turns without relying on overnight DNA tests.

Similar to other cop shows, probably, different and standing on its own, yes it does that too.

Really though, how many police shows are all that unique nowadays anyway (CSI and NCIS franchises) or the formulaic UK shows: Two unusual surnames for the title, a male/female lead, one of the two has some disturbing past that troubles them.......doesn't make them bad watching.

It's perfectly fine to watch TV for entertainment and not to be educated or enlightened, that's what real life is for. Brokenwood does that from an NZ viewpoint with a bit of brain engagement and if you don't think this sort of thing happens, you haven't read the papers for 40 years.