The Brokenwood Mysteries

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.

At first I was skeptical of Brokenwood mysteries. I enjoy murder mysteries, I'm quite fussy. Yes it seems to have some similarities with Midsommer murders, however this show has a distinctively kiwi feel to it. The writers and actors have managed to incorporate a good amount of humor without overshadowing the mysteries. I thought it might put me off as there are a lot of ex shortland street actors in this show, it hasn't.

Worth a watch if you enjoy murder mysteries. This show is a breath of fresh air for NZ TV, amongst some very stale offerings. A worthy recipient of NZ on air funding. I hope this show will be a good spring board for emerging actors. Great choice of characters and actors.

Midsommer murders can sometimes get confusing and require a lot of concentration to follow. The 3 episodes I have seen on Brokenwood have been very well put together, kept me guessing and taken me along for the ride with out loosing me on the way.

I have read some scathing unfair reviews online. I have talked to several people of various ages who have had nothing but positive comments about this show. I am keen to see more of this show and really hope there will be many more seasons. I would like to see it get a good following overseas also.

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

/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...

I like this show because it isn't the shoot 'em up, everyone is having an affair with someone on the Force type of show, like almost all US cop shows are nowadays.

Every other episode isn't about some terrorist plot (in fact none, so far).

It DOES bear comparing to Midsommer, in the sense that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Good mysteries, without the ridiculous twists and turns. I like the shows where at the end, you can say "yep, that's the bad guy, and looking back, it makes sense how they got there and why he/she did it"

I detest the ones where I end up instead with "WTF?"

It's better than the new Midsommer, with what's his face and what's his name, but I think not as good as the old Midsommers, and not up there with Lewis either. Much better than the old Morse though.

But I like it, and I'm a huge copper show fan (except US ones, though I live here).

Foyle, Lewis, Midsommer, Gently, Frost, Vera

I hope they keep it running. A unique setting, well acted, well written.