The Coroner

I really love this program. It feels like summer-time bottled. I really hope there's another series. I was watching these compulsively until I checked and saw only ten episodes, so slowed down to savour them, like a good book or delicious wine, not to be gulped down.

The views and scenery are beautiful. There's an ease about the whole thing. I love the relationships; people are so civilised! What a relief, I get so tired of depressing - supposedly grown-up realistic telly where basically everyone is just a self serving nasty piece of work.

I enjoy the relationship between between the mum and her partner; all he has to do is raise an eyebrow mischievously and I smile. The plots are good. I like the relationships between all the characters. I like the constant sexual frisson between the main two, but they're not at it all the time like dogs on heat, they've managed to translate it into friendship. There's no complications with the police officer's wife moaning and bitching at him constantly about his emotional unfaithfulness. We don't even know if he has kids, which I love because it makes it able to focus on the main characters and story - which I love ( in case you had missed that I really love this series), instead of getting into loads of depressing nonsense about people's grungy messy jealous untrusting grabby relationships, when I wander why they bothered getting together in the first place.

So to sum up; a light, airy delicious fantasy, with attractive intelligent funny people in a beautiful setting where it seems to be always summer. There are miserable sods, but they are well contained and don't contaminate everything with their psychotic yukkiness.

So please can we gave more of this, I love it.

Nice detective type story, but this time as the title indicates the investigation is led by the Coroner Jane Kennedy (Claire Goose) although she does work closely with local police in the person of Detective Sergeant Davey Higgins (Matt Bardock).

Jane has just recently returned to her childhood home from London with her 15 year old daughter Beth, and in her role as coroner investigates violent or unexplained deaths to determine the cause. Through these investigations she has become reacquainted with Davey her now married childhood sweetheart. Rounding out the regular cast is Jane's mother Judith with whom Jane and Beth are currently living, Judith's boyfriend Mick who runs the local pub and Clint who is Jane's assistant.

This episodes are primarily about the investigation but there is also time given to family dynamics and usually some humor, the episodes run about 45 minutes each. It's a nice group of characters, the investigations are usually interesting, and the cause of death is not always murder. The series ran for two ten episode seasons.

Another strength of the series is the beautiful backdrops of the South Devon coastal locations.

The first problem is I do not understand their Coroner system and they don't explain it. I like learning from British shows. The second one is that this is only 2 seasons! I wanted a couple more. The scenery is lovely and more current than some British shows. The characters are humorous and subtle at the same time. I like the fact that the violence is a lot less than in other shows and it is more intellectual, as if you were solving the murder/death yourself. I'd live in that village any day.

There are quite a lot of female detectives bouncing about nowadays. They're usually single, middle aged, with a complicated family situation and ditto love life. This series takes a leaf from the same book, with the only difference that the 'detective' is a coroner.

It's not very original or serious drama, but then it doesn't pretend to be be either. It's light entertainment and it knows it. On BBC One it's perched between 'Doctors' and 'Escape to the Country' for a reason. It's made for daytime TV.

Within its limits, the better episodes can be entertaining. The investigating duo, Jane and detective Davey (who also have a romantic history together) are rather enjoyable to watch. The gay coroner's assistant Clint is also funny and well chosen.

Some of the steady cast is less entertaining. Especially 'horny hippos' Judith (Jane's mother) and her equally weighty lover Mick (a pub owner sporting a 24/7 'Fat John Silver' persona) are getting rather tiresome after the tenth 'nine and a half weeks' impression in the family kitchen (whereby the 'hilarious' fat-guy-in-a- peignoir gag is repeated every single time). Why flaunt raunchy obese elderly people in every episode? Yes, these people have sex too. Most of us figured that already, so that's no reason to rub our faces in it every single time. Also, Judith doesn't want Jane to move out (she's enraged when Jane looks at a lovely cottage for sale) but never fails to mention it's her house they live in. Sensible grown ups don't live like that. It's hard to imagine a supposedly intelligent and responsible coroner would continue to live like that instead of doing the sensible thing and move out. It's quite obvious drama for drama's sake, and therefore rather boring and annoying.

Another gripe is the purple haired persona of Beth, Jane's daughter. The kid is all right, but she looks like the impression of a teenager by middle aged people without kids of their own. (They all got purple hair now, don't they? So let's do that every episode). It looks contrived and outdated.

The little stories are (just) entertaining enough. Some reviewers compared it to 'Midsomer Murders', the well known detective series. Whilst both are in the 'detective light' category, the latter is much better made than 'The Coroner'. Both demand some suspense of disbelief, but with 'Midsomer Murders' it's much easier to let go and enjoy the ride, because you know you're in a different realm altogether, whereas 'The Coroner' tries to be 'relevant' and 'realistic' and fails to deliver. You can't be all rustic and piraty on one side, and tackle immigration and women's issues simultaneously. It's tacky and gratuitous, and doesn't do justice to serious issues or light entertainment. Just pick one.

It's a halfway decent time-passer, and can sometimes be entertaining. This review is based on season one. Perhaps season two will bring some needed improvement, otherwise it probably won't last nearly as long as 'Midsomer Murders'.

Another one bites...the dust....much too soon ! Seems....the plug gets pulled...on the entertaining ones...before they are fully grown. Few programs even hit their stride....in under three season. This one was never given a chance. The characters...were still developing. The Jane.... Davey...relationship was just getting underway...! Where....was it going to go ??