Blue Murder - Set 1 (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you loved "Prime Suspect", you won't want to miss this. Janine Lewis, played by Caroline Quentin, is a Manchester-based single mother of three (soon to be four) who also happens to be a Detective Chief Inspector. Coming home to surprise her husband with the good news of her promotion to DCI, she herself is surprised to find him having sex with the housecleaner in their bedroom. After the initial shock, Janine handles this curveball with aplomb, juggling the draining dual roles of chief homicide investigator and sole domestic engineer without losing her mind. She even has time for a promising, if somewhat ill-advised, flirtation with a junior officer on her squad. Janine is Earth Mother to Jane Tennison's Ice Queen, but she is every bit as committed to her job. Like Helen Mirren's Tennison, she must also deal with daily verbal reamings from her male superior and his obligatory musings about a female's capacity to handle her responsibilities in a predominantly male profession. Janine manages to do it all and somehow keeps on smiling. British TV series have a much more realistic feel than do their American counterparts; I can't imagine that an enormously pregnant 40-something woman who looks her age and is a size 18 in the best of times would ever be welcomed as the lead in an American police procedural. Caroline Quentin proves that it is possible to be larger and more mature than a supermodel and still be warm and sexy. I hope more of this series is on offer, though I have no idea why they chose the title. There is nothing 'blue' about Janine Lewis--she's the type everyone would be lucky to have as a spouse or a best friend.

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Life is never simple for a single mum -- especially when she's the detective in charge.Newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector Janine Lewis commands a close-knit police team that probes some of Manchester's most gruesome murders. And, as a single mother, she tends four children at home, handling crises that range from head lice to teenage tippling. Janine throws herself into every challenge with energy and passion -- even when her professional and personal lives collide.British Comedy Award-winner Caroline Quentin (Jonathan Creek, Men Behaving Badly) shines in this dramatic role, heading a fine ensemble cast that includes Ian Kelsey (Touching Evil) as Janine's dishy, dedicated partner and David Schofield (Gladiator) as her doubting boss. With riveting realism and a touch of wry humor, Blue Murder serves up gritty police procedurals that set your mind racing and your pulse pounding. And it sensitively explores the struggles of a thoroughly modern woman, balancing her devotion to family with the demands of her often dangerous profession.

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Blue Murder: Set 3 (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Blue Murder, Set 3,"debuts on DVD, available on this side of the pond for the first time. The show, a crime drama/police procedural, leavened with some sly humor, and a domestic side, is made by the British firm Independent Television (ITV)and is a ratings hit in the U.K.,where it consistently ranks #1 in its primetime slot.
Caroline Quentin ("Jonathan Creek," "Men Behaving Badly,"), an award-winning actress, plays Detective Chief Inspector Janine Lewis, and reveals that she's got solid dramatic chops, as well as comic ones. She supervises a squad in the contemporary English midlands city of Manchester; but she's also a single mum of four, who finds it equally difficult to supervise goings-on in her own home. Ian Kelsey ("Casualty") plays her handsome lead detective, source of some romantic and professional stress. Nicholas Murchie stands out as Detective Schapp.
The series inevitably will be compared to Helen Mirren's "Prime Suspect," although the mysteries in this series are lighter than, not as powerful as, some in the other series. However, the three new mysteries are set in Manchester, and filmed there: it's a bustling town we don't often get to see. And it's been filmed with a liberal hand, no shortage of cars and people in the streets, bars, police station. The actors have been encouraged to use local accent and slang, which add greatly to the pleasure of the production, and the distributor, Acorn has been kind enough to give us - unadvertised - subtitles, thank goodness.
Episode 1, "Not A Matter of Life and Death," concerns the murder of black footballer Duane Kent, a rising star in the local youth league. Investigation seems to indicate that he led a - puzzling--double life.
Episode 2, "Desperate Measures," concerns Dr. Donald Halliwell, shot dead outside his office while in the midst of a much-publicized malpractice suit. Then a disgruntled intern in his practice turns up missing. Investigation shows irregularities in Halliwell's life, and practice, motives for murder.
Episode 3,"Crisis Management." We learn that DCI Lewis tells strangers-- in this case, a handsome army man met at a pub--that that's what she does. But there's almost immediately a vicious murder on his regiment's base, only a week before its deployment to the Persian Gulf. This episode has some strong character arcs, and traction.
If you like a lighter, female-headed, female-oriented mystery, with a domestic angle, and a sly streak of comedy, check it out.

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A single-mom cop who brooks no nonsense at home or on the job. When strangers ask Janine Lewis what she does for a living, she tells them, "crisis management." And she’s not kidding. As detective chief inspector, she supervises a squad of cops investigating some of Manchester’s most brutal, highly publicized crimes. As a single mom, she wrestles with soccer practices, field trips, and schoolwork for her four children. She handles her daily crises with energy and aplomb, protecting her kids as well as the detectives under her command with a fierce maternal affection.Award-winning actress Caroline Quentin (Jonathan Creek, Men Behaving Badly) portrays Janine with the perfect combination of toughness and tenderness.And Ian Kelsey (Casualty) brings a subtle vulnerability to his role as DI Richard Mayne, the lead detective on Janine’s team. These tense, tightly plotted mysteries show the everyday trials and triumphs of a woman balancing career and family. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE behind-the-scenes documentary and cast filmographies.

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New Order: Live in Glasgow (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm endlessly fascinated with New Order. No matter how much you know about them and how many of their live shows you've seen there is always something lurking around the corner of New Order's vast cellar of history. The first concert I ever saw was New Order on their Technique tour back in May of 1989, and, quite frankly, it wasn't very good. They just looked annoyed with each other, and even more annoyed with the crowd. They probably were. Having said that, the second disc of this set is worth the price alone as it spans their most creative and inspiring decade (the 80's). The video of most of the early live stuff is rough and unexciting, but they sound so good it doesn't matter. To see them play tracks like Leave Me Alone, Everything's Gone Green, and Ultraviolence back when they were fresh out of the studio is yet another great and new experience as a New Order fan. They look awkward and apprehensive, but you can sense a palpable focus on the music, and a creative drive burning from their eyes. They look hungry, and it makes one yearn to see them in a intimate setting.
The first disc is ok, the light show is cool, they sound tight, and their bellies have never been more bloated. It sounds good on a loud 5.1 sound system, but honestly it's nothing we haven't seen before. I would love it if the original 80's shows were released in their entirety, regardless of the video quality. New Order have become one of the best bands of the past 25 years, and they deserve to have every one of their moments witnessed and cherished!

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NEW ORDER:LIVE IN GLASGOW - DVD Movie

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Blue Murder: Set 2 (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)"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.


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A top cop dedicated to her job and devoted to her family. On the job, Janine Lewis deals with drive-by executions, decomposed bodies, and abducted children. At home, she interviews nannies, schedules parent-teacher conferences, and bolts breakfast on the run. Such is the life of a Detective Chief Inspector on the Manchester police force who also happens to be a single mum raising four kids. Caroline Quentin (Jonathan Creek, Men Behaving Badly) brings sensitivity, passion, and wry humor to her role as a woman balancing the demands of a high-risk, high-profile profession with the need to nurture her high-maintenance family. Ian Kelsey (Casualty) co-stars as DI Richard Mayne, Janine's sexy second in command - a source of romantic and sometimes professional tension on their tight-knit team.In four taut crime dramas, Blue Murder realistically depicts the everyday toils and triumphs of police work alongside the insistent tug of family life for a single mother. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE text interviews with stars Caroline Quentin and Ian Kelsey and cast filmographies.

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Shameless: The Complete First Season (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Brilliant, "comedy-drama". Because of the differences between British humor and American humor an American audiences will find more drama than comedy. Yes, we do "get" irony; however, it tends to make us smile rather than laugh out loud.
This series contains some of the best, most powerful scripts I've ever seen written for broadcast television. Yet, I expect this very R-rated series to be heavily criticized for coarse language, for themes of sex, scenes of drunkenness, and under-age smoking. Nevertheless, this series is one of the most family-positive series you'll ever see.
Imagine the picture perfect family, the very embodiment of "family values". Then one day somebody in the family snaps and is revealed to be involved in criminal activity, or infidelity, or substance abuse or darker more sinister assaults on the body and mind of other family members. In short, this imaginary picture-perfect family is dysfunctional.
Now, envision the opposite, a family with all the trappings of being dysfunctional. The father is unemployed and alcoholic, the children thieve, smoke and swear. One child has to keep his head shaved because he's so prone to nits, and there is no mother in the home because she's taken the family van and run away. Yet, this family is supportive, loving, caring and more honest than the Brady Bunch ever was.
There are no skeletons in the Gallagher family closet. They are very much a what-you-see-is-what-you-get group. Sometimes funny sometimes surreal and unlikely the goings on in this family are often moving and always entraining. While not promoting "family values" this is a very family positive series (but not for the whole family: R-rated I said). There is good reason why this show is called "Shameless".
One warning for American audiences. The story is set in Manchester, so that people in the story have strong northern accents. If your ear is unused to this or if your exposure to British accents ends at Hugh Grant... there are subtitles available on the DVD.
An excellent show, a sort of a fun-house mirror Waltons. Give it a chance


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Meet the Gallaghers. Mum went AWOL years ago, Dad stayed at home with the six children only to hit the bottle ... and sometimes the kids... Blisteringly funny, offbeat drama following the rollercoaster lives and loves of an anarchic family from Manchester. The real head of the family is big sister Fiona, who looks after Carl, Debbie and baby Liam. She is occasionally helped, more often hindered, by streetwise 'Lip' and the actively gay, but very private, Ian. Welcome to the hectic world of sexual adventures, triumphs, love, scams and a fair bit of crime on a rough Manchester housing estate, where wheel-less cars are the norm and the moving ones are stolen. DVD Features:Biographies:Meet the CastInterviews:An Interview with Creator Paul Abbott

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