• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

When I was faster i was always behind.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Open Threads / Crossing Lines and The Brokenwood Mysteries

Crossing Lines and The Brokenwood Mysteries

by WaterGirl|  June 29, 202110:05 pm| 119 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, TV & Movies

FacebookTweetEmail

I have been catching the show Crossing Lines on Ovation, and it is now one of my favorite shows, even if it did first air in 2013.

There are 3 seasons of Crossing Lines, 12 episodes per season.  They show 4 episodes every Thursday night and we are halfway through Season 2.  I’m sorry I didn’t think to mention it before, but better late than never, I guess.

They are not afraid to kill off regular characters on Crossing Lines, which adds to the realism, I suppose, but I wish they would check with me first before they decide to kill someone off.  I won’t say more than that, but I hate the spoilers on Google.  You start to type in something innocuous, like “is so-and-so” and they offer the suggestion “is so-and-so really dead?” or “why did so-and-so leave the show?

Google obviously doesn’t care, but I am well on the way to hating them lately.  For a company whose early motto was “don’t be evil”, they are really fucking evil.  Okay, back to TV.

Last week Ovation advertised a series called The Brokenwood Mysteries.   I watched the first episode of the first season this evening, and I think it could be a good show. It’s from 2014 and I had never heard of it.  Has anyone watched it?  If you have, what did you think?

The detective in The Brokenwood Mysteries has a rumpled, disheveled appearance that reminds me of another detective from a show that was on a few years ago.  Backstrom.  I googled to make sure I remembered the name correctly.  Apparently there is a Season 2 of the show after all, but it’s the Swedish version of the show that’s on Acorn, not the US version.  I wonder if that one is any good.

I don’t mind older shows, how about the rest of you?

Totally open thread.  Talk about these shows, TV, music, politics.  Anything goes. (well, maybe not full frontal nudity – Cole would likely frown on that.)

 

 

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: «On The Road - frosty - Giverny 7 On The Road – frosty – Giverny
Next Post: On The Road – arrieve – The Galapagos, part 4 On The Road - arrieve - The Galapagos, part 4 7»

Reader Interactions

119Comments

  1. 1.

    Roger Moore

    June 29, 2021 at 10:11 pm

    well, maybe not full frontal nudity – Cole would likely frown on that.

    A man who shares his naked mopping adventures on his blog has no right to criticize.

  2. 2.

    hells littlest angel

    June 29, 2021 at 10:17 pm

    To best enjoy The Brokenwood Mysteries, turn on subtitles. New Zealanders use a completely different set of vowels than the rest of the English-speaking world.

     

    ETA: It’s a good show!

  3. 3.

    sdhays

    June 29, 2021 at 10:19 pm

    I remember watching Backstrom and wanting to like it, but I just found the gross disregard for people’s rights very off-putting. Sure, disregard for the rules is a long-running toxic theme in American detective dramas (which is why I don’t like most American detective/crime dramas), but I recall feeling Backstrom took it even farther than usual, especially for current times. Also, they never really figured out, in my opinion, how to make Backstrom be a jerk and still have some redeeming qualities. They made him too much of a jerk and a loser, so it was hard to understand why he still had a job.

    I wasn’t surprised when they didn’t make a second season.

  4. 4.

    Mike in NC

    June 29, 2021 at 10:19 pm

    1. Watched “False Positive” on HULU. It was creepy.
  5. 5.

    dmsilev

    June 29, 2021 at 10:19 pm

    Robin Givhan’s articles are often quite good. Here, she writes about the Vogue cover story on Jill Biden:

    The story, written by Jonathan Van Meter, is a fashion love song and a political treatise. In every turn of phrase, every admiring riff, there’s a subtle excoriation of the previous administration and an unsubtle mash note to the current one. Vogue has a crush on Biden, but her predecessor was never photographed for the magazine during her tenure in the White House.

    This refusal is never fully discussed in the August story. Biden is not placed into the context of this Trumpian void, which means that the full weight of Biden’s presence in the magazine is not made plain. This is Biden’s moment, but the narrative of this first lady is just one chapter in a story that began long before she was born and will presumably continue after she is gone.

    Trump’s omission from Vogue was a cultural statement more than it was a political one, which may be why it antagonized her supporters — as well as her husband — so much. The fashion industry, with its liberal leanings, was quick to voice its displeasure with the former administration. That animosity only grew over time. The former first lady was never acknowledged by an industry that still has the capacity to set beauty standards, validate gender norms, underscore feminine power, document fame and sate the ego with a portrait sitting that makes one look really, really pretty for the public record.

    No one thought she could keep teaching,” Van Meter writes. “But as I traveled with Dr. Biden through much of April, I saw just how much time her day job took up: In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the entire retinue of staff, Secret Service, and press held at our hotel until well into the afternoon, when the motorcade finally hit the road for a nearly three-hour drive and a long evening of events in Arizona — because Dr. B was teaching her classes over Zoom.”

    In one image, the teacher is at work, dressed in a Ralph Lauren skirt and blouse, a pencil clenched between her teeth as she sits hunched over a laptop in a work-from-home posture — an image that makes one wonder if the only ergonomically-sound desk in the White House is the one in the Oval Office.

  6. 6.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:21 pm

    @hells littlest angel: I didn’t realize the show was set in New Zealand!

  7. 7.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:22 pm

    @sdhays: That’s kind of how I felt about Backstrom, too.  I wanted to like it, but I wasn’t altogether sorry when it wasn’t renewed.  I think Steeplejack liked it, if I recall correctly.

  8. 8.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:22 pm

    @Mike in NC: Creepy like Rosemary’s Baby creepy?  Or just kind of creepy, in a more generic sense?

  9. 9.

    sdhays

    June 29, 2021 at 10:23 pm

    @dmsilev: When I initially read this, I literally bristled that they had not photographed Michelle Obama. My brain just will not accept the idea that Melania is Jill Biden’s predecessor as First Lady.

    She’ll always be the Third Lady to me.

  10. 10.

    AliceBlue

    June 29, 2021 at 10:27 pm

    @dmsilev: I’ve read that Melania never got a Vogue cover because she wouldn’t agree to a cover story.

  11. 11.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:28 pm

    @dmsilev: I clicked the link.  What a charming little patio off the oval office.  I had no idea there was anything like that there.

  12. 12.

    Ha

    June 29, 2021 at 10:28 pm

    I like Brokenwood Mysteries.  People are kind and there’s a whole cast of people who repeat, including several Maori actors.  It’s cozy mysteries, so no thrill killers a la Hannibal Lector, nothing grim.

  13. 13.

    hells littlest angel

    June 29, 2021 at 10:29 pm

    @WaterGirl: Yi’d hev figgehed et out ivinchelly.

  14. 14.

    frosty

    June 29, 2021 at 10:31 pm

    Ms. F is a fan of Brit and Commonwealth mysteries. My favorite was Foyle’s War. Brokenwood is good too. And the one with the blonde DCI and the three geezers working for her trying to solve cold cases. (New Tricks).

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:31 pm

    @AliceBlue: The article said there have only been 3 first ladies on the cover of Vogue.  Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Jill Biden.  Michelle was apparently on the cover three times!

    But every first lady (except the orange wife) has had photos on the inside of the magazine.

    I, too, had heard that the third lady had refused an interview where they got to ask anything they wanted.

  16. 16.

    dmsilev

    June 29, 2021 at 10:31 pm

    @AliceBlue: I believe it. I also recall reading that she insisted on being paid, basically treating it as a modeling gig. And then getting pissed when Vogue declined.

  17. 17.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:31 pm

    @hells littlest angel: hahahahaha

    edit: hey, I can read in Swedish!

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:32 pm

    @frosty: I have never heard of New Tricks.  Guessing it’s only on Acorn or BritBox?

  19. 19.

    SkyBluePink

    June 29, 2021 at 10:33 pm

    Brokenwood Mysteries is one of my favorite shows!   Show has a pleasant vibe and beautiful scenery.

    Agree with the assessments of Backstrom- only watched a few episodes and don’t know if I will continue.

  20. 20.

    dmsilev

    June 29, 2021 at 10:33 pm

    And one bit from the actual Vogue article:

    She already misses her students, who were, for whatever reason, mostly men this semester. “Maybe two months ago they said, ‘Hey, Dr. B…. Can we ask you a question?’  ” I said yeah. They said, ‘When we write in our journals, can we curse?’  ”

    They were worried it was inappropriate because you’re the first lady?

    “I don’t know what they thought! We never said the words first lady ever. So I said, ‘Yes, you can curse.’ Because I tell them they can write anything. And here they are, these young men, like, ‘Yes! We can curse!’ I loved that. After that class, I felt…good. I’ve achieved what I wanted to achieve: They see me as their English teacher.”

  21. 21.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:33 pm

    @dmsilev: Thank goodness we don’t ever have to think of that creature again.  Totally suited to her husband.

    Just like Barack and Michelle are the perfect match, so are T**** and the third lady.

  22. 22.

    MomSense

    June 29, 2021 at 10:36 pm

    @frosty:

    Foyle’s War is so good.

  23. 23.

    debbie

    June 29, 2021 at 10:37 pm

    I want to thank whoever it was who recommended News of the World. Just watched it. I’ve also watched Moonlight and Spotlight this week. I should be caught up in maybe a decade. //

  24. 24.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 29, 2021 at 10:38 pm

    Bowl-Of-Shit Nina held a Bernie-World reunion over the weekend where Killer Mike called James Clyburn stupid.

    Andrew Tobias @AndrewJTobias
    An interesting development in the OH-11 special election. Rep. James Clyburn is backing Shontel Brown in the race.

  25. 25.

    debbie

    June 29, 2021 at 10:42 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    You want weird? How about this Asian-American running for Congress and promising to fight Critical Race Theory and cancel culture?

  26. 26.

    frosty

    June 29, 2021 at 10:43 pm

    @WaterGirl: Sorry, I don’t know what it’s on. I think we were watching it via Roku while we were traveling. Probably Acorn?

  27. 27.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:44 pm

    @frosty: I don’t have either one.

  28. 28.

    WaterGirl

    June 29, 2021 at 10:46 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I guess I should be happy that I have no idea who Killer Mike is.

    I also don’t really understand why James Clyburn supporting Shontel Brown is so surprising.

    I truly dislike Nina, though.

  29. 29.

    Ken B

    June 29, 2021 at 10:47 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    New Tricks is on Amazon Prime video, last I checked. The first six seasons, anyway.

  30. 30.

    Nelle

    June 29, 2021 at 10:48 pm

    I love Brokenwood.   I just finished the final season, final episode in tears.  It has a fair bit of Maori in it, which has a sound and rhythm familiar to New Zealanders, even if they don’t speak it themselves.    New Zealand has three officoal languages, English, Maori, and Sign.

    For that episode, the two most important words are whanau (family) and mokopuna (grandchildren).  And it really needs to be in Maori.

    I really thought i would continue to be popping back and forth between the States and New Zealand,  but first i had health issues and then, when i was about to book my flights in 2020, i began reading AL’s morning updates and decided to wait and see what would develop.   Quite proud of my other country and the way they have handled this.

  31. 31.

    Ishmael

    June 29, 2021 at 10:53 pm

    I watched New Tricks on Amazon Prime. Thoroughly enjoyed the series.

  32. 32.

    RepubAnon

    June 29, 2021 at 10:57 pm

    @Roger Moore: Not to mention full frontal pictures of a shaved Steve…

  33. 33.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 29, 2021 at 10:58 pm

    any NYers in the house tonight? how fucked up is the mayor’s race now?

  34. 34.

    FelonyGovt

    June 29, 2021 at 11:06 pm

    I love Brokenwood Mysteries. Nice lead characters with no skeevy vibe between the older male and the younger female officers. Interesting, recurring secondary characters. Pleasant and enjoyable.

  35. 35.

    Jackie

    June 29, 2021 at 11:13 pm

    • @AliceBlue: Did Vogue say as such? Or is that coming from  Trump’s spokesperson?
  36. 36.

    Elizabelle

    June 29, 2021 at 11:16 pm

    @dmsilev:   Good article about Dr. Jill. If I see Vogue on a newstand, might have to buy a copy.

    And:  the WaPost has a phenomenal interactive feature on how the Surfside Condo tower came down.  Don’t know why yet, of course.  Worth a click.

    Video, images and interviews deepen questions about role of pool deck in condo collapse

    Best of all:  to illustrate a controlled implosion (which part of the collapse resembled), there is footage of Trump Plaza Casino in Atlantic City coming down.  Over and over in a loop.  LOL.  Well done, WaPost.

  37. 37.

    Darkrose

    June 29, 2021 at 11:18 pm

    In preparation for Leverage: Redemption next week, I’ve been rewatching the original. I’d forgotten how good it was, and how cathartic but infuriating at the same time. Almost all of the storylines were based on fact but toned down. The difference was that the team always got the mark in the end, but in real life, the white-collar criminals got away with it.

    Reading about the asshole from Tennessee funding the South Dakota National Guard deployment to the Texas border really, really makes me want to unleash Parker, Hardison, and Elliot on somebody.

  38. 38.

    Amir Khalid

    June 29, 2021 at 11:20 pm

    Some disappointing news for those following my GAS affliction: another online vendor has cancelled on me. My remaining options are to acquire either an Epiphone ES-335 at full price (RM2,405) or an Epiphone Dot (almost the same guitar, but RM500 cheaper and with dot inlays instead of block ones). Sigh. I had my heart set on block inlays.

  39. 39.

    Royston Vasey

    June 29, 2021 at 11:22 pm

    Brokenwood Mysteries, a New Zealand export, has been running for 7 seasons (since 2014), with the latest season finishing up in May 2021.

     

    RV in NZ

  40. 40.

    Elizabelle

    June 29, 2021 at 11:23 pm

    This was new to me:  possible six minute to nine minute interval between when pool deck and garage area first collapsed and last part of building came down.  Collapse may have begun between 1 and 1:14 am.  It was not the three minute collapse it appeared to be, in the first widely available security footage from a neighboring building.

    WaPost:

    Sara Nir, a resident, told The Post that shortly before 1 a.m., she noticed loud “knocking” noises that she assumed were caused by construction work. Around 1:14 a.m., she heard a noise that she thought sounded like a wall crashing down, and she left her ground-level apartment [lucky duck] to complain to a security guard in the lobby.

    She estimated that about a minute later, while she was in the lobby, she heard a very large boom and saw that part of the surface-level parking area — and part of the pool deck — had collapsed into the underground parking garage. She and the two of her children who were home at the time then ran from the building.

    Nir’s son called 911 at 1:19 a.m., he said, a time that he said he confirmed by checking the time stamp on his phone. About a minute later, a dispatcher with Miami-Dade County Fire and Rescue called for an engine to respond to an alarm at the building, audio shows.

    According to additional EMS audio, the building collapsed between 1:24 and 1:25 a.m. while Engine 76 was en route.

  41. 41.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 29, 2021 at 11:26 pm

    he is, apparently, a junkyard billionaire– does nobody remember Born Yesterday? Stay away from this guy– who has decided to enjoy his money and his sunset years marinating in Tucker Carlson, or worse

    “They should make them go through the right channels, not let every nation walk across our borders when men died to protect America,” Johnson said, referring to border crossings.

    Johnson went on to call Biden an “idiot,” saying that the President “just wants to do everything that Trump didn’t try to do — he doesn’t care if it’s right or wrong.”

    So far, Florida, Nebraska, and Iowa have pledged to send law enforcement to Texas and Arizona.

    “People don’t respect nothing unless they work for it,” Johnson said, referring to the Biden administration’s policies.

    “You’ve gotta work for what you got, and you’ve gotta respect what other people has — but not shooting and killing and lying and raping and doing other kinds of stuff because they’ve got free money,” he added

    and like most trump fans, he’s deeply concerned about Covid

    “Everybody is tied down from COVID-19 but they let them come over with no shots, no nothing, no coverings over their face,” Johnson said. “They ship them out to all the states, like I’m in Tennessee, they ship them out to Tennessee and they don’t ask the governor.”

    “They just spread ’em everywhere and they don’t care about COVID-19,” he added.

  42. 42.

    swbarnes2

    June 29, 2021 at 11:35 pm

    @sdhays: Between House, Backstrom, and Sherlock, at the time, there seemed to be a surfeit of dramas where the character was a white male who treated everyone around him appallingly badly, but the show wanted us to think it was fine, because he was just so smart, and the cases would never be solved without him, so everyone just put up with it.

    It’s like a whole bunch of writers and showrunners wanted to say “see, if you are smart enough, this behavior is fine”

  43. 43.

    Splitting Image

    June 29, 2021 at 11:37 pm

    Just a side note: You can do your blood pressure a big favour by removing all of those helpful suggestions that appear when you do a Google search.

    If you have AdBlock Plus, you can do this by starting a search to open up the list, then choosing “Block Element” while the list is open. Choose one of the items in the list and block it. It may take a couple of tries, but you can make that entire list permanently disappear. Other adblockers will have the same function, but I’m not as familiar with them. You can use this to get rid of tweets and “People Also Search For” lists from Google searches too. Highly recommended.

    Google will still be evil, but your mental health will be better.

  44. 44.

    VOR

    June 29, 2021 at 11:42 pm

    Some detective shows I’ve enjoyed in last couple years:

    • Hinterland – BBC show, on Netflix. Set in Wales
    • Bordertown – Finnish, on Netflix
    • Deadwind – Finnish, on Netflix
    • Bodyguard – BBC show, on Netflix
    • Paranoid – stars Indira Varma, on Netflix
    • Lupin – on Netflix. Haven’t watched second part of first season
    • The Sinner – AMC. Liked season 1, season 2 not as much despite Carrie Coons, and season 3 not at all, the characters actions were nonsensical IMHO.
  45. 45.

    VeniceRiley

    June 29, 2021 at 11:43 pm

    @AliceBlue: Melanie knows she would have been punished for any cover that did not also have TFG prominently featured flatteringly both on the cover and in the article.

  46. 46.

    JoyceH

    June 29, 2021 at 11:46 pm

    @AliceBlue: ​
     

    I’ve read that Melania never got a Vogue cover because she wouldn’t agree to a cover story.

    I just read an article about that, and the source was that ex-friend of Melania’s who was thrown under the bus over the inaugural brouhaha. Melania was offered the same thing that Jill accepted, and that every other first lady is offered – an interview and a photo shoot with Annie Liebowitz.

    Melania, unlike all the other first ladies, turned them down because they refused to GUARANTEE that she’d get the cover. Apparently, it’s not a done-deal that the first lady spread gets the cover – Hillary did, Laura Bush didn’t, Michelle did, Barbara Bush didn’t. But since she didn’t have an iron-clad guarantee that her mug would grace the cover, Melania said no. And got really pissy about it on the phone with her then-friend.

  47. 47.

    JCNZ

    June 29, 2021 at 11:50 pm

    @WaterGirl: Oh, come on!

  48. 48.

    O. Felix Culpa

    June 29, 2021 at 11:55 pm

    Following up on my emergency room adventure mentioned in a previous thread, turns out I have appendicitis. My first surgery ever will ensue. Apparently I’m a late bloomer when it comes to things medical. I’m waiting for my next dose of morphine, which does a lovely job of pain management.

  49. 49.

    Amir Khalid

    June 29, 2021 at 11:58 pm

    A quick question: how do I make sure autoplay is always disabled on YouTube?

  50. 50.

    Leslie

    June 29, 2021 at 11:59 pm

    @O. Felix Culpa: Yikes. I hope everything goes as smoothly as possible!

    Brokenwood is one of my favorite shows.

  51. 51.

    scribbler

    June 30, 2021 at 12:00 am

    @O. Felix Culpa:  i guess there IS a first time for everything.  Good luck!  I hope your next dose of morphine is on the way STAT!

  52. 52.

    Amir Khalid

    June 30, 2021 at 12:02 am

    @Amir Khalid:
    Never mind.

  53. 53.

    O. Felix Culpa

    June 30, 2021 at 12:05 am

    @scribbler: So do I!!! ?

  54. 54.

    Elizabelle

    June 30, 2021 at 12:07 am

    @O. Felix Culpa:   All the best, OFC.  Morphine is quite wonderful in your situation.

  55. 55.

    frosty

    June 30, 2021 at 12:12 am

    @Amir Khalid: Block inlays are a big deal!! – that’s why I went with an SG Standard instead of a Special. Sorry for your broken heart, it’s very tough when the GAS attack is stifled.

  56. 56.

    Craig

    June 30, 2021 at 12:13 am

    Just want to hype the Kanopy App some more. Access via your library card-they also help you get a library card. Tons and tons of classic American and International cinema, lots of TV and Documentary. All free. Just added to my List- Sherlock Jr., Spring Breakers, and Dark Star.

  57. 57.

    Mousebumples

    June 30, 2021 at 12:15 am

    @Darkrose: thanks for the reminder! I may also need to see about rewatching the original series…

  58. 58.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 30, 2021 at 12:22 am

    I’ve already mentioned it, but I can’t recommend High On The Hog on Netflix enough. Excellent four-part series on the influence and history of black cuisine. Episodes three and four in particular were impactful for me.

    I’m in episode three of Manhunt about the search for the Unabomber. Also on Netflix. Very interesting.

  59. 59.

    Viva BrisVegas

    June 30, 2021 at 12:25 am

    @frosty: 

    For very different type of NZ mystery series you could do worse than Wellington Paranormal.

    From this side of the ditch, for lots of murder without much mystery there is Mr Inbetween.

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    June 30, 2021 at 12:28 am

    Was in the mood for a heist film the other day. Didn’t feel like rewatching something already seen, so poked around and found one from Hong Kong on Prime, The Adevnturers (maybe 40% in English, 60% not). While wouldn’t categorize it as first class in that genre, twisty and turny enough to hold my interest as popcorn entertainment.

    @frosty

    the blonde DCI

    Amanda Redman. More often than not worth giving a series she’s a regular in a glance.

  61. 61.

    NotMax

    June 30, 2021 at 12:31 am

    Sigh. Fumble fingers fixed.

    Was in the mood for a heist film the other day. Didn’t feel like rewatching something already seen, so poked around and found one from Hong Kong on Prime, The Adevnturers (maybe 40% in English, 60% not). While wouldn’t categorize it as first class in that genre, twisty and turny enough to hold my interest as popcorn entertainment.

    @frosty

    the blonde DCI

    Amanda Redman. More often than not worth giving a series she’s a regular in a glance.

  62. 62.

    piratedan

    June 30, 2021 at 12:33 am

    if we’re talking police procedurals, here are some that I found entertaining

     

    MI-5/Spooks

    DCI Banks

    Hamish MacBeth

    River

    sometimes these rotate off of or onto various streaming platforms

  63. 63.

    Chetan Murthy

    June 30, 2021 at 12:34 am

    @NotMax: Mmm had me at Andy Lau.

  64. 64.

    Feathers

    June 30, 2021 at 12:34 am

    My standard mystery recommend, Babylon Berlin, has full frontal nudity, male and female, but I’m gonna recommend it anyway. I used to be a huge mystery buff, but I now find serial killers tiresome, so it takes something really original to get me watching. I find myself preferring the self contained episodes. Currently doing a Poirot rewatch.

    The Shedunnit podcast is highly recommended if you like the classic mysteries of the 20s and 30s. Young Englishwoman hosts, does great in depth research, goes beyond the standard topics, and has a lovely, soothing voice that is nice with a tisane at bedtime.

  65. 65.

    Amir Khalid

    June 30, 2021 at 12:38 am

    @JoyceH:

    Interesting. Your list says that the three Democratic FLOTUSes all got the cover, but the three Republican ones did not. Is anyone accusing Vogue of partisan bias?

  66. 66.

    Delk

    June 30, 2021 at 12:40 am

    I liked Brokenwood. As mentioned, the reoccurring characters really add to the show.
    New Tricks started out well and went downhill as characters left the show.

  67. 67.

    Chetan Murthy

    June 30, 2021 at 12:42 am

    @Amir Khalid: Or, y’know, maybe Vogue knows their readership *grin*.

    Speaking of, I observed the Victoria’s Secret model changeover, and thought to myself: “Huh, women buy lingerie, too”.  Gotta believe that’s what’s behind this changeover: once that creep [the one who was in bed with that pedophile Epstein] divested the company, they did the math and realized “gee, maybe we should try to sell these things to women, instead of to their lecherous hump hubbies/BFs?”

  68. 68.

    Amir Khalid

    June 30, 2021 at 12:42 am

    @frosty:

    Would you go for the Dot or the 335? I need to be nudged in the right direction know.

  69. 69.

    JoyceH

    June 30, 2021 at 12:46 am

    @Amir Khalid:  We’ll, we’ve got to admit that the two Bush FLOTUSes were… a smudge frumpy.

  70. 70.

    NotMax

    June 30, 2021 at 12:54 am

    It’s made the rounds (here one month, gone the next) of various streaming services but if you’ve never caught it, note that Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day will pop up once more on Prime July 16. Nothing spectacular, just a nice unpretentious outing.

  71. 71.

    Kattails

    June 30, 2021 at 12:56 am

    @O. Felix Culpa: That’s what it sounded like, from personal experience…no options, gotta be dealt with, sending all good thoughts. You’ll be OK.

  72. 72.

    sdhays

    June 30, 2021 at 12:58 am

    @swbarnes2: I have to admit, I enjoyed House for the first few seasons. I think it was a combination of the novelty of the approach (mystery is the disease) and just where I was at the time. When I’ve tried to watch it years later, I can’t stand it.

    And Sherlock. I found the first season ok (I think – it’s been a long time), but when they started with the ridiculous terrorism intrigue, I just stopped. To me, when you need terrorist bombs (or whatever it was – the whole thing was so stupid I can’t even remember it all) to make your story interesting, you should just stop. You’ve run out of ideas, and it’s best to just move on. I was hoping for a modern take on the original stories, but no. The writers decided that they knew better.

    If I want to watch Sherlock Holmes stories, I’ll just go back to the old Jeremy Brett versions. Jeremy Brett will, for me, always be Sherlock Holmes.

  73. 73.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 30, 2021 at 1:02 am

    @sdhays:

    Jeremy Brett will, for me, always be Sherlock Holmes.

    Indeed.

  74. 74.

    Chetan Murthy

    June 30, 2021 at 1:04 am

    @sdhays:

    I have to admit, I enjoyed House for the first few seasons.

    I enjoyed the first 4 seasons.  After that …. too much of the House/Cuddy story just turned me off.  To me it worked as the story of a pretty messed-up guy, but who had this superpower: he really, really cared about his patients, and could heal them.  But outside of that?  Wow, what a messed-up guy.  I think Hugh Laurie played him for laughs, and that worked.

    Sherlock?  It was like an MTV video mash-up of Sherlock Holmes stories: too frenetically moving from one-to-the-next.

    And you’re right about the Jeremy Brett series.  Damn, so great.  Though, I do like Elementary …. until the very end, at least.  I couldn’t finish that last episode, it was so …. mawkish (to me).

  75. 75.

    Jackie

    June 30, 2021 at 1:07 am

    It appears First Ladies of both parties have been featured in Vogue – except Melania – for reasons already mentioned:

    https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/first-ladies-in-vogue-photos

  76. 76.

    sdhays

    June 30, 2021 at 1:11 am

    @Chetan Murthy: I never got into Elementary. I think I watched a bit a few years ago, and it struck me as offensively American. As in, required to follow very tired American television formulas. Maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance.

    I did enjoy The Mentalist. They had a great cast and they usually wrote things with a good blend of entertaining silliness and darkness. The last season was completely fan service (I believe they’ve explicitly admitted that), but there’s nothing wrong with that.

  77. 77.

    Chetan Murthy

    June 30, 2021 at 1:17 am

    @sdhays:

    As in, required to follow very tired American television formulas.

    Yup.  You’re not wrong there.  One reason I liked it, was that it involved a male and female team, that, it was clear, were very close, but were never gonna bump uglies.  That alone was pretty novel.  And well-executed.

  78. 78.

    JWR

    June 30, 2021 at 1:25 am

    @Amir Khalid: My personal preference would be dots, probably because the first one I ever played had dots. Also, if you’re going for a more vintage look, I think the earliest versions had dots. But you’re a B.B. King kinda guy, so trapezoids for you! Also, I’ve never owned one, so my opinion don’t mean squat. ;)

  79. 79.

    NotMax

    June 30, 2021 at 1:31 am

    @sdhays

    The Holmes oeuvre doesn’t really plummet to the bottom until you’ve see him battling a giant mechanical fire breathing pterodactyl.

    Best Holmes may arguably be William Gillette, who set the performance prototype.

  80. 80.

    Cathie from Canada

    June 30, 2021 at 1:32 am

    We loved Crossing Lines – it was on a channel here in Canada several years ago (CBC? SuperChannel? Can’t remember) — and yes, it was NOT predictable.

    Hey, there’s a new “Sopranos” TV movie coming out this fall, starring James Gandolfini’s actual son Michael playing Tony as a teenager. I just watched the trailer and it looks like it could be good.

  81. 81.

    Feathers

    June 30, 2021 at 1:32 am

    Realizing I did not mention my fave current mystery show, Vera. Seasons are split between Acorn and BritBox. Brenda Blethyn solves crimes in Newcastle and Northumbria, and is rumpled, smart, weary, but always caring deeply.

    For a fun mystery, Jonathan Creek is showing on BritBox and for free on PlutoTV. It’s from the late 90s and although it never really showed in the US, it had a huge influence on TV writers here. Monk’s writers said they were inspired by it. It’s sort of an anti X-Files where a mismatched man and woman solve locked room mysteries, proving that nothing supernatural was involved. She’s an investigative journalist who looks into crimes for defense lawyers. He’s a nerdy genius who lives in a windmill and builds stage devices for magicians. They solve crimes.

  82. 82.

    Cathie from Canada

    June 30, 2021 at 1:40 am

    @Cathie from Canada: AND apparently now its looking more likely that there will be a third season of Mindhunter.

  83. 83.

    Feathers

    June 30, 2021 at 1:42 am

    @Feathers: Need to add that after the third season, they dumped the original actress who was co-starring and it really went downhill after that.

  84. 84.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 30, 2021 at 1:43 am

    @NotMax:

    No, no arguably, you’re just wrong.

  85. 85.

    Chetan Murthy

    June 30, 2021 at 1:44 am

    @Feathers: Can confirm: I watched a few eps after the switch, but it just wasn’t the same.

  86. 86.

    prostratedragon

    June 30, 2021 at 1:48 am

    @Amir Khalid:  Anna Wintour is definitely a Democrat.  Has given high ticket socials for the cause.

  87. 87.

    NotMax

    June 30, 2021 at 2:00 am

    Speaking of Kiwi series, The Almighty Johnsons was goofily addictive if only to see what top it would go over next.

    More mainstream from NZ, Step Dave was innocuous and quite watchable, without falling into a sitcom rut. Same holds for Nothing Trivial.

  88. 88.

    NotMax

    June 30, 2021 at 2:03 am

    Damn it. Eyes blearier than I realized and screwed sumthin’ up. Again. Fix.

    Speaking of Kiwi series, The Almighty Johnsons was goofily addictive if only to see what top it would go over next.

    More mainstream from NZ, Step Dave was innocuous and quite watchable, without falling into a sitcom rut. Same holds for Nothing Trivial.

  89. 89.

    JoyceH

    June 30, 2021 at 2:07 am

    @sdhays: I loved The Mentalist, but I got so so so tired of the Red John plot line. I was thrilled when they wrapped up that arc at the end of the next to last season and allowed the final season to be completely Red John-free.

  90. 90.

    NotMax

    June 30, 2021 at 2:14 am

    @HumboldtBlue

    Gillette received the stamp of approval from Arthur Conan Doyle, and successfully played the role on stage on and off for like 35 years. That’s a fairly strong argument.

  91. 91.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 30, 2021 at 2:16 am

    @NotMax: ​ 

    Arthur Conan Doyle never saw Jeremy Brett.

    It’s not even a close shave between Gillette and Brett.

  92. 92.

    smike

    June 30, 2021 at 2:35 am

    @HumboldtBlue: It’s not even a close shave between Gillette and Brett.

    We see what you did there…

  93. 93.

    James E Powell

    June 30, 2021 at 2:49 am

    @frosty:

    @Amir Khalid: Block inlays are a big deal!! – that’s why I went with an SG Standard instead of a Special. Sorry for your broken heart, it’s very tough when the GAS attack is stifled.

    I think I would want block inlays on any E-style Gibson or Epiphone because I like the look. Or even the parallelograms. Or whatever that is on the Epiphone Sheraton II. But if I found a guitar at the right price, maybe I wouldn’t care. It’s such a personal decision.

  94. 94.

    lurker

    June 30, 2021 at 2:50 am

    @Roger Moore:

    regarding the OP, you misspelled “cheer” as it is not f-r-o-w-n.

  95. 95.

    lurker

    June 30, 2021 at 2:58 am

    @WaterGirl:

    @NotMax:

    stumbled on the almighty johnsons years ago one late night, initially having to check out the name and then realizing the girl from Whale Rider was in it (seemed like she had disappeared and apparently she kinda had – there are definitely some interesting turns in the life of Keisha Castle-Hughes).  Got sucked into at least the first two seasons, not sure I ever watched all of it.  It was definitely over the top and also very New Zealand for someone who has only a passing connection to the country.

  96. 96.

    lurker

    June 30, 2021 at 3:01 am

    @O. Felix Culpa: so this is being taken as good news on this end, just because I know of no recent issues with an appendicitis for anyone in my recollection – I figure that means the medical types have it figured out.  there are no guarantees with any health issue, but these days most things that are well understood seem to go well.  pulling for you here – hope you come through well.  enjoy the morphine or whatever else they do to ease things through for you.

  97. 97.

    lurker

    June 30, 2021 at 3:06 am

    @WaterGirl: so does this mean you can read swedish? not really sure of what to do with that … Or just that it would be in swedish and that would be a problem?  Interesting either way.

    In terms of subtitles/closed captioning, I discovered some time ago that all of the actors who mumble through their lines need not require rewinding several times with the sound way up to figure out what they actually said, you can read what the captioner thought they said and they are close enough most of the time.  Sometimes with hilarious results when they are clearly off.

    The kids watch some anime which both has subtitles (in English) and is dubbed (into English), and the gist tends to line up, but the translation in the subtitles is often hilariously different from the dubbed in english vocals.  Word choices, entire sentences, meaning of statements sometimes.  And that is before you get to any closed captions.

  98. 98.

    frosty

    June 30, 2021 at 3:07 am

    @Amir Khalid: 335 with the block inlays. Even if it takes awhile. Every time you look at the dots you’ll feel the compromise.

  99. 99.

    opiejeanne

    June 30, 2021 at 3:26 am

    @O. Felix Culpa: I’m a late-bloomer too, I was about 65 when I had my bout with it. Woke up with the pain on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, had it out starting at 8pm.  I had to wait for a place in line for the surgery because I wasn’t critical and other people were. Went home the next morning, napped on the couch while everyone else made the food, except I got up and made pie dough and rolled it out for the pumpkins and pecan pies, and went back to dozing on the couch. We had dry-brined the turkey the day before my trip to the hospital, and it was possibly the best I’ve ever had.

    Enjoy the drugs; I really did while I waited my turn.

  100. 100.

    Amir Khalid

    June 30, 2021 at 4:12 am

    @JWR:

    I think Chuck Berry played one with blocks.

  101. 101.

    JWR

    June 30, 2021 at 5:14 am

    @Amir Khalid: Google tells me you’re right. But the model on the main ES-335 Wikipedia page, (the ES-335TD) is to drool for, mainly, I think, for its simplicity. In any case, I hope you finally get the model that you really want.

  102. 102.

    Steeplejack

    June 30, 2021 at 6:56 am

    @WaterGirl:

    BritBox, but it’s also available on Amazon Prime (free, I think).

  103. 103.

    Emily68

    June 30, 2021 at 8:06 am

    @AliceBlue: Malania should never be in Vogue because of her fashion choice when she wore that coat when she went to “inspect” the children at the border.

  104. 104.

    WaterGirl

    June 30, 2021 at 8:36 am

    @JCNZ: Not sure what you mean by that. ?

  105. 105.

    WaterGirl

    June 30, 2021 at 8:37 am

    @O. Felix Culpa: Oh no!  I imagine that by now you are through the surgery?  I hope you are doing better already.

  106. 106.

    WaterGirl

    June 30, 2021 at 8:40 am

    @Feathers: Just to be clear, I was only cautioning against pictures of full frontal nudity on the blog, not shows that show it!  :-)

  107. 107.

    WaterGirl

    June 30, 2021 at 8:41 am

    @Amir Khalid: The article said that it was only those 3 first ladies who EVER got on the cover.

  108. 108.

    WaterGirl

    June 30, 2021 at 8:47 am

    @lurker: That was in response to this comment from hells littlest angel:

    Yi’d hev figgehed et out ivinchelly.

    My comment that I can read swedish was a joke, because the line above isn’t actually swedish

    edit: wow, this might just be a personal record for me!  5 comments on an (apparently) dead thread.  JR in WV better watch out, i may have to claim his crown.

  109. 109.

    Kenneth Krasity

    June 30, 2021 at 8:51 am

    I’ve watched all of Brokenwood on our library’s Hoopla service. I like it a lot and it gets better and better as it goes on, with quirkier humor (less of the talking to the murder victims) and ongoing character relationships. Also, pretty much everyone from All Mighty Johnsons makes an appearance at some point.

  110. 110.

    LauraW

    June 30, 2021 at 9:53 am

    I loved Crossing Lines – unfortunately I can’t get Ovation so I can only rewatch season 1 on my dvds.  I absolutely love Brokenwood.  My sister and I rewatch it constantly.  Another fun mystery series is The Mallorca Files. There are 2 seasons on Britbox – the scenery is beautiful!.  a grittier New Zealand series is The Gulf – available on Sundance Now through AMC+.

  111. 111.

    Fraud Guy

    June 30, 2021 at 9:53 am

    The detective in The Brokenwood Mysteries has a rumpled, disheveled appearance that reminds me of another detective

    Columbo?

  112. 112.

    WaterGirl

    June 30, 2021 at 11:44 am

    @Fraud Guy: Columbo was the OG of rumpled detectives.

  113. 113.

    WaterGirl

    June 30, 2021 at 11:45 am

    @LauraW: and others:

    I am so happy to see all the love for The Brokenwood Mysteries. i have set Tivo to record all the episodes as they air.

  114. 114.

    RW Force

    June 30, 2021 at 12:46 pm

    All seven seasons of Brokenwood are running on Acorn TV.

  115. 115.

    LauraW

    June 30, 2021 at 2:00 pm

    I forgot to mention Death in Paradise – streaming now on Britbox. Set in the Caribbean it is a wonderfully enjoyable detective series.

  116. 116.

    lurker

    June 30, 2021 at 2:15 pm

    @WaterGirl: tried to kill this thread off last night.  Not sure of what I did/started/restarted/reanimated(?!)

    the idea of a swedish version of a show, subtitled/captioned in swedish, and therefore still potentially frustrating to the viewer seemed amusing in my tired state at the time.

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    June 30, 2021 at 2:47 pm

    @lurker: You clearly need to work harder if you want to kill a thread. //

  118. 118.

    sherparick

    June 30, 2021 at 2:53 pm

    @hells littlest angel: It is little bit like Vera & Midsomar Murders (particularly as some of the methods of murder are a bit strange), set in a small New Zealand, with some of “Top of the Lake’s” darkness added and recurring characters (& suspects) as one could expect in a small town. I love it.

  119. 119.

    stayinginside

    June 30, 2021 at 3:31 pm

    Hubby and I loved Brokenwood, especially the down-under country music! Also loved the accents, having never traveled to that part of the world.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - Albatrossity - The Birds of May 3
Image by Albatrossity (7/31/25)

World Central Kitchen

Donate

Recent Comments

  • Gloria DryGarden on Readership Capture Open Thread: Alexandra Petri (Jul 13, 2025 @ 3:12am)
  • Gloria DryGarden on Readership Capture Open Thread: Alexandra Petri (Jul 13, 2025 @ 3:09am)
  • ColoradoGuy on Late Night Open Thread: America’s Fascists Love Alligators (Jul 13, 2025 @ 2:29am)
  • sab on Late Night Open Thread: America’s Fascists Love Alligators (Jul 13, 2025 @ 2:24am)
  • TS on Late Night Open Thread: America’s Fascists Love Alligators (Jul 13, 2025 @ 2:03am)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
No Kings Protests June 14 2025

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

Feeling Defeated?  If We Give Up, It's Game Over

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!