Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Series 3 (ABC, 2015) A fitting conclusion to the trilogy of series. The character arcs run their course without falling into a maddening cycle of fulfilment and denial. The mysteries remain cosy and the Melbourne setting retains its charm. A rare instance of quitting while ahead.
Tag Archive for Melbourne
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Series 2
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Series 2 (ABC, 2013) The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher and Detective Inspector Jack Robinson team up for another series of murder-mystery-solving in 1920s Melbourne. While the characters continue to develop, thankfully their stories don’t intrude too much on the detective work. A diverting, light-hearted period drama.
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Series 1
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Series 1 (ABC, 2012) A series that stands far better when viewed in its own right, rather than as an adaptation of Kerry Greenwood’s novels. Set in 1920s Melbourne, the mysteries comprise a well-pitched blend of (not-too-)quirky characters, serious crime and light-hearted societal comings and goings.
Cocaine Blues
Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood (McPhee Gribble, 1989); audiobook read by Stephanie Daniel (Bolinda, 2010) Greenwood evinces as no-nonsense an approach to plotting as does the irrepressible Phryne Fisher to solving mysteries and bucking societal norms. The result is a fast-moving romp through 1920s Melbourne, more worldly than Wodehouse but with a similarly delightful turn of phrase.
St Kilda Blues
St Kilda Blues by Geoffrey McGeachin (Penguin, 2014); audiobook read by David Tredinnick (Playaway, 2014) Though the investigation itself is commonplace, McGeachin immerses his protagonist in the details of history, presenting a time capsule of Australian—in particular, Melburnian—culture in the late 1960s. Stolid ex-WWII bomber pilot Charlie Berlin shows mettle worthy of the character study.
42 Word Review: Macbeth
Macbeth dir. Geoffrey Wright (2006) Well cast and drawing on the gangster film genre’s rich tradition of murder and betrayal, this dark and stylish Australian production — transplanting Shakespeare onto the Melbourne underworld — makes for a disturbingly good introduction to the plot and dialogue of the Scottish Play.