In Australia, Jessica may be the legal owner of a valley that the sheepherders and miners are arguing over, and may be the cause of the disappearance of Jessica's lawyer.In Australia, Jessica may be the legal owner of a valley that the sheepherders and miners are arguing over, and may be the cause of the disappearance of Jessica's lawyer.In Australia, Jessica may be the legal owner of a valley that the sheepherders and miners are arguing over, and may be the cause of the disappearance of Jessica's lawyer.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaContrary to popular belief, Foster's Beer is hard to find in Australia as it is not one of the more preferred beers.
- GoofsJessica tells Kookaburra's local historian that her great-uncle Eamonn McGill was her grandmother's brother. "Brother-in-law" would be more genealogically accurate, as "McGill" would only be the grandmother's surname by marriage.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Tim Jarvis: So, the bauxite mine will not only get some of you layabouts jobs, it's gonna put Kookaburra Downs on the map so to speak.
Melba Drummond: And to hell with our sheep, right? Sheep-men have been supporting Kookaburra Downs for two centuries, Jarvis!
- SoundtracksMurder She Wrote Theme
Written by John Addison
Never cared for "Southern Double Cross". Saw it again recently to see if my dubious memories were the same or if it would be better on re-watch. After re-watching, "Southern Double Cross" is not just a tie with "Something Foul in Flappieville" as the worst episode of Season 12 it is too one of the worst episodes of 'Murder She Wrote', not just as bad as remembered but actually worse. Due to that all the problems had with the episode were still there and worse, and then found more to dislike.
"Southern Double Cross" is not irredeemable. The way it's way is typically slick and stylish. The music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune.
Best of all is Angela Lansbury. Great as ever and really rises above weak, beneath her material.
Otherwise, "Southern Double Cross". The rest of the acting is risible with no exceptions (a strong contender for the show's worst supporting cast), only Lansbury is good here. There is no tension whatsoever in the interaction, a severe lack of emotion and charisma, a few are over-the-top and the line delivery throughout is clunky. Lets not get started on the accents, which are far too broad and overdone to pass as an Australian. Not even the Irish accents in the Irish-set episodes were this bad.
Furthermore there is not one interesting character or one to care for, they never rise above stereotypes that are even broader than the accents and almost borderline insulting. The dialogue is far too heavy in exposition, very little of which is intriguing and is instead stilted, sometimes needless and takes ages to get to the point.
When it comes to the story, it's very dull and takes too long to get going. A lot of it is absurd, parts actually illogical, is far too obvious (the identity of the murderer was not a surprise at all, the only thing surprising about it is how it took Jessica so long to figure out it was them) and lacks any kind of tension. Despite being well shot, the scenery is clearly glaring stock footage and studio back-lot rather than the real thing.
Overall, a mess apart from a few things. 3/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jan 3, 2018