The New Zealand Herald writes that The Brokenwood Mysteries is "New Zealand's tongue-in-cheek answer to Midsomer Murders".
There is some truth to that description. The secondary characters--many of them recurring, such as Frodo and Mrs. Marlowe--are amusingly eccentric. But the mysteries themselves are always complex and serious business.
The writers do a terrific job of making us smile through much of this episode.
One of the suspects in the suspicious killing at a duck hunt, is named Donald Ducker IV. He explains how his great, great grandfather, in the 1930s, felt forced to legally change his last name from Duck to Ducker, after Walt Disney created a friend for Mickey Mouse.
But through the art of "misdirection" the writers have lulled us into a false sense of agreeable complacency.
The last 10 minutes or so of this episode are some of the most harrowing and gripping of any mystery show I have watched in recent years.
Brilliantly staged and acted, these last 15 minutes push this episode into a top 10 rating, for me.
There is some truth to that description. The secondary characters--many of them recurring, such as Frodo and Mrs. Marlowe--are amusingly eccentric. But the mysteries themselves are always complex and serious business.
The writers do a terrific job of making us smile through much of this episode.
One of the suspects in the suspicious killing at a duck hunt, is named Donald Ducker IV. He explains how his great, great grandfather, in the 1930s, felt forced to legally change his last name from Duck to Ducker, after Walt Disney created a friend for Mickey Mouse.
But through the art of "misdirection" the writers have lulled us into a false sense of agreeable complacency.
The last 10 minutes or so of this episode are some of the most harrowing and gripping of any mystery show I have watched in recent years.
Brilliantly staged and acted, these last 15 minutes push this episode into a top 10 rating, for me.
