I was unfamiliar with this series
when season 4 arrived for me to view. My expectations were high though as
everything I’ve seen that Acorn Media has had to offer has been not only well
made but highly enjoyable as well. This series didn’t disappoint. It makes me
want to go back and catch up on the previous three seasons.
The series revolves around
Detective Senior Sergeant (DSS) Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea), a detective in the
New Zealand police force, who in the first season was assigned to the small
town of Brokenwood to investigate a local officer. By the end of that first
episode he apparently decided to reassess his life and stay on in Brokenwood.
There he is aided by Detective Constable (DC) Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland)
and Detective Constable Sam Breen (Nic Sampson) as well as medical examiner Dr.
Gina Kadinsky. So the story is set now.
Season four picks up with a
murder that happens before the eyes of all four. Its Shepherd’s birthday and
Gina, who for those of us who haven’t been watching learn has the hots for
Shepherd, has planned a birthday party for him at a local park. After all of
them arrive they watch as a skydiver plummets to the ground, his parachute
failing to deploy. Rushing to see if they can do anything they discover the man
dead and that he is an old boyfriend of Kristin’s. The other jumpers, three
members of his family, rush to see if he is okay only to find him dead. It
could be a simple accident but clues lead to the fact that his parachute was
sabotaged. All three family members become suspects as well as a business
partner, a competitor for the bar he was opening and several others.
If you haven’t seen the series
before the opening episode here does plenty to let you know just how the team
operates and the idiosyncrasies each has. Shepherd comes off as a bear of a man
prone to thoughtful periods where he considers the clues. Sims is a diligent
worker following up on the clues provided and piecing them together while
learning to view things in the same way Shepherd does, making her a better
investigator in the process. Breen is the brash young officer, willing to work
the scene and the case but nowhere near as experienced as his two seniors. And
Gina, a Russian now living in Brokenwood, knows the medical and forensic
aspects of each case which she’s more than happy to pass along to Mike while
trying to woo him at the same time.
The series only involves four
episodes but each is as long as a feature film. The second involves the curator
of a local historic reenactment village who is found murdered with an arrow to
the forehead. The third finds an organic farmer killed and trussed up as a
scarecrow on his property. And the fourth involves a swindler who may have been
murdered by one of a group of geriatric rest home patients most of whom are
suffering from dementia.
Each episode centers around the
murder that has taken place, the clues that are found and a list of suspects
that involves one or another of the citizens of Brokenwood. One thing I noticed
was that there are several characters who while not guilty seem to always find
themselves at the center of the crime in question. I found this to be
interesting without taking anything away from the story itself.
What makes a good mystery is the
presentation of clues that allow the viewer to piece the puzzle together
themselves while watching the show. This series does exactly that and does so
well. Not only that but it doesn’t involve what we find standard in most US
series which is a combination of gun battles and car chases. Instead we get a
story told in a straightforward manner that holds your interest from start to
finish.
There is only one negative thing
I can say about the series and to be honest it doesn’t involve the presentation,
acting (which is excellent from all involved) or the stories. While watching
the show I kept thinking this series can’t be good for tourism in New Zealand.
If there are this many murders in a small country town one can only imagine
what it must be like in the bigger cities. Yes, that was sarcasm there.
I can whole heartedly recommend
this series and Acorn has done a great job with their presentation here
offering the episodes to watch unencumbered by tons of extras that do little
more than provide spoilers for those who have yet to watch the show first. As I
said early on after watching this I’d love to go back from the start and watch
the rest. It was that much fun watching the fourth season.
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