I have been trying to start this blog for probably ten years. I don’t have a lot of free time but when I do I like to watch movies and binge TV shows like everyone else. Usually new stuff, but sometimes I start watching old stuff. I wanted to start this blog a while back because way back then blogs were hip and cool and I fancied myself hip and cool. Cleary I was not and I probably continue to remain uncool, as I am starting a blog for the first time in 2024.

Despite my lack of cool, it’s some self-indulgence where I get to rant and if you choose to read, you get to decide if I’m clever and witty or just appear bored. Since I’ve named this About Ten Years Late I’ll start with a series that started ten years ago, THE BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES, tagline: Small towns can be murder…

Aren’t you riveted? This is a New Zealand produced murder mystery “telefeature”. A telefeature is a tv show that is typically the length of a movie, approximately two hours. Beginning in 2014 and still going strong, the series overview is as follows:

The Brokenwood Mysteries is set in a seemingly quiet country town where the town’s newest resident, Mike Shepherd, finds that murder lurks in even the most homely location.

Thanks to my mom, I love non-American television, especially mysteries. They are typically more graphic, the characters are often more diverse, cops rarely have weapons, sometimes key characters die. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. More recent shows like The Fall or Luther are excellent and can be so intense that you hold your breath. The Brokenwood Mysteries is not nearly as intense as a show like The Fall, but it’s still full of murder and a lot of humor and charm. It’s a classic city cop comes to a small town and has to acclimate while the resident officers are a bit put off by him, but of course they all come to love and respect each other.

Being set in New Zealand the scenery is gorgeous, the country landscape is so lush, it plays on the beauty of the land juxtaposed by the frequency of the murders. Brokenwood is a fictitious small town, which I guess is good because given its murder rate would probably cease to exist. Despite being about murder, it is pretty light and the main character Detective Senior Sargent Mike Shepherd is goofy as hell, has a bit of a dark sense of humor and a heart of gold. Cheesy yes, but the murders are almost always crimes of passion which makes for entertaining town gossip. I’ve gotten through two seasons which started out as four episodes per season and now consist of 6 per season. In the US it is accessible via the ACORN streaming service.

I’ll give it 3 out of 5 kiwi… it’s entertaining and a light watch, especially when you’re working at night and want the TV on, also kiwi rating for for New Zealand.