Father Brown

                I don’t know what it is about mysteries, but I absolutely love them.  For those who have read this blog for awhile, this probably does not come as a surprise.  I mention different mystery shows and books all the time.  Now, thanks to PBS, I have an entirely new set to experience and possibly talk about.  The one show I have seen the most of is Father Brown.  It is about a mystery solving priest set in an English village several years after the Second World War.  I would like to say I have seen the series from the start, but I cannot.  So far I have not been able to find a convenient way to rent or borrow the DVDs of this series.  The only way I am able to watch this show is when it is aired on PBS and I don’t quite know where I am in the episodes.  For the most part that does not really matter, but every once in awhile I come across things that may have been explained in earlier episodes that I have yet to see.  Hopefully someday I will have an outlet to rent the DVDs, or maybe PBS will at some point start the series over.  In the meantime, I will enjoy the episodes I do get to see and fill in the blanks as I go.   

                Father Brown (Mark Williams) is a nosy man, plain and simple.  However, his nosiness is not born out of a need to hurt people or hold information over someone.  Instead, he uses it to get to the root of a problem, help solve it, and bring everything back to harmony.  He wants everyone to have peace with their life, especially when a murder has occurred.  When someone has been murdered, Father Brown goes full force into the investigation, even though he pretends not to.  While he may not always be out in the field, Father Brown constantly rolls the situation around in his mind and comes up with different things to inquire about.  When this happens, he does not hesitate to visit the people who hold the answers.  This does not sit well with the police, and they tell Father Brown this regularly, but that does not deter him.  Fortunately for the police, Father Brown’s meddling always ends up being a good thing.

                While Father Brown is off investigating, there are three other characters who frequently have their own storylines.  First is Susie (Kasia Koleczek).  She is a young Polish immigrant who helps care for Father Brown’s home.  Often her storylines involve her relationship with Sid (Alex Price), a chauffeur, or how her life was forced to change because of the war.

                The second woman, and the one who makes her presence most known, is Mrs. McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack).  She is a woman who is very involved in the parish to the point where she can take her parish standing too far.  There have been many moments where Father Brown has had to chastise Mrs. McCarthy for her actions.  This always comes as a shock to Mrs. McCarthy, because in her mind, nothing she does is ever wrong. 

                Lady Montague (Nancy Carroll) is a wealthy woman who, to be honest, I’m not sure how she is involved.  I don’t know if she’s a parishioner or just someone who likes to be involved in the community.  Maybe she is both.  What I do know is Lady Montague and Mrs. McCarthy frequently butt heads.  The dislike seems to be more on Mrs. McCarthy’s side than Lady Montague’s, but I think that has to do with the fact that Lady Montague will not blindly follow whatever Mrs. McCarthy says.  This creates some interesting moments at times, especially since Mrs. McCarthy is not one to be quiet about her displeasure.

                While it may seem that a show called Father Brown would be very religious, it really isn’t.  Yes, there are religious elements in it as the main character is a priest, but in the end, religion is not Father Brown’s main concern.  He more cares about everyone as an individual no matter who they are, where they came from, or what their background may be.  Even if he suspects someone is a murderer, Father Brown is far more concerned about the human being than the crime they committed.  Yes, he wants the person to be turned into the police, but he also wants to know what drove the culprit to do what he or she did.  Sometimes the reason is not as clear cut as people think.  Other times it is, but either way, the reason is exactly what Father Brown wants to find out.