Case Histories

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              I am honestly not sure how I came to discover Case Histories.  Most likely it was previewed before something like New Tricks or MidsomerMurders, but I don’t remember for sure.  Not that it really matters in the end.  How I found a show, film, or book doesn’t mean it will be any better or worse than if I found it a different way.  What does matter is that I enjoyed watching Case Histories.  In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I really wish there was more than two seasons of it.        

          Former police officer, and current private detective, Jackson Brodie (Jason Isaacs) solves cases in a very haphazard way.  I say this because Jackson gets beaten up all the time.  He’s always in one fight or another and it is rare that he doesn’t have some type of mark or scar on his face.  Despite this (and I must say Jackson usually does win the fight), Jackson keeps investigating the jobs he has been hired to do until the very end.  While this is a good thing on the surface, that cannot necessarily be said for the end result.  Far too often what Jackson finds out is very sad and painful.

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                As Jackson works on his cases he must also deal with his shaky personal life.  He has a daughter, Marlee (Millie Innes), who he absolutely adores, but somehow his work always gets in the way of the time he has to spend with her.  This, of course, does not go over well with his ex-wife.  Josie (Kirsty Mitchell) does not like it when Jackson takes their daughter along on his investigations, but as that is the only time Jackson and Marlee spend together, she doesn’t stop him either.  At least she doesn’t until she gets a job offer in New Zealand.  Then his time with Marlee is forced to change as she is across the world.  Now, instead of going out on investigations, the only time Jackson and Marlee have together is on their phones or through the computer.  They talk to each other this way pretty much every day, but it isn’t the same.

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                Josie and Marlee aren’t the only relationships Jackson struggles with.  Despite his good intentions, Jackson seems to struggle with women in general.  The worst is with a police officer he used to work with, D.C. Louise Munroe (Amanda Abbington).  Jackson is in love with Louise, but he has a hard time letting her know.  Instead, Jackson’s interactions with Louise usually consist of him popping up unexpectedly and annoying her.  Then in one of the episodes Jackson finally gets up the courage to tell Louise how he feels in his own awkward way.  Of course, when he does this, the timing is bad as she is engaged to another man.  Then, when the timing is better, Jackson tries again.  This time his job gets in the way.  Add this on top of some other bad and deceptive relationships Jackson has had, and it seems that love and happiness (other than with his daughter) will always be just out of his grasp.   

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                This lack of love and happiness for Jackson is sad because he is truly a good man.  Yes, he is rough on the surface, but it does not take long to see that he is a good man with a good heart.  The problem is he does not always know how to show this.  Part of this may be because of the tragic things that happened in his childhood that still haunt him as an adult.  The funny thing is, I believe that what haunts Jackson is also what drives him to be protective of those who need it.  If you’re someone Jackson cares about, then he’ll go pretty much to the end of the earth to protect you.  This is especially true if the person he cares about is a woman.  As for those who are out to do the harm, watch out, Jackson will come and get you. 

               Since there are only two seasons, each consisting of three stories (the Season One DVD set I watched broke each story into two episodes), this series is easy to watch in a weekend. That also means the series will be over that much faster. When I reached the last episode I was really disappointed to have it end. Not only did it end on a sad note, but with each episode I came to enjoy the show more and more. So to have the show end at six stories was disappointing. As the series ended a few years ago, I don’t know if any more will ever be made. You never know though. Some shows take long hiatuses in between seasons. It happens with Sherlock. I don’t know why it couldn’t happen with Case Histories as well.

Image provided by Acorn/RLJ Entertainment.