The Brokenwood Mysteries

Photo of DVD back cover taken by Kate Dorsey

    I eagerly await the new season of The Brokenwood Mysteries every year.  This year, with the seventh season, there were six episodes instead of four!  That made this show even better, and even more worth the wait.

    Things are quirky as usual in Brokenwood, New Zealand.  People are killed in unusual ways.  DSS Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) and his team go around questioning people reluctant to be questioned, or with scattered memories.  They put pieces together from all over Brokenwood, trying to solve the crime and figure out the culprit.

Putting the Pieces Together/Artwork by Kate Dorsey

    In the first episode, a show similar to Antiques Roadshow is in town.  Those involved are very unimpressed with Mike’s collection of country music.  They also aren’t very interested when one of the hosts is killed in a medieval torture chair.  He may have been loved by the audience, but the same certainly cannot be said about the people who knew him.

    The second episode involves a spa.  I would one day love to visit a spa, but not one like this.  It was very controlled.  Food.  Communications.  Schedules.  Everything was monitored by the resort.  One would think in such a controlled environment, murder could not happen.  They would be wrong.

    This episode is also the last time we see DC Sam Breen (Nic Sampson).  His girlfriend gets a new job and Sam moves with her, leaving his position and partnership with Mike and Detective Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland).  DC Daniel Chalmers (Jarod Rawiri) takes his place on the team.

    Episode three is about a failed bank robbery.  It is hilarious how badly everything goes.  What is not so funny is the murder of the bank manager that happens during the robbery attempt.  A man who was just about to retire.

    A farmers’ market is the scene of the crime for episode four.  It also has Craig Hall from The Doctor Blake Mysteries as a guest star.  While I have never worked at a farmers’ market, I do go to them.  I hope those who run the ones I go to treat their vendors far more considerately and fairly than the woman who ran the market in Brokenwood did.  She was also the murder victim.

    Cinemas are usually a place for enjoyment.  In episode five the enjoyment is broken up because of fire and murder.  Two people are also injured.  It was not a good night to go to the movies.  So, of course, Mike was there.

    Episode six is a much more serious episode.  At least half of it is.  Mike leaves Kristin in charge as he helps a woman in witness protection.  A woman who is dying with two young children to care for.

    Back home, Kristin and Daniel look into a death that happens at a 21^st birthday party.

    As usual, there isn’t too much about the personal lives of the detectives.  Kristin is probably the closest, as there is a man in town who is convinced he and she have something going on.  Kristin does not agree.  I personally wish Kristin’s previous boyfriend, Kahu Taylor (Rawiri Jobe), would come back.  He was really sweet.

    Mike, as always, must fend off the advances of the medical examiner, Dr. Gina Kadinsky (Cristina Ionda).  In some ways I feel badly for Gina.  She keeps trying to get Mike interested in her, but he’s just not.  Thankfully he is not mean about it, though.  On the other hand, Gina takes things too far.  Because of her feelings for Mike, she flat out ignores Kristin.  She refuses to give vital information to anyone other than Mike.  It is behavior that creates a lot of unnecessary conflict.

    As I mentioned, Mike is never mean to Gina.  That is because he is a good, caring man.  This is something we clearly see in episode six.  Mike makes sure to honor a dying woman’s wishes.  He cares for her, and makes sure her kids are cared for once she is gone.

    There are two townspeople who are in most of the episodes this season, and are frequently around to help.  First is Mrs. Marlowe (Elizabeth McRae).  She is an incredibly active elderly woman who always knows what is going on around town.  And she has zero problem sharing what she knows.  Especially with the police.

    Frodo (Karl Willetts) is the owner of the coffee truck.  He is not as directly helpful as Mrs. Marlowe, but he always has good information.  The problem is Frodo doesn’t always realize he has it.  The information tends to come out in bits and pieces.  Sometimes while the questioning detective is walking away.  Frodo does not, however, do this to be difficult.  This is simply how he is.  No matter what, Frodo means well.  He even goes so far as to try and be a lawyer for his brother during episode three.

    There is one more helpful townsperson, although she is a very reluctant one.  Trudy Neilson (Tracy Lee Gray) has spent time in prison.  Since her release, she has worked at a bar, where she sees and hears all sorts of things.  Trudy is a good source of information, although, with her grudge against the police, it can be hard to get the information out of her.

    I don’t know if there will be an eighth season of Brokenwood, but I certainly hope there is one.  If they have an eighth season, I wonder if the producers will stick with six episodes, or maybe grow to have more.  Either way, as long as the seasons and episodes keep coming and remain as good as they have been in the past, I will be happy.