Art Detectives, on Acorn TV

DI Mick Palmer is the detective who would have to catch Raffles, John “The Cat” Robie, and the Phantom from the Pink Panther. He specializes in art related crime as the head of the one-man Heritage Department, but sometimes (more like usually) they also involve murders. Unfortunately, Palmer has a lot of insight into art crimes, thanks to his father Ron, a forger and thief, who keeps making trouble for his son in creator-writers Dan Gaster, Will Ing, and Paul Powell’s six-episode Art Detectives, which premieres tomorrow on Acorn TV.

When valuable British art is stolen, or an important art figure is killed, Taylor often gets the call. That is especially true when the original DI is an idiot, like DI Hollis in the opening episode, “Pictures at an Exhibition.” His DC, Shazia Malik is supposed to spy on Taylor for Hollis, but she would rather work with a professional DI, like Taylor.

In fact, they work so well together, Taylor requests her transfer, doubling his department in size. Frankly, she is a bit surprised by their first official case together, when they are summoned to an ancient burial site. However, it turns into a more conventional case when an extra, more contemporary body is planted within the excavation. To its credit, “Dead & Buried” is a good example of the writers’ willingness to implicate unconventional suspects as the series’ murderers. Frankly, it is never the butler or the tired stereotypical “evil” businessman.

Sadly, episode three might hit home a little too hard for Nancy Wilson of Heart (whose guitars were recently stolen), because it also features the theft of rare instruments and memorabilia from a storied recording studio. There is also a dead body in “Warped.” Again, the mystery is decent, especially considering the 45-minute-ish running times of each episode.

Instead of art, it is wine that lands Heritage the case in “Noble Rot.” It must be an especially delicate investigation, because a high-ranking government official was one of the guests at the exclusive wine-tasting that results in the poisoning death of the high-end wine-dealer. Sir Clifford Renwick also knows Ron Harper’s checkered history, forcing DI Taylor to tread carefully.

“Ice Cold” might draw a lot of one-off viewers, because it features the murder of a collector of Titanic artifacts. Inconveniently, he was killed right before finalizing the donation of his holdings to a Belfast museum, so off Taylor and Malik go to Northern Ireland. This is another good example of the chemistry shared by leads Stephen Moyer and Nina Singh, especially as they discuss their local contact DC Rory White (also nicely played by guest star Warren McCook), whose interest in Malik he picks up on and repeatedly notes, while, somehow, she cannot see it.

The Chelsea Detective: Everyone Loves Chloe (Christmas Special)

In the early 2000’s, Chloe Carmichael was like the Mariah Carey of the UK, especially around Christmastime. Then she largely walked away from public performances and the celebrity lifestyle. Now she is dead. Since she was rich enough to live in London’s tony Chelsea district, her murder is DI Max Arnold’s problem. The poor guy also has a nasty tooth ache he never seems to have time to fix in the “Christmas Special” (a.k.a. “Everybody Loves Chloe,” the first episode of season three) from creator Peter Fincham’s The Chelsea Detective, which premieres tomorrow on Acorn TV.

Not only did Carmichael record an early 21^st Century Christmas favorite, she donated all the royalties to charity. However, her manager at the time never agreed to donate his cut, which he still expects. In fact, he has been demanding them so vociferously, he talked himself into a restraining order, making himself a prime suspect in her murder.

Her roommate and reputed lover Zadie Evans also looks pretty bad, especially since she disappeared. When Arnold’s squad find her, she insists they are merely roommates and the drugs were all hers—or at least mostly hers. The whole relationship business was fabricated by “journalist” Silvie Wix, who was co-writing Carmichael’s memoir. Apparently, Carmichael openly speculated Wix might prefer her dead, because the book would sell better, so there’s that.

Poor Arnold has a lot to deal with. In addition to that tooth ache, his separated wife Astrid Fischer talked him into attending couple’s therapy. Plus, he must peddle around London on his bike like he is Dutch.

“Everybody Loves Chloe” is not very Christmasy for a Christmas special. Frankly, Die Hard decks more halls. However, it serves up some decent procedural work. This is not a great episode for featuring the rest of Arnold’s team (played by Vanessa Emme, Peter Bankole, and Lucy Phelps), but they still show off some nice camaraderie and rhythm together. It also boasts a colorful guest-star performance from Julian Wadham as a MP who has a mysterious connection to Carmichael.

Inspector Ellis, on Acorn TV

If DCI Ellis shows up at your police station, you probably work in a zoo—and maybe you should call your solicitor. After taking personal time for yet to be disclosed reasons, DCI Ellis reluctantly agrees to serve as her boss’s troubleshooter, taking over high-profile cases from provincial constabularies that are too corrupt and too incompetent to handle them. Naturally, nobody is happy to see her, but she gets results in creator-writers Paul Logue & Sian Ejwunmi-Le Barre’s Inspector Ellis, which premieres today on Acorn TV.

In “Hanmore,” the first of three feature-length installments, the late Rowan Edwards’ mother is a former member of parliament with a reputation for criticizing the police, so ACC Leighton needs someone competent running the investigation. At least Louise Edwards recognizes Ellis is a considerable trade-up from lazy local DCI Jim Belmont. However, Ellis is more concerned about the second victim, Maggie Bradley, the victim’s working-class girlfriend, who disappeared on the night of his murder.

Of course, Belmont latched onto Bradley’s step-father as the easiest suspect. He therefore resents it when Ellis uses logic and forensic science to poke holes in his flimsy narrative. Poor DS Chet Harper is stuck in the middle, tasked with supporting Ellis, while Belmont still demands his loyalty.

“Hanmore” is a decent case, but “Callorwell” turns into a nasty can of worms. Ellis and Harper (who is now assigned to the trouble-shooting Inspector, which should give you an idea how things went with Belmont) are dispatched to investigate the disappearance of DC Jenny Rawler, a junior detective who just filed a harassment complaint against the local DCI, Hain. Soon, Ellis and Harper discover she had received a series of death threats that “magically” disappeared from evidence.

Frankly, this is a notably strong episode, because it reveals plot twists American television would not have the guts to touch. In an American procedural, Rawler would be the victim—period, end of discussion. In Ellis, it gets messy—really, really messy. This episode also features a terrific supporting cast, starting with Sam Marks as the conspicuously slimy local DI Jamie Morrison. Tim Dutton is even sleazier as Hain, while William Travis nicely humanizes honest but intimidated Sgt. Frank Landry.

The Claremont Murders, on Acorn TV

Australia seems so fun-loving to Americans, but it was home to the murderers that inspired the Wolf Creek franchise as well as the serial killer who stalked the nightclubs of Perth’s swanky Claremont suburb. Catching that killer required a long, drawn-out investigation—a full twenty-five years. Mistakes were definitely made, but that is where much of the drama comes from in the two-part The Claremont Murders, which premieres tomorrow on Acorn TV.

The case started with the disappearance of Sarah Spiers and intensified with the disappearance of Jane Rimmer. It became a three-alarm media fire when Ciara Glennon was also killed. The bodies of Rimmer and Glennon were soon discovered, but, tragically, Spiers’ has yet to be recovered. However, Don and Carol Spiers savvily channeled their grief and desperation into media outreach, especially with Alison Fan, an anchor for Australia’s Channel 7, who maybe not coincidentally produced The Claremont Murders.

It was all hand on deck for the Western Australia Police, so Det. Gavin Wyatt and Det. Bobbi McAllister were temporarily assigned to the investigation. McAllister rightly suspects a cold rape case might be a precursor crime, but the senior officers are skeptical (and dismissive). Instead, they focus on Lance Williams, a socially awkward man with a record of mental health issues, who was in the habit of cruising or “patrolling” the Claremont area. Ironically, McAllister helps bring Williams in as part of an undercover sting operation, but even after a solid decade of surveillance, no evidence connects Williams to the murders.

Roughly twenty years later, McAllister has moved on and left the force, but Wyatt remains haunted by the Claremont killings. In fact, he talks his way onto a small team trying to reopen the old case. Unlike the previous investigation, his new colleagues are well-versed in forensic science. Although he has trouble letting go of Williams as their prime suspect, they soon convince him to focus on a new suspect, who previously avoided attention through a combination of bad luck and bureaucratic incompetence.

Screenwriters Justin Monjo and Michaeley O’Brien take a just-the-facts approach, mostly focusing on the step-by-step progress of the investigation, relegating the detectives’ private lives to the far margins. Most of the personal drama is reserved for the grieving Spiers, portrayed with dignity and restraint by Erik Thomson and Kate Ritchie. It is impossible to not feel for them, acutely.

The Madame Blanc Mysteries Holiday Special, on Acorn TV

They do not have many White Christmases in the South of France, but the British expats still take their figgy pudding seriously. In this case, Jean White’s latest holiday special will be more like Holiday Inn, the chain rather than the movie. She and her friends have been invited to a free Christmas getaway at an exclusive hotel, but one of their hosts turns up dead in the latest “Holiday Special” episode of creators Sally Lindsay & Sue Vincent’s The Madame Blanc Mysteries, which premieres tomorrow on Acorn TV.

Jeremy and Judith Lloyd James, White’s “friends from the chateau” are kicking the tires on a potential hotel investment, so they invite her and some friends to help them give it a test drive. Of course, she invites Dom Hayes, who has become her full-fledged boyfriend after the last two seasons (which kicked off with her dodgy husband’s untimely death). He also invited along Police Chief Andre Caron, since he was facing his first holiday on his own. The last two years have also been bruising to his ego, since “Madame Blanc” has been solving all the murders in town before he can.

In a way, this will be a busman’s holiday for Caron, because their hosts are planning a murder-mystery party. Soon, it turns into a real busman’s holiday when the co-owner of the Hotel Sanguinet is murdered during the party players' performance.

Madame Blanc’s mysteries are about as cozy they come, so it will not bother fans one whit that this one is rather simplistic. Instead, viewers just continue to enjoy seeing realistic-looking, somewhat “middled-aged” adults like White and Hayes getting to play at being Hart to Hart. Plus, the French Mediterranean locales are like exotic travel-porn. “Cozy” is definitely the word for this series.

Regardless, you would hardly know it was Christmas, or any other “holiday” from this “Holiday Special.” On the other hand, the Sanguinet has a ghostly backstory that adds some tragic dimension to the mystery.

Steeltown Murders, on Acorn TV

In 1973, the local Port Talbot cops not so respectfully declined offers of help from the Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard), out of Welsh nationalism and turf consciousness. As a result, the “Saturday Night Strangler” murders remained unsolved in 2002, when DNA developments prompted a re-opening of the case. In addition to advances in science, DCI Paul Bethel is also determined to avoid all the mistakes he witnessed as a very junior member of the original investigation in the four-part Steeltown Murders, written by Ed Whitmore and directed by Marc Evans, which premieres Monday on Acorn TV.

Back in 1973, when everyone was cranking Mott the Hoople, Port Talbot was reeling from the murders of Geraldine Hughes and Pauline Floyd, two teens who were brutally murdered, after accepting a ride home from the unknown suspect. At the time, Bethel wanted to explore similarities to the previous murder of Sandra Newton, but the pompous inspector in charge of the task force, refuses to consider any linkage. Three decades later, DNA vindicates Bethel, but it cannot identify the killer, because the DNA database is still so limited.

Recruiting DC Phil “Bach” Rees, his former colleagues from the 1973 investigation, Bethel reinvestigates the three murders, starting by swabbing all the former potential suspects who give their consent. However, they are only allocated resources for a mere 500 swabs. Bethel hopes one will be enough when his longtime prime suspect agrees to be tested—but he won’t be that lucky.

The first three episodes flash backwards and forwards, showing how mistakes from the past continue to torment everyone involved in the present of 2002. It is mostly competent but conventional stuff. However, the fourth episode really shows why Whitmore and Evans were so interested in this story.

Bethel is down to two suspects. One happens to be dead and requiring exhumation, a fraught process that will require approvals all the way up the chain to the Home Secretary (a mixed equivalent of the Attorney General and DHS Secretary in the U.S.). This turns into some crackling drama, requiring Bechel to navigate the sensitivities of the families of the victims and the accused. Meanwhile, DC Geraint Bale, the junior member of Bechel’s three-man team, chases down DNA for their other, suspiciously uncooperative suspect.

The New Dalgliesh

Most British TV detectives are usually DI’s or DCI’s (Morse, Lewis, Lynley, Frost, Banks), but P.D. James’ signature eventually rose to the advanced rank of Commander. He was also a published poet, with a tragic backstory, so he well understood the dark places of the human soul. Most importantly, Adam Dalgliesh was unfailingly professional and competent. The no-nonsense detective was a war-horse anchor for ITV (and then the BBC) in the UK and PBS’s Mystery in America, so it is not surprising to see him get a fresh new series treatment in Dalgliesh, which premieres Monday on Acorn TV.

In series’ first two-part case, “Shroud for a Nightingale,” DCI Dalgliesh is less than impressed with his new DS, the crass Charles Masterson. He does not take to Dalgliesh either, but he is somewhat intimidated by the detective’s commanding bearing. Still mourning his wife and unborn child, Dalgliesh is assigned the case of a poisoning in a nursing college, because of its sensitive nature. The school has powerful patrons and is expecting a high-profile visit. Tragically, there will be further murders, to cover the killer’s tracks.

The second two-parter, “The Black Tower” represents an improvement, because of the remote but visually striking location and it also gives us a break from the Dalgliesh/Masterson dynamic, which gets a bit tiresome. Dalgliesh arrives to visit an old friend in priestly orders, who is on staff at a provincial home for disabled residents, only to find he passed away a few days prior. That is just what Dalgliesh needs, more grief. However, he soon starts to suspect his friend was murdered, especially when more bodies start piling up.

Steven Mackintosh makes a worthy suspect and foil as Wilfred Antsey, the arrogant director of the almost cloistered home. He provides the sort of sparring partner “Nightingale” lacks. Although the local police chief is too lazy to mount a serious investigation, Dalgliesh finds an ally in Constable Kate Mishkin. In terms of themes, this could be the episode of Dalgliesh that hardcore fans of the original adaptations most appreciate.

The initial reboot season concludes with “A Taste for Death,” which auspiciously starts in a church. Inside, a disgraced politician and a local homeless man were sliced up, in a transparent effort to make it look like a struggle between them. To help his team, Dalgliesh has transferred Mishkin from Bristol, not exactly thrilling Masterson.

There is some decent procedural stuff in “Taste,” and it is great to see distinctive character actors like Jim Norton (seen on Broadway in The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and David Pearse pop up as Father Barnes and pathologist Miles Kynastone, respectively. Patrick Regis is also quite a notable presence as Gordon Halliwell, the loyal chauffeur of the deceased’s stonewalling mother.

Frankly, the rivalry between Masterson and Mishkin (nicely played by Carlyss Peer) feels flat and predictable, However, “Taste” really gives Bertie Carvel a chance to shine as Dalgliesh during the emotionally heavy third act. Although Martin showed a bit of feeling in his two Dalgliesh mysteries, Roy Marsden was always scrupulously reserved and detached (that was what made Dalgliesh Dalgliesh). Arguably, Carvel combines the best of both.

Darkness: Those Who Kill, on Acorn TV

Scandinavians are still largely seen as polite and friendly people in America, even though the region has become a leading exporter of serial killer thrillers. This time, it is a provincial Danish police force that must sleuth out and apprehend a particularly nasty predator. Of course, they initially only thought they were dealing with a single abduction (and presumed homicide), but a little detective work uncovers links to horrifying past crimes in creator Ina Bruhn’s 8-part Darkness: Those Who Kill, directed by Carsten Myllerup, which premieres tomorrow on Acorn TV.

Local police detective Jan Michelsen is not dealing well with the stress of the Julie Vinding kidnapping. He promised her parents he would find her, but after six fruitless months, his boss has down-graded the investigation’s priority. His wife left him and his career is hanging by a thread. Yet, when Michelsen tries to establish a connection to a ten-year-old cold case, he manages to find one, as well as the long-missing body. Then the unknown serial killer abducts Emma Holst, who is the exact same physical type as Vinding.

Suddenly, the case is hot again, so Michelsen’s boss brings in Louise Bergstein, a semi-retired profiler, currently working as a women’s shelter counselor. Like Michelsen, she also feels the need for redemption, but their strong personalities will frequently clash. Michelsen’s prickliness certainly does not help, but they each appreciate the other’s intelligence and dedication.

In many ways, Darkness is a conventional, but very well executed serial killer thriller. However, there is a big game-changing revelation around the third episode that makes it difficult to review the series without being spoilery. Let’s just say Signe Egholm Olsen is terrific as Stine Velin, a woman who has a mysterious connection to the serial killer, Anders Kjeldsen.

Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears

Miss Phryne Fisher is a semi-professional detective, very much in the tradition of the Thin Man, except she has always claimed to be a confirmed bachelorette. That is why the romantically-interested but often exasperated Detective Inspector Jack Robinson was so surprised when she married a maharajah for political reasons. He was even more shocked by the reports of her death, but those turn out to be assuredly premature in Tony Tilse’s Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears, the first Phryne Fisher feature film, which premieres this coming Monday on Acorn TV.

Much to the despair of the Home Office, Miss Fisher (formerly a British expat resident of Australia) breaks the daughter of a Bedouin woman out of prison in the British Mandate. Supposedly, she lost her life during the escape, but of course she is alive and well and quite pleased to crash her own funeral. At this point, DI Robinson resolves to finally get off the Phryne Fisher emotional roller coaster. However, when Fisher starts investigating a murder that took place at the estate of her host, Lord Lofthouse, he reluctantly agrees to help, as usual.

Rather inconveniently, Lord Lofthouse has been framed for the crime. Presumably, the murder was related to Middle East intrigue, since the victim was a sheikh, who was backing out of a deal with the Lofthouses. In what might come as a bit of a surprise to Miss Fisher fans, the case also involves supernatural elements, including a giant cursed emerald.

When it comes to traditional British mysteries with uncanny overtones, The Pale Horse is much more intriguing and suspenseful. Even though Crypt of Tears released in Australian theaters, it still very much looks and feels like a TV production. There is plenty of fan-service for the faithful, but viewers who are not already on-board with the franchise are unlikely to be won over by Crypt of Tears.

The Real Doctor Zhivago

Among Nobel laureates for literature, Boris Pasternak has been the one with all the asterisks. At first, there was an asterisk saying “award refused,” but then it was changed to “forced to refuse.” Eventually, the Pasternak family finally posthumously accepted his rightful prize. It was a proud day for them and the CIA. The story of Pasternak’s celebrated and censored novel is chronicled in the documentary special, The Real Doctor Zhivago, directed by George Cathro, which premieres this Monday on Acorn TV.

Boris Pasternak was more Russian than vodka, borsht, or caviar. He hailed from an elite family, but he initially supported the revolution, out of sympathy for his less fortunate countrymen. Technically, Pasternak never explicitly turned against the Soviet system, but he wrote the unvarnished truth as he saw it. His epic novel Doctor Zhivago was where he recorded it all.

One of the great ironies Real Zhivago reveals is Stalin’s high regard for Pasternak’s poetry. Unbeknownst to Pasternak, the Soviet dictator interceded with his underlings several times on his behalf. Khrushchev, not so much. However, Pasternak’s found other fans, most notably the CIA, who supported the international publication of his great novel and masterminded schemes to smuggle samizdat copies back into Russia. Yet, in another supreme irony, a publisher affiliated with the Italian Communist Party was the first house to publish Doctor Zhivago in any country.

Host Stephen Smith talks extensively with Pasternak family members and relatives of his great love and editor, Olga Ivinskaya, who is widely acknowledged as the inspiration for Zhivago’s lover, Lara. We also hear from many of his surviving champions in the west, as well as several Pasternak scholars. Smith takes a little getting used to (he has the voice of gameshow host, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), but he clearly did his homework, demonstrating intimate familiarity with the novel in question.

Clearly, the notion that the CIA exploited Pasternak is floated several times during RDZ, but one could argue his increased prominence also afforded him greater protection, creating a politically climate wherein it would be risky for the Soviets to make him disappear for long. Indeed, they focused most of their thuggery on Ivinskaya instead. Regardless, it is painfully obvious the CIA (as well as the VOA) were much more attuned to the geopolitical significance of art and culture in the 1950s and 1960s than they are now.

Regardless, most viewers will learn quite a bit from The Real Doctor Zhivago. It incorporates quite a bit of literary and Cold War history in just under sixty minutes. Doctor Zhivago is a great novel, written by a great artist that became a great film and is now the subject of quite a nice special report. Highly recommended, The Real Doctor Zhivago premieres New Year’s Eve (12/31), on Acorn TV.

Hunting the KGB Killers: The Litvinenko Case on Acorn TV

He was a British subject, assassinated on British soil, by a foreign power, employing the most radioactive substance known to man. Wars have been started over lesser provocations. It is inconceivable an operation of that magnitude could be executed without the direct consent of Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin. The mere acquisition of Polonium 210 would require coordination at the highest levels of government. Yet, we can confidently ascribe responsibility to Putin and his henchmen, because Litvinenko himself worked with Scotland Yard to solve his own murder during his final hours. The high stakes investigation and Russian’s attempts to cover-up the truth are conclusively revealed in the documentary-special, Hunting the KGB Killers, directed by Chris Malone, which starts streaming on Acorn TV tomorrow.

Litvinenko has been closely linked with Chechen dissidents, but his real role in the FSB (the renamed KGB) is often conveniently overlooked. According to Litvinenko (whose credibility has been tragically established beyond reasonable doubt), he was promoted to a secret division of the FSB responsible for assassinating the Kremlin’s political and economic rivals. Obviously, it is still in business. Ill-advisedly, Litvinenko had called a meeting with the newly elected Putin, hoping the president would halt such abuses. Instead, he had to defect to the UK with his wife Marina and their son Anatoly, who address Litvinenko’s assassination on-camera for the first time in KGB Killers.

Lead investigator DI Brian Tarpey takes viewers through his inquiry, step-by-step, starting with a meeting with an unnamed MI5 agent, who turned out to be Litvinenko’s handler. With his identity confirmed, the dying Litvinenko willingly submitted to a “living autopsy” to determine the agent of his poisoning. When Polonium-210 was determined to be the cause of his impending death, it unleashed a hard target search through the London establishments he frequented, as well as a very real public health scare. Tarpey’s team even journeyed to Russia, where they were stonewalled and also poisoned with more benign gastrointestinal bacteria.

Although its running time clocks in just under an hour, KGB Killers is packed with stunning information. Frankly, it is an outrage that the world is not more outraged over this crime. Russian apologists and stooges have used a lot of disinformation and red herrings to distract the western media from the fundamental issues. This was a British subject, who was cooperating with western intelligence and law enforcement agencies to expose Russian crime syndicates linked to Putin and his oligarch cronies.

The respect Tarpey and his colleagues have for Litvinenko comes through loud and clear. The details on their dogged pursuit of the murderers, Anjdrey Lugovoy (now a member of Russia’s parliament and hence immune from prosecution) and Dmitri Kovtun, is also highly instructive. Although the iconic photo of the emaciated Litvinenko is often shown during KGB Killers, Malone also uses dramatic re-enactments of the whistle-blower’s final days. Documentary purists might have mixed feelings on such a strategy, but it must be conceded Andrew Byron (a bit-player in Wonder Woman) is an eerie dead-ringer for Litvinenko. Eddie Marsan’s narration is also totally professional and gives the film some name-recognition (if star-power is too strong a term).

KGB Killers is a seamless chronicle that will shock viewers with the full magnitude and viciousness of the FSB’s crimes under Putin. Yet, it also keeps the human element in perspective through the memories of the surviving Litvinenkos and the Scotland Yard investigators. It is a film all Americans should watch, starting with the president.

Let’s be honest, the West’s triumph over Communism during the Cold War was also the greatest political victory in the history of the right/left divide. Yet, Trump seems determined to retroactively sabotage that victory, by openly courting the Soviets’ successor in spirit and oppressive practice. He is not just compromising American national security. He is also jeopardizing the legacy of the American conservative movement. Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley, and Barry Goldwater must be weeping bitter tears in their graves.

To get a sense of who Putin really is, Hunting the KGB Killers is very highly recommended when it launches on Acorn TV tomorrow (8/14).