Death In Paradise s12,06-01-2023,Generics,Generics,(L-R) Darlene Curtis (GINNY HOLDER), Marlon Pryce (TAHJ MILES), DI Neville Parker (RALF LITTLE), Naomi Thomas (SHANTOL JACKSON), Commisioner Selwyn Patterson (DON WARRINGTON), Catherine Bordey (ELIZABETH BOURGINE),Red Planet Pictures,Denis Guyenon
Death in Paradise Season 13 finished with a bit of a whimper. Neville finally chooses the right path. After vacillating about just who he is in love with, the DI picks DS Cassell (Joséphine Jobert) to be his partner. The couple then leave St Marie to travel the world.
Together.
Wait how many
A little bit of shifting around took place, while Florence waited for Neville to make up his mind. Marlon gets a job in Jamaica so he can watch over his little sister. And while Cassell first shows up as a familiar face, it was not long before another “blast from the past” Officer Dwayne Myers Danny John-Jules makes an appearance.
Another face from previous seasons also arrives in Jamaica to give the commissioner a hand getting Marlon hired on. JP Hooper (Tobi Bakare) appears in a “blink and you’ll miss him” cameo.
Season 13 had one other arrival from a previous season. Zoe arrives to see if she can breathe some life into the failed relationship with Neville. She arrives just as DS Cassell returns to the tropic island.
Sailing into the sunset
While Death in Paradise does not exactly allow both Marlon and the new couple Parker and Florence to sail off into the sunset, this trio does leave. DI Parker takes on his most baffling case. He manages to solve the missing passenger issue and then goes on to decide just where he and Cassell stand. Marlon heads to Jamaica and now we must wait to see who the new DI will be.
Pundits favour Simon Bird and from the outside looking in, he does seem a perfect fit. There have been no signs of a deal here, but he would make a refreshing change from four seasons of Ralf Little. Don’t get me wrong, he was alright in the role, but he did somewhat overstay his welcome.
hello I must be going
Throughout the 13 seasons of Death in Paradise each time a new Detective Inspector arrived, he left rather quickly. Ben Miller, the first and, arguably, the best detective on the island, was murdered in the first episode of season 3. So it was exit stage left, feetfirst.
Kris Marshall flew in to solve his predecessor’s murder and hung around from season 3 to season 6. I will admit to having a bit of prejudice with Marshall. He was brilliant in My Family and darn near stole Love Actually as the overly optimistic Brit who came to America for the birds.
Ardal O’Hanlon was next. Another favorite first spotted in the splendid comedy Father Ted. He lasted from season 6 to 9. His replacement was Ralf Little who just left the series.
All this movement of good actors who each brought something to their role felt a bit like the Groucho Marx song from Animal Crackers (1930) “Hurrah for Captain Spaulding.” They were no sooner settled than they had to leave.
*Video courtesy of Catherine Thompson via YouTube*
One thing is certain however, whether Simon Bird gets the nod to be the next DI or not, Death in Paradise may well continue for quite a while. American viewers can watch the show via Britbox – all the seasons and on Pluto TV seasons 1 through 6.
Death in Paradise may have let DI Parker exit softly with the love of his life, but the final episode was an interesting take on the “locked room” scenario. And that whimper, was really just a romantic gesture after all.
Sugar has Colin Farrell doing his best Sam Spade, without the smoke. This is modern noire. Drinking is perfectly acceptable, smoking of course, is not. It is interesting to note that Monsieur Spade (AMC+/ACORNtv) was released this year as well. And just like John Sugar, Sam Spade is learning to do his investigating sans tobacco.
A rose by any other name
Gumshoe, Shamus, Private Eye, Flatfoot, PI. All these names equate to a private detective. Of course a rose is a rose is a rose. Farrell does a decent job of portraying a modern Sam Spade. He is no Humphrey Bogart but he exudes a sort of classy doggedness. He is also flawed. Sugar has some sort of medical problem and it makes him unpredictable.
Of course Sam Spade was not the only noire gumshoe to narrate his own stories. Philip Marlowe, created by Raymond Chandler, was also one of those self narrated private eyes who was also a sucker for a pretty face. Robert Mitchum was, arguably, the best Marlowe.
O’Halloran and Mitchum “Farewell My Lovely
*Side note: Mitchum also got the best line in the 1975 Farewell My Lovely, “I’m tired, Nulty! Everything I touch turns to shit! I’ve got a hat, a coat and a gun, that’s it.” If you have never seen this one, look it up. The cast is impressive and Jack O’Halloran as the broken hearted Moose Malloy makes the entire film worth it. This is noire with a capital N.
dream on
Sugar also dips in the creative pool to borrow some plot devices. Dream On was a brilliantly funny and weird show in the ’90s. It was about Martin Tupper (played exquisitely by Brian Benben) and like John Sugar, Tupper was a fan of celluloid. As such, there were scenes from movies and television from Martin’s past that popped up during relative moments. This is done in Sugar although not to the extent of Dream On.
Most, if not all of these film snippets feature other older noire moments. It works.
i hate hurting people
John Sugar may well hate hurting people but regardless of his distaste, he is good at it. Sugar may well see himself as a flatfoot plodding through this modern noire series but he is highly over-qualified.
He can, apparently, speak several different languages and his educational background includes attendance at Vassar. Farrell lends an air of believability to this character. Unlike other PI’s, his private cop is not jaded. He feels for the damaged people he deals with.
fandom
We like Sugar and Colin Farrell. His move to the small screen of television has not diminished his talent. Like his character, we also love the movies. This is good stuff. It is highly unlikely that another actor could have filled Sugar’s gumshoes with such ease. If you are not watching this superb crime mystery, you are missing out. Check out the trailer and see if you aren’t immediately hooked.
So, Death and Other Details used “The old double episode finale trick.” The show dropped Rufus’ tagline, “Remember, details matter.” In the case of this series, this is true. They do matter.
First off, kudos to the writers of the tale. The final detail of just who Viktor Sams really is was not a done and dusted deal. SPOILER: While the show leads us tantalizingly to the conclusion that Kira was, in fact, Viktor all along, is…not as clear cut as the show wants us to believe.
At the end of the finale, AKA episode 10, Kira is apparently taking orders from someone else; Andreas. Or is Andreas taking orders from her? In all likelihood, he is actually Sams and we just missed an essential clue in the proceedings.
Or not.
What is Truth
Truth is the primer for both Rufus and Danny’s code. Imogene remembers the conversation with Cotesworth, another splendid flashback sequence, and later she has to walk into another important memory.
The fight now is against time. Andreas/Sams (?) sets the clock ticking on another sort of primer, this one attached to the preset explosives in the ship’s hull. The passengers are told they must bid for seats on the helicopter if they want to live.
There follows a comedic tussle to escape certain death. The “point zero one percent” are getting dirty while they bid for just nine seats on the chopper. Team Imogene are not really getting anywhere with the the recovered code. At last the penny drops. The team figure out that Danny saw someone, like the old Sesame Street jingle says, “That doesn’t belong.”
Agent Erikson of Interpol/Viktor Sams/Kira (Imogene’s Mum.) shows up, in Imogene’s walk through her flashback, dressed as a crew member. Danny, who had a photographic memory, spies her and realises she is not part of the crew.
This short exchange costs him his life.
Winnie Goh is ordered to execute the man and later she confesses to the murder of an innocent.
After all this, Imogene goes to confront Sams, AKA Kira her mother. We learn that she is killing Lawrence one breakfast smoothie at a time. We also find out that she first tortured then killed Llewellyn.
Imogene realises that the woman in front of her is Kira, her mother. This explosive reveal is timed to coincide with another explosive event.
End Episode 9: Impossible.
Bones to be picked
Before moving on to Episode 10 Chilling which is, in essence, a recounting of those details there are important moments. We find Cotesworth starting a second set of memoirs. He is still stone cold sober. But we digress. Lets talk about those bones or maybe just a bone.
The most serious bone to pick has to do with Father Toby. A Priest. Certainly not like any I have encountered. A man of the cloth, a member of the Catholic Church. An individual with a son? And a reverend who wears clothes that are not the least bit appropriate. A dress style that screams frippery.
The creators of the show, Heidi Cole McAdams and Mike Weiss have stated that they used the Mistress of Murder Dame Agatha Christie’s writing as an approach to this tale. Sadly, it seems that she mistook the good old village Vicar as a Catholic Priest.
A History Lesson
Vicars are part of the Church of England. This church was “created” by Henry the VIII when the Catholic Church would not allow him to leave his “barren” wife; Catherine of Aragon. Henry established “his church”to approve the annulment from his wife in 1536. She later died, at the age of 51, of “heart cancer.”
The point here is that the English Vicar is allowed to do many things that the Catholic Church does not condone for their clergy. Vicars can be married and raise a family, all while Serving God. As to their clothing, none of the outfits of “Father Toby” would be allowed at either the Church of England or the Catholic Church.
Annoyingly, each and every time that Toby shows up in a scene all suspension of disbelief is destroyed. The same can be said of the man’s offspring; That Derek.
Perhaps the show’s creators should have done a tad more research. C of E allow many deviations for their reverends. The Vicar of Dibley, anyone?
Of course said creators also allowed the good “Father” to be deceitful, narcissistic and, for lack of a better word, evil. Catering to Hollywood and it irrational hatred of Christians the creators served the man up on a tarnished platter.
Shame on you.
now back to the show
The final, finale of Death and Other Details is another sleigh ride through Imogene and Kira’s past. Once again, Imogene walks in another person’s shoes. *Side note: These active interactions are, to be blunt, the best part of this entire series.
Kira tells Imogene that her “death” was so hard that it changed her. Changed her into Viktor Sams, although she never actually admits this. She attempts to recruit her daughter into the “family business.”
Death and Other Details allows that Sams/Kira/Andreas are punishing the rich, that “zero point one” of the elite mentioned earlier.
After visiting the “brain” of Sams’ empire, the two women relax and enjoy each other’s company. At a skiing trip, however, we learn that blackmail is still the order of the day. Anna drugs up and tunes out while memories of her dead mother float through her head. Lawrence is,apparently, still drinking the poison blue drink that gave him dementia.
Teddy misses and worries about Winnie.
Imogene confronts Kira about the blackmail at the ski resort.
Rufus, dear reader, is back
He and Imogene reveal that the Kira’s servers were recovered before the CGI ship sank. As Kira places her hand on the gun hidden under the table, Rufus says, “The truth can finally come to light.”
Almost all the other diners are law enforcement and Kira is lead away in handcuffs.
Later, as he dictates the ending of his next memoir, Rufus pays a homage to his late friend Danny. The man who wanted to solve this case because of a promise Rufus made to a little girl, “long ago.”
Imogene gets a phone from Teddy in case she gets a call. She does and it is from Sunil who tentatively reaches out. It is an awkward exchange. As Leila and Imogene talk, Anna meets with Andreas and we learn that she murdered her mother. Kira helped to cover this up.
It looks like the real Viktor Sams is Andreas and Kira?
The End
We are left with Imogene stepping into Rufus’ shoes in the here and now. She and her “Scooby” gang are investigating a new “impossible” mystery. Imogene leaves us with the knowledge that now, she does not need her childhood hero to help.
Overall this was a splendid short look at a Christie-ish sort of murder mystery. There were things that annoyed but the show is watchable hokum. *Side note: Christian Svensson should play Charles Bronson in any biopic. He resembles the late actor and has a similar cadence when he speaks.*
We give this one a 4 out of 4 for overall entertainment value and a full 5 points for the twists. We will not mention the CGI ship sinking. Death and other Details is still streaming on Hulu. Check it out and see what you think.
Death and Other Details: Vanishing sees the cruise ship still without power. The episode starts with Rufus having a tour of the bar. He tells Sunil that he does not like the man. After this barb the cruise line owner threatens Cotesworth, whose rejoinder points out just how hard it is for a man tied in a chair to threaten someone.
prologue
Episode 8: Vanishing continues with an accelerated body count. It may as well be the bewitching hour as all masks are coming off. Secrets and lies are exposed equally here.
Some of the lies are laid bare by Anna who confesses the Collier complicity in the dye scandal. Rufus tells the reader that Viktor Sams is hiding in plain sight on the cruise ship. Teddy gets a posthumous note from Llewellyn. She reads the note and has a flashback. We relive the lawyer’s suicide with her. We also learn the true relationship between Llewellyn and Teddy.
They were BDSM buddies.
Mathers tells tells Teddy that he tires of cleaning up the Collier’s messes. He shows no sign of “checking out.” Teddy learns that Agent Eriksen and she shared Llewellyn’s dominatrix fetish.
getting the power back on
As Teddy rushes to get the power back on, Anna learns that Llewellyn has killed himself. She and Imogene share a moment. Imogene and Rufus search the late Mr. Mathers’ room. They go back over the original investigation once again.
Anna confronts her parents about the lawyer’s death and learns that they were not aware of his suicide. That Derek films the interchange. Eleanor and Leila meet outside Anna’s stateroom. Leila goes in and has an uncomfortable talk with Tripp.We learn that Tripp really cared for the late governor.
Leila tries to explain Viktor Sams to Tripp.
Jules uses the key Imogene gave him to escape. He overpowers Simon. He then asks him and Winnie what Sams wants.
Anna leads a small Collier group to the celestial hall. After a terse exchange, Leila, Anna and Tripp join the Chuns at their table. The celestial hall is a mass of conversation; revealing and unrevealing Teddy mourns the loss of Llewellyn in the pantry of the ship.
As a waiter transfers wine corks in the pantry Teddy remembers her last conversation with ber BDSM buddy. She then discovers a clue to his death.
More vanishing
Teddy and Jules talk to Sunil and his composure is slipping. Eriksen speaks with Lawrence and Katherine comes to the rescue. Sunil and Jules decide on a plan of action.
At the Chun’s table, Anna learns that she is not a Collier. Lawrence is not her biological father. Apparently the Priest spilled the beans to Celia Chun. Anna realises that her father was Llewellyn. The dead lawyer, according to Mrs Collier, had no idea.
Katherine storms out of the hall and Imogene confronts the Chun table. She tells Celia that she was the witness for Kira. Celia tells her backstory. Romance and death at the Collier factory in China. After Eleanor’s grandfather died, Llewellyn paid Celia off to keep silent. She used the money to start a rival business.
Imogene confronts Lawrence and he calls her Kira. Anna explains that he has some sort of dementia. Illusions are quickly vanishing. Imogene starts putting the pieces together. Thinking that Imogene is her mother, he confesses to killing her, by making a phone call.
Eriksen confronts the wine waiter about the wine given to Mathers. He tells the agent that Katherine Collier asked that the poisoned wine be sent to the lawyers room. The woman is, Imogene believes, Viktor Sams.
Katherine is found dead in the ship’s pool. A helicopter arrives. It is not filled with good guys. Sunil and Jules learn that the ship is rigged to blow. Eriksen surrenders her weapon to Wendeler.
conclusion
The body count for this episode of Death and Other Details was quite low. Katherine goes out after the celestial hall confession and dies messily in the pool. Lawrence, we learn, is not compos ‘mentis.
Imogene believes Katherine is Viktor Sams. Andreas (Christian Svensson) arrives with his cavalry and she accuses him of working for Sams.
The death count may well be down for this one, but the mystery deepens. As each cover story, illusion or lie vanishes, more twists and turns appear. There are two more episodes to this season. Tune in and see if you can guess the real identity of Viktor Sams.
Death In Paradise s12,06-01-2023,Generics,Generics,(L-R) Darlene Curtis (GINNY HOLDER), Marlon Pryce (TAHJ MILES), DI Neville Parker (RALF LITTLE), Naomi Thomas (SHANTOL JACKSON), Commisioner Selwyn Patterson (DON WARRINGTON), Catherine Bordey (ELIZABETH BOURGINE),Red Planet Pictures,Denis Guyenon
The second episode of Death in Paradise or episode 3, follows a familiar pattern. It kills off the guest star in a matter of moments. Haley Mills, played philanthropist extraoenaire Nancy Martin, and she is offed with a knitting needle.
This Death in Paradise felt very Colonel Mustard with the pipe wrench, in the library. Despite this Clue feel, the murder and the back story leading up to it were quite clever.
Nancy Martin, Mills, runs a charity. Her funding, never questioned, comes from purloined activity; 5 million pounds sterling. Martin, a full time resident of a nursing home, lives for bingo. It is during this game of chance that she dies.
the usual suspects
The list of suspects in this episode is not long. This allows time for the commissioner to be released from hospital. He refuses to take it easy and this enables a little comedy to make its way into an otherwise humourless episode.
Just as last week’s offering, Death in Paradise feels forced, lacking its general good humour. Granted, there have been quite serious episodes in the past. DS Cassell, Joséphine Jobert, being shot was very intense. This two-parter ended with Cassell leaving the island.
Episode 3 of Death in Paradise suffers from the same malaise as the previous one. The formula, though, is still the same familiar one we have grown to love.
But.
Despite dealing with murder in each episode, the show does not “feel” happy? DI Parker rounds up the suspects. This moment contained about the only real humorous moment in the show. DS Thomas seems really pleased about the idea of getting all the usual suspects together.
The only real suspects are Martin’s daughter, Oona and her old assistant Philippe Varane. There is a marvelous misdirect halfway through. This suitably muddies the water.
Mystery is Murder
To be fair, this week’s murder was a puzzler. it took the entire episode of Death in Paradise to work it out. Regardless of this “plus” the show still exudes a Debbie Downer vibe. This show has an excellent track record. Mystery may well be murder, but nothing like the demise of what has always made this show special.
Bonus points to the plot of the show though. The murder weapon was also a fine touch. However, Death in Paradise needs to get back that whimsical touch that makes it so endearing.
The show is streaming on BritBox. Check it out. It is a binge worthy series.
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