Jungle Red Writers: VERA Returns with a New Season

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The Rap Sheet: Bullet Points: Casting a Wide ’Net Edition for 8/6/2021

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Dark Dispatch: #EntertainmentAdventCalendar – I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (Review by Brian Lindenmuth & Sandra Ruttan)

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In Reference To Murder: Media Murder for Monday 8/12/19

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Sunday Television Review: HARROW

Scott found this on HULU and saved it to watch after all the usual stuff we watch had finished this spring. Once that happened, we started working through some of our backlog and this show was one of them. We were quickly hooked and blasted through Season One over about three days. Season Two is coming and can be seen in some places, but for now, HULU does not have the new season yet. 

Ioan Gruffudd stars as Harrow, a forensic pathologist, living in Australia. Divorced with a daughter, he solves cases while also trying to keep secret something he did. He lives on a boat, does not suffer fools well, and has a bit of a snarky sense of humor. That is at least partly illustrated by the fact that he plays the occasional practical joke on a fellow pathologist who has a major air of self-importance and zero sense of humor.

Season One contained ten episodes and were all good ones. We like it a lot and very much recommend it.

On HULU at https://www.hulu.com/series/harrow-0f00a4f0-37da-4fb5-a9ae-71995b6c575d and other streaming platforms and vendors.

Hulu Synopsis:

Daniel Harrow is a brilliant forensic pathologist who solves the cases others can't. When a secret from his past threatens his career and his family, he'll need all his wit and forensic genius to keep a crime buried forever.

BOSCH--Season Five

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Do Some Damage: The Unstable Detective

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Television Review: "VERA"

While Glenn Walker is a skilled television and movie reviewer, I am not.  I have done a few here and there, but movies and TV shows are not something I review easily like books.  So, you won’t see anything in tremendous depth from me on this sort of thing. That being said, I do plan on mentioning some things here from time to time.


Recently, on one of the many lists I am on, the subject of VERA came up with a number of folks recommending it. There are five seasons though only four are currently available.  As NETFLIX puts it: 

Based on Ann Cleeves's Vera Stanhope novels, this detective series focuses on the tireless Detective Chief Inspector Stanhope -- played by Brenda Blethyn -- as she solves a series of baffling homicides in scenic Northumberland County.

Northumberland County is located in northeastern England along the North Sea coast as well as considerable distance inland. Rural and isolated the area has huge historical significance and not just because Scotland is located just to the North.  Wikipedia has a lot of interesting information on the area if you want to know more. It appears to be a beautiful area assuming the series is really filmed there as what is often done here with filming of shows.

Each disc in a set runs a little bit over and hour and half. Some of the mysteries I have been able to figure out most of the why of what happened roughly about half way through, others I did not do so well. They are not fast moving tales as Vera is sort of Columbo like in style with one more question always asked before moving on to the next point of the investigation. She is a bit abrupt with people at times and yet is going through quite a lot in life. Her backstory is gradually and skillfully revealed in little pieces here and there. 

Solidly good I recommend the series….at least the first two seasons. I am working on season three now having gotten all of them from my local library. The aforementioned Netflix has them as does Amazon.