BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES: SERIES 5

There are those who see this excellent program as a whodunit.It is certainly that.But it is, in my opinion, so much more.The murders that Sr. Sgt. Mike Shepherd and his team investigate are unusual, to say the least and the setting - the beautiful (fictional) town of Brokenwood on New Zealand's North Island - is idyllic.However, the real strength of this show is its characters and in this series they are on full display in all their glory. Neill Rea, as Shepherd, Fern Sutherland as his partner Det. Kristin Sims, Nic Sampson as DC Sam Breen, and Cristina Ionda as the transplanted Russian pathologist Dr. Gina Kadinsky form the nucleus of the cast but they are ably supported by recurring characters including Pana Hema Taylor as Jared Morehu, Colin Moyes as Shepherd's boss, and several others.This series also saw the return of characters from the first four seasons including a much-married widow - whose husbands keep dying; a lawyer who manages to keep his license by staying just inside the law's boundaries; and a luckless resident nicknamed "Frodo" who seems destined to fail at just about everything he attempts. I found this both interesting and refreshing given the fact that, in a small town such as Brokenwood, some characters are bound to re-appear. The fact they do in this series gives it an authentic feel.The plots are convoluted with plenty of red herrings scattered throughout and in only one of these episodes did I correctly guess who the villain is about halfway through the story. I'm not bragging but, as a former journalist who spent years covering cops and now an author writing mysteries, I'm not often fooled. The fact that Brokenwood's writers can keep me guessing is something I truly enjoy about this series.The writing is consistently good - though there are those who complain about what they call "hokey" dialogue. To those critics I would simply say that they have not spent much time in small towns or New Zealand. I have done both and I find the dialogue pretty believable. It's not sophisticated or particularly witty; instead, it's how real people talk. Is there something wrong with that? Not in my opinion, but apparently it is to some folks.The direction is smooth and the cinematography gives viewers an opportunity to experience some of New Zealand's gorgeous scenery.Great plots, innovative murders, wonderful characters and - of course - a lot of country music equals one very good detective series: A series that gets better and better with age.

Another four episodes, each almost and hour and a half long, tagging along with the Brokenwood murder squad: Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd, Detective Cassie Sims and Detective Constable Mike Breen. Episode 4 is the 20th episode of "Brokenwood," and I can't get enough of it. There's dollops of humor, quirky characters and great puzzles – I mean mysteries.Speaking of characters, the last two episodes see the welcome return of Jared Morehu. He used to be the comic touch; now he's mellowed out. And I get a kick out of the pathologist, Gina Kadinsky. Her attempts to lure Mike into something more than a working relationship are getting bolder and odder every series. She apparently approves of the MAMIL = Middle-Aged Man in Lycra.....episode 1... "Scared to Death" The traveling Wilbury Amusement Park is in town as part of the A & P Show (Agricultural & Pastoral = a county fair with events such as a woodchopping competition). Wilbury's got all the usual, like a Strongman, the Psychic Magdalena and lots of rides. One of the latter is the popular "Ghost Train", temporarily closed due to equipment malfunction. Harold, head of the Wilbury family that runs the carnival, hops into a car to go through the ride and check it out. A minute later he comes out, clutching his heart. His last word before he dies is "Ghost."My favorite exchange:Sims: "If Magdalena did actually have some ability to see what actually happened, wouldn't we be remiss not to at least try the avenue? I mean, what have we got to lose?"Breen: "Nothing but our credibility!"Shepherd, making a funny face: "This conversation never happened."....episode 2... "Bride Not to Be" Captain James Cook is cruising up the Brokenwood River when he spies a floating body. It's Ophelia Marley, and her bachelorette party the night before must have been a doozy.Cook and Ophelia! Why not, right?!....episode 3... "Tontine" A group of bikers reaches a view spot on the way up Whakamono Mountain, where the lead, Lester Nyman, tips over dead of a heart attack. Not a big deal, you think, a middle-age man who overdid it. But it so happens that four of the extended Nyman clan have died in the past six months. As Mike says, "No one has that much bad luck."Note: Jared mentions kawa-kawa to Mike. This is a real Maori medicinal plant. It is usually used in a tea infusion, but modernly, an extract can be used in a cream. amazon even carries a cream with kawakawa. We may not see much of it because it is termed a psychoactive plant.....episode 4... "The Dark Angel" It's a dark and stormy night, when two teenagers break into the abandoned Brokenwood Downes, a dismantled asylum. It's all giggles and fun until they find a very recently dead body strapped to a gurney with a toe-tag reading "Torturer."The four episodes of Season 5 total about 340 minutes of excellent mystery viewing. If you purchase it on disc, it is presented in 16:9 aspect ratio. English SDH subtitles are available on the episodes and on the one Bonus Feature:.... "Behind the Scenes" (4 minutes) Commentators include Tim Balme (head writer), Fern Sutherland (plays Sims), Neill Rea (plays Shepherd), Nic Sampson (plays Breen) and Cristina Ionda (plays Kadinsky). Rea: "I'm always trying to work out who the murderer is. And in this series, I'm two for four."Mike famously solves cases by hunches. He's not very good at explaining them, but he tries in episode 3: "It's only when I realized that the answer was in the question that things started to make sense."Happy Reader

My wife and I eagerly awaited this new season of Brokenwood. The writing seemed to "devolve" in Season 4 was not as good as Seasons 1, 2 and somewhat 3. We were hoping Season 5 would get back to what works best for this series--quirkiness. Unfortunately, it doesn't deliver on that. It is just OK. It almost seems like the writers changed, or decided the series just wasn't worth their effort, somewhere during the series.Mike doesn't really talk to the dead, and the murders aren't as "creative." Also, Gina is a real gem when they allow her to shine--which they don't do very often.One thing we did notice on one of the episodes is that the focus seemed to be on the story board and the characters being on their cell phones. I get enough of people striking a pose with their cell phones and living in them in the real world, thank you. We found that episode to be extremely boring and only watched it out of curiosity to see if it would improve. It didn't.Series 5 is really only worth about two stars. We are giving it four stars. The additional two are "hopeful" stars. We are hoping there will be a Series 6 and they will fix Brokenwood.

Season 5 is finally out, and it's just as good as the previous ones. The comedy and sexual tension are still there, and the intricate plots coupled with the fantastic NZ scenery are a winner. All the old cast members came back, and the ensemble players in the company are top-notch. ++good -- recommended.

characters are quirky, story lines good and production values. great. Actors do a good job.

Really like these series. Good stories and quirky characters. Will get series 6.

Great detective series with interesting twists and turns in the plot

Excellent!

Excellent series