Category Archives: Adultery

2012, Acceptable for teenagers, Adultery, Amusing banter, Bad Acting, Based on a Book, Bicycles, Bloody scenes, Comic Moments, Cooking, Corny at times, Crime, Detective, Eccentric Detective, Extramarital Affair, Flirting, Italian, Italian detective, Journalist, Made For TV, MHz Choice, Murder, Murder by poison, Murder Investigation, Revenge, TV Series

Nero Wolfe (2012)

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From IMDB:

Interesting modern actualization made by italian broadcasting service (RAI) of immortal, well-known characters created by the genial american novelist Rex Stout. It’s second time RAI produce a Nero Wolfe’s Mystery series: first one – with famous, talented stage actor Tino Buazzelli as Wolfe and Paolo Ferrari (known as Humphrey Bogart movie’s dubber) as Archie Goodwin – was aired between 1969 and 1971.

MHz Choice streams just one season of 8 episodes. Each episode lasts a bit more than 1.5 hours. Italian with English subtitles.

Although sometimes corny, sometimes amateurish acting, at least you can relax watching these friendly murder mysteries. Just about all the women are beautiful. Every home is more or less a palace.

Nero Wolfe is a somewhat overweight gourmand (i.e. he is fussy about food and eats ALOT).  In fact, there is just as much emphasis on food and Wolfe’s orchids as there is on the rest of the plot. He has a full time professional cook with whom he spars a lot. He is often condescending or even insulting to his dashing sidekick Archie Goodwin, who flirts (at the very least)  with many of the female characters.

Thus we do not take these stories seriously or expect too much. But at least they do not feature any grim gore.

2012, Abduction, Abortion, Abuse of Women, Adopted child, Adultery, Arson, Asperger's Syndrome, Bloody scenes, Child abduction and murder, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Complicated, Crime, Dark, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Emotional child abuse, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Forensics, MHz Choice, Mildly Violent, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Murder by poison, Murder Investigation, Pedophilia, Police Culture, Police Politics, Psychopath, Revenge, Serial Killer, Spousal Abuse, Suicide, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Swedish Detective

Camilla Läckberg (2012)

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From MHz Choice:

Camilla Läckberg’s beloved characters return in a TV series based on three of her bestselling mystery novels. Set in Fjällbacka on the west coast of Sweden, Detective Patrik Hedström and his fiancée, the novelist Erica Falck, become enmeshed in complex crimes affecting all the residents of the tiny coastal community.

Jean Edith Camilla Läckberg  is a Swedish crime writer. As of the early-2010’s, her work has been translated into at least 40 languages in 60 countries.

Our last review was for “The Hidden Child” which was a stand-alone presentation streamed from MHz Choice of one of Camilla Läckberg’s stories.

This review of a series streamed from MHz Choice contains 3 more stories from Camilla Läckberg:

“The Preacher”: presented in one 1.5 hour episode.

“The Stonecutter”: presented in two 1 hour episodes.

“The Stranger”: presented in two 1 hour episodes.

Amazon sells all 8 books of the author’s “Fjällbacka ” series.

As with “The Hidden Child” the stories are grim, and the inter-personal relationships important. Another DO NOT MISS!

 

 

 

2011, Abduction, Action Film, Adultery, Bank Robbery, Bloody scenes, Boating, Cancer theme, Car Chase, Chase film, Complicated, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, FBI, Forensics, Gangs, Grim, International thriler, Iraq War, Made For TV, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Murder, Nudity, Plot Twist, Psychopath, Sadism, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Spy Theme, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Swiss detective, Terrorists, Thriller, Torture, TV Series, Various Romances, Violent, Well developed plot

Arne Dahl (2011)

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From MHz Choice:

Rough. Raw. Real. This is the world of Arne Dahl, whose crime novels have been transposed to the screen in adaptations that follow the dramatic tradition of all best-selling Scandinavian thrillers. The series revolves around cases taken on by the ‘A Unit’, an elite force of officers recruited after a series of assassinations rocks Stockholm’s high society.

MHz Choice streams several seasons (from many years beginning with 2011) of this Swedish thriller.  There are 5 complete stories, one per different year. Each story consists of 2 episodes. Each Episode is about 1.5 hours long. Swedish script with English subtitles.

REVISION 1 (Feb 2021):

There are now 2 seasons available from MHz Choice.  In the second season several of the excellent first season actors are missing or have been replaced.  Season 2 is acceptable, but not (in my opinion) a good as season 1.  Season 2 is a bit more of a soap opera. Still worth watching.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Throughout the 5 stories the same team of detectives are together. As is usual in such productions, the personal lives of the detectives are easily as important as the mystery plots.

As powerful and as grim as the stories are, they are so well done that they are really worth watching. But you should expect blood, torture as well as some explicit sex. Many scenes involve foot or car chases.

Not only are the stories complicated, but there are many surprise turns including some endings you might not expect.

This series is so compelling that I will rate it a DO NOT MISS!

 

 

 

2017, Abduction, Abortion, Abuse of Women, Adultery, Amnesia, Cult Brainwashing, Detective, Dysfunctional Lives, Family Conflict, Forensics, Horses, Jealousy, Kidnapping, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Missing Person, Mother-daughter relations, Murder Investigation, Personality or religious cult, Police Culture, Religious Theme, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suicide, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Transvestite theme

Missing (2017)

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From IMDB:

Police superintendent Maja Silver goes back to her old hometown in the Swedish Bible belt to see her daughter, when a terrible discovery paralyzes the small community.

Helena Bergström stars as Maja Silver in this Swedish TV series streamed from MHz Choice.  Only season 1 is available and consists of 4 episodes, each about 45 minutes. Swedish with English subtitles.

Religious fanaticism is the center of this series. Someone is driving young women to commit suicide. Police inspector Maja, on a visit from Stockholm to see her estranged daughter, reluctantly agrees to head the case in the small town after the police chief dies suddenly of a heart attack.

All the usual police detective soap opera pieces are in place: a jealous colleague, a former lover, an estranged daughter, a resentful police force, a transvestite father, a sexual predator, and a few religious perverts and nutcases.  None of these elements detract from a compelling four-part series.  Until the last portion reveals the answer to the puzzle I suspected the wrong person.

Try your luck at guessing who is abducting the women.

2003, Acorn TV, Adultery, British, Comedy, Failing Marriage, Farce, Murder Investigation, Slapstick

Alibi (2003)

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From IMDB:

“Alibi” is a thriller with a bit of romance and touches of black humour along the way. Greg is discovered with the dead body of his wife’s lover by Marcey, a public servant moonlighting as a waitress at a party thrown by Greg for he and his wife’s wedding anniversary. Marcey sets about ‘organising’ th e slightly neurotic Greg in his attempts to cover up the ‘accident’.

From Acorn TV (Offerings limited to entire British Empire) you can stream this funny series of just three episodes, each episode lasting one hour.

Michael Kitchen plays Greg.  You may recall him as Christopher Foyle in the TV series “Foyle’s War”.  Greg is a slightly befuddled entrepreneur caught up in an unsuspected affair.

Sophie Okonedo played Tatiana Rusesabagina in “Hotel Rwanda”. Here she plays a supremely inventive liar who attempts to help Greg out of his trap. Her facial expressions are remarkable.

Phyllis Logan played the head housekeeper Mrs. Hughes in “Downton Abbey”. Here she is Greg’s scheming wife.

British humor is often slapstick. Nonetheless, just relax and enjoy the fun.

 

 

2011, Abduction, Adultery, Arson, Bisexual theme, Bloody scenes, Child abduction and murder, Complicated, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark, Detective, Emotional abuse, Extramarital Affair, Father-daughter relations, German, Grim, Mental Illness, MHz Choice, Murder Investigation, Police Culture, Psychiatrists, Psychological Thriller, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Violent

Anatomy of Evil (2011)

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From MHz Choice:

Heino Ferch (Downfall) stars police psychologist Richard Brock in this dark mystery series set in Vienna. Brock is a loner, still blaming himself for the suicide of his wife and trying to reconnect with his daughter, newly graduated from the police academy. The only constants in his life are his faithful housekeeper, Mrs. Anni, and his friend Klaus Tauber, the owner of the coffee house where he inevitably eats all his meals.

From MHz Choice you can stream 5 episodes of this superb but truly grim Austrian TV series spoken in German with English subtitles. Each episode lasts about an hour and a half.

UPDATE March 20, 2021:

MHz Choice now offers  four episodes of season two  as well as season one.  Season 2 now contains:  “Desire,” “Rage,” “Yearning,” “Guilt.”  In the fourth episode of season two, Brock must defeat a psychopathic police commander in yet another brooding, GRIM episode.

UPDATE August 17, 2019:

MHz Choice now offers  the three episodes of season two  as well as season one.  All are at least as GRIM as season one.  See below for a discussion of season two.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

From the best online description I could find, I quote:

I’ve finally met a character more morose than Kurt Wallander.

Sad, isolated, injured detectives who cannot connect with their offspring  are all the rage now. Nonetheless, if you enjoy grim (and I mean G-R-I-M-!!!) you will love these stories. Even my wife Kathy (who usually leaves the room during especially tense or violent scenes) is addicted. In fact both of us manage to stay awake during the entire show.

Episode 3 “Fear” ends with a really devastating scene. You are warned!

SEASON TWO:

“Desire”, “Rage”, and “Yearning” are the titles of the three season two episodes. All, as in season one, are characterized by dark, beautiful, careful cinematography. All are slow moving except for the violent scenes.

“Desire” is perhaps one of the strangest murder mysteries that I have ever seen because not until close to the end does it become clear that there even was a murder.

Brock barely survives “Rage”. When it is over Brock now has a dangerous and corrupt enemy in the police force. Brock’s daughter continues to work in that police force. That corruption and its many murders must eventually (we hope) see justice.

In “Yearning” Brock is recuperating both physically and mentally in his apartment. He spends his time with a pair of binoculars spying on his neighbors across the street. In a story reminiscent of “Rear Window” he witnesses a murder and needs all the help he can get to bring the killer to justice.

“Yearning” concludes with a situation that cries for another season.

What an amazing discovery this series is, even if it possibly means a harrowing viewing.

 

2000, Abortion, Acorn TV, Adultery, British Mystery Series, Computer geeks, Detective, Extramarital Affair, Murder Investigation, Murder Trial, Personal Betrayal, Plot Twist, Psychiatrists, Sex Scenes, Suspense

Trust (2000)

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From IMDB:

Caroline Goodall (Disclosure, Schindler’s List) stars as Anne, a successful young lawyer married to a psychiatrist (Mark Strong, Our Friends in the North). While they seemingly lead a charmed life, their marriage is rocked by infidelity, and later, murder.

From Acorn TV you can stream this  TV film consisting of two episodes,  each episode lasting about one hour and 15 minutes.

Someone has murdered a young woman named Tara Reeves and left her body in a trash dumpster.  You get to spend 2.5 rather tense hours trying to figure out who did it. Only at the very end did I guess “who done it”.

Three worthwhile actors enact the story:

  • Caroline Goodall (who was in “Schindler’s List”) plays Anne Travers, a lawyer married to
  • Mark Strong (who who played Jim Prideaux in the 2011 remake of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ) who plays her psychiatrist husband Michael Mitcham.
  •  Nathaniel Parker (who plays Thomas Lynley in “The Inspector Lynley Mysteries”) plays Mark’s lifelong friend Andrew Pearce who is having an affair with Anne.

After watching the police investigation and subsequent murder trial, did you guess who the real villain was?

1987, Abduction, Acorn TV, Adultery, British Mystery Series, Brother-Brother relations, Conspiracy, Detective, Divorce, Extramarital Affair, Father-son relations, Missing Person, Mother-son relations, Murder Investigation, Pedophilia, Photography, Plot Twist, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Uncategorized, Violent

Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987)

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From IMDB:

From cold, rock-strewn moors to comfortable suburban estates, award-winning writer Ruth Rendell explores the dark fissures between friends and family members that motivate murder.

Acorn TV offers this series which includes:

Master of the Moor, Parts 1,2,3
Colin Firth as outdoors loving loner.

Vanity Dies Hard, Parts 1,2,3
Newly wed woman searches for her vanished friend.

Simisola, Parts 1,2,3
Daughter of Nigerian surgeon is missing.

The Secret House of Death, Parts 1,2
How exactly did the next door neighbor die?

A Case of Coincidence, Parts 1,2
Surgeon’s wife murdered in the fens.

Road Rage, Parts 1,2,3,4
Young German tourist goes missing.

The Lake of Darkness
Generous lottery winner.

Harm Done
Pedophile,abduction,missing daughter

2007, Abduction, Acorn TV, Adultery, Alcoholism, Corruption, Crime, Cynical, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drug Dealers, Dysfunctional Lives, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Forensics, Irish Detective Series, Mildly Violent, Mother-son relations, Murder Investigation, Pedophilia, Physical child abuse, Police Corruption, Prostitutes, Rape, Revenge, Self-Deception, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Small Town Atmosphere, Suspense, Teenagers

Single-Handed (2007)

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From Acorn TV:

Transferred from Dublin to his hometown on Ireland’s windswept coast, Sergeant Jack Driscoll faces challenges he never expected.

Acorn TV offers Set 1 (with 3 episodes, each an hour and a half) and Set 2 (with 6 episodes, each about 50 minutes). IMDB, on the other hand, breaks down the exact same collection into 4 seasons.

For the most part, we humans seem to have a lot of traits in common the world over. But if you are influenced by this series, you will come away with a vivid impression that the Irish are a somewhat dishonest, clandestine group of people that maintain silence over nasty past events. In other words Jack Driscoll must fight an uphill battle to get to the truth in every case.

Jack Driscoll himself is no saint. Even he must be on guard not to adopt some of the rough tactics of his forebears. Somehow during the episodes he manages to sleep with a lot of women. Considering what pieces of work he has for parents, it is a wonder he turned out to be an honest cop.

For me a sneaky, plotting villain motivates me to keep watching and hoping that the evildoer eventually loses.

When my wife Kathy approves of something we watched, then you know we are on to something worthwhile.

DO NOT MISS!

1154, Abduction, Acorn TV, Adultery, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Bloody scenes, British, British History, Bullying, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Could Be Hard To Watch, Father-son relations, Grisly, Mayhem, Military, Mother-son relations, Murder, Prison, Religious Theme, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Torture, True Story, Unscrupulous drive to power, Violent, War

Plantagenets (1154-1399)

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From Acorn TV:

Out of the chaos, darkness, and violence of the Middle Ages, one family seizes control of England, holding onto power and ruthlessly crushing all competition for more than 300 years. They are the Plantagenets.

If you subscribe to Acorn TV and are a fan of British history, you may well love this 4 episode series streamable from Acorn TV.  The title of the series is really “Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty”. Each episode lasts 45 minutes.  Contents are as follows:

  • Henry II who kills Becket.
  • Henry III battles Simon de Montfort.
  • Edward II lets his obsessions lead him to ruin.
  • Richard II puts down the Peasant Revolt and launches a reign of terror until his cousin Henry Bolinbroke defeats him to become Henry IV the first of the Lancaster dynasty in 1399.

So think of the Plantagenets as running from 1150 to 1400. They spoke French (except when the vicious Richard II lied to the Peasant Revolt in English). Henry IV was the first king in 300 years (that is to say, after the Norman conquest of 1066) to use English.

These episodes are more than mere lectures. Because they are dramatized they become more memorable. Nothing presented is fictional. Children should probably not watch these episodes because the Plantagents were ruthless savages that used torture and murder to achieve their ambitious ends.

Stories as chilling as they are fascinating.