Category Archives: Canadian Police

2013, Acorn TV, Based on a Book, Canadian Mystery Series, Canadian Police, Detective, Forensics, Gay theme, Made For TV, Murder Investigation, Small Town Atmosphere

Still Life: A Three Pines Mystery (2013)

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From IMDB:

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team arrive in Three Pines to solve the unusual murder of a much-loved woman and find dark secrets shadowing this usually peaceful village.

Canadian author Louise Penny has written a series of eleven mystery novels set around the life of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (a Wikipedia article) a member of the provincial police force for Quebec. The first of these novels “Still Life” was presented as a 1 hour 25 minutesTV movie in 2013.  Most of the stories occur in the fictional town of Three Pines. To quote from the above linked Wikipedia article:

The Chief Inspector Armand Gamache book series contains little or no sex or violence and has been referred to as a kinder and gentler alternative to modern crime fiction.

Chief Inspector Gamache is played by Nathaniel Parker whose resume is quite long. Perhaps you remember him as Inspector Lynley in the 2001-2007 “The Inspector Lynley Mysteries” TV series.

Recall that Acorn TV presents British entertainment: Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and (in this case) Canada. Stream this film from Acorn and enjoy the hour and a half.

2014, Acorn TV, Action Film, Alcoholism, Bloody scenes, Canadian Police, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sex, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Lesbian Theme, Love Story, Murder Investigation, Pedophilia, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Police Culture, Police Politics, Police Story, Private Versus Professional Life, Psychiatrists, School Shooting, Senior citizens, Sex Scenes, Small Town, Spousal Abuse, Suicide, TV Series, Violent, Vulgar, Wife Beating

19-2 (2014)

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Fronm Acorn TV;

Officer Nick Barron (Adrian Holmes, Arrow, Smallville) patrols the streets of Montreal with Station 19’s newest squad member, Ben Chartier (Jared Keeso, Falling Skies, Elysium). Back on the job after a shooting incident, guilt-ridden Nick immediately clashes with overzealous Ben. Absorbing and authentic, with an outstanding ensemble cast, this award-winning drama follows first responders beyond the crime scenes and into their own messy lives.

Acorn TV revamped its arrangement of this series so that now (2016) you can stream 10 Episodes of Series 1 and 10 Episodes of Series 2 and 10 Episodes of Series 3.

Acorn’s summary more or less says it all. Most police procedurals will be somewhat similar and “19-2” fits that description. Taken as a human drama, however, the plot details, characters, and acting are better than average.

Series 1 centers on Ben and Nick and Ben’s romance with Nick’s sister. Series 2 centers on finding a mole in the police department that is responsible for leaks that lead to the death of several officers.

WARNING: Series 2 Episode 1 is consumed by a lone teen gunman running amuck in a school shooting. This episode is long, harrowing and adds nothing to the other episodes in the series. Feel free to skip this episode without losing a beat.

Not a repeat of other police series, and not a waste of time. In fact, the more I watched, the more involved I became. Expect surprises.