Category Archives: Missing Person

Roswell (2020)

From IMDB:

Centers on a town where aliens with unearthly abilities live undercover among humans. But when a violent attack points to a greater alien presence, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose them.

From Netflix;

A decade after the death of her sister, Liz reluctantly returns to her small hometown and reconnects with her teenage crush Max.

From Netflix you can stream 2 seasons of this sci-fi soap opera. Each season consists of 13 episodes, each episode usually lasting exactly 42 minutes (think of the film cutting involved!)

Ignore the seemingly serious thumb print summaries above. Nothing about this pseudo sci-fi love fest should be taken seriously. Rather the point is to just relax and enjoy the corny and acceptable trash.

As far as the virtually unknown actors let us briefly note that Nathan Parsons (who plays Max Evans) is Australian and that Jeanine Mason (who plays Liz Ortecho)  won Season 5 of FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and earned the title of America’s Favorite Dancer. So much for fame!

If there is anything serious about this fun time-waster, it is the theme of the problems faced by illegal immigrants. In this respect the story is often political. Border agents are painted as racist bullies.  And there there are the fairly common difficulties of drug addiction.  Finally let us not overlook the prominent gay theme.

Because season 2 ends so abruptly,  the series demands another season.

I LOVE TRASH!

Murder City (2004)

From IMDB:

British police drama that revolves around two mismatched detectives who scour London solving complex cases.

From Amazon Prime:

Despite their polar opposite personalities, methodical DI Susan Alembic (Amanda Donohoe) and unorthodox DS Luke Stone (Kris Marshall) work as an effective team solving complex crimes.

From Amazon Prime you can stream two seasons of this series. Season 1 consists of 6 episodes while season 2 has only 4 episodes. Each episode lasts about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

DI Alembic is procedure oriented while DS Stone is intuitive, somewhat eccentric, and really smart. They both appreciate each other even though they constantly tease each other. Eventually Stone comes off as a loner who feels intensely the harm done by peoples’ evil actions.  He is often insulted by DCI Turner (Tim Woodward) but holds his tongue because Turner is his arrogant and nasty boss.

Clever plots and the interplay of characters make this series an acceptable watch.

 

 

Murder by the Lake (2014)

From MHz Choice:

With Germany, Switzerland and Austria sharing its shores, Lake Constance has stories to tell. German homicide inspector Micha Oberländer and his Austrian partner Hannah Zeiler try to discover its secrets and have a few of their own.

From MHz Choice you can stream two seasons of this  German-Austrian TV crime series which is shot at  Lake Constance.  Season one consists of 7 episodes. Season two consists of 3 episodes. All episodes last about an hour and a half.  German with English subtitles.

Germany and Austria decide to create a small detective unit with dual authority in both countries. Initially the German Micha and the Austrian Hanna don’t get along together.

Each episode is a self-contained crime and solution. Running throughout all 10 episodes are two themes:

  •     Micha’s marriage is unraveling, mostly due to the usual   detective cliché that he is always on the job.
  •     Hannah is a stone-faced cold young woman whose life was tormented by the disappearance of her father.  Eventually her father appears.

Probably Hannah will never succeed in a relationship. However as the series progresses a genuine friendship develops between Micha and Hannah.

If you can sit still for an hour and a half, then this series is worth the time spent watching.

The Bay (2019)

THIRD SEASON:

This hit original crime drama returns with White Collar’s Marsha Thomason as DS Jenn Townsend, who must get under the skin of a complicated family to solve the death of a young aspiring boxer.

From Amazon there is now a third season each of whose 6 episodes last about 45 minutes.

Lead detective is a newcomer D.S. Jenn Townsend, played by Marsha Thomason.  Her personal difficulties conflict with her investigation into the beating death of one of the sons in a Muslim family headed by the mother Miriam Rahman, played by Rina Mahoney.

D.S. Townsend is divorced and is now living with her two children and a new lover Chris Fischer, played by Barry Sloane.  Chris has his own two children, one of whom is very difficult and quite nasty toward one of Townsend’s children Conor. Conor is desperately unhappy and wants to return to his father.

In the Rahman family in addition to the dead boxer son, there is a troublesome Adnan and deaf-mute Jamal. Fortunately Townsend’s sidekick D.S. Karen Hobson, played by Eric Shanagher, knows sign language and can communicate with the devout Muslim Jamal.

Another great season well worth watching.

SECOND SEASON:

From Amazon there is now a second season also with 6 episodes and a complete story.

Acting and plot continue to be worthwhile watching.  Once again the human interest is at least as important as the crimes (plural) involved.  Lisa starts out as an underdog in the police department but by the end of the 6 episodes she shines at the top while having suffered along with many other characters in the interim.

Still very much worth a watch.

FIRST SEASON:

From Amazon Prime:

When Family Liaison Officer Lisa Armstrong is assigned to a missing persons investigations, it initially seems like any other – tragic, but all too familiar. This time, it is especially challenging for her not to get emotionally involved.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 6 45-minute episodes of this TV series. It may be called Season 1 but any following season does not seem likely because the story is complete in 6 episodes.

If everyone involved is somehow badly affected in a plot, is that plot called a tragedy?  This story comes across as bad news for all the characters.

Telling you how the story starts is not a spoiler since it happens immediately at the beginning.  You see the officer Lisa going out for a “girls night out” in a night club.  She hooks up with a stranger and they have sex outside in an ally behind the club.  From then on the plot thickens. Murder, drugs, delinquent children, infidelity, assault, and missing persons are all on the list.

Among the delinquents are Lisa own two children. Fortunately her mother lives with her and usually substitutes for Lisa who is too often called away with some emergency.   Holly, the missing girl, is a member of the dysfunctional Meredith family which has the usual problems (unfaithful dad, etc.) and also has a live-in grandmother.  These two families have real problems with their children, and their lives intertwine.

Similar to many such detective series, but the human interest in the 6 episodes held our attention.

 

The Killer of Flanders Fields (2014)

From IMDB:

Witse returns to his hometown to find his niece’s murderer. It doesn’t take long before Witse gets in trouble with local police authorities. While conducting his investigation, old family issues are starting to surface.

From MHz Choice you can stream this 1.5 hour police procedural from Belgium. In Dutch with English subtitles.

For 9 seasons Belgium TV offered the program Witse featuring the detective Witse. That series ran from 2004 till 2012.

Before starting this film, be aware that it is the story of Witse trying to catch the sadistic psychotic serial killer that kidnaps young women and tortures them to death.  During the film you will see the killer’s very horrifying film clips of his tortures.  You might want to avoid this well-done but sadly stomach-churning film.  Had I known, I would not have started, but once hooked I had to see the conclusion.

London Kills (2019)

From IMDB:

With the world’s most recognizable city as its backdrop, LONDON KILLS will dramatize the experiences of a team of top murder detectives. Slick, modern and fast moving, the series will be shot like a cutting-edge documentary. Each episode of LONDON KILLS will focus on a different murder following the detectives as they uncover the truth behind the killing but will also have a serial story involving the lead detective’s missing wife.

From Acorn TV:

London’s best detectives take on its worst crimes in this sleek mystery series from the creator of Suspects. DI David Bradford (Hugo Speer, Father Brown) heads an elite murder squad, but the one case he can’t crack is the one closest to him – the disappearance of his wife. Also starring Sharon Small (The Inspector Lynley Mysteries), Bailey Patrick (Bodyguard), and Tori Allen-Martin (Unforgotten).

JULY 2019 ADDENDUM:

From Acorn TV you can now stream both season one and season two.  Season two also consists of 5 episodes. Finally in season two we learn what happened to Bradford’s wife and what he has been hiding from his team. Nonetheless, season two leaves enough unsolved threads so that there could be a season three.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

From Acorn TV you can stream the first season on this detective series. Each of the 5 episodes last about 45 minutes.  Although the 5 episodes of the first season bring an investigation to a close, throughout all the seasons there is the continuing mystery of what happened to DI Bradford’s wife. In addition the investigation in the first season is closely related to that disappearance.

As far as detective series go, this one is on a par with most and offers some genuine suspense and character portrayal. Season one’s villain is effectively creepy.

Not bad!

 

Mystery Road (2013)

From Acorn TV:

Two-time Oscar nominee Judy Davis (Feud, Life with Judy Garland) and award-winning actor Aaron Pedersen (Jack Irish) star in this Acorn TV Original drama set in the Australian outback. When two boys go missing from a cattle station, Detective Jay Swan (Pedersen) teams up with local cop Emma James (Davis) to investigate. But solving the mystery could expose other crimes that haunt the remote town.

From Acorn TV (all British empire) you can download this Australian series of 6 episodes (each roughly 50 minutes).

In 2013 Judy Davis was 58 and her character Emma James looks really weather beaten, which is probably appropriate for the Australian outback. After 6 episodes I finally accepted that Ms. Davis was right for the part: terse, tough, and determinedly honest.

In 2013 Aaron Pedersen (born in Alice Springs, Australia) was 43. He played Cam Delray in the 2018 Jack Irish series. His role shares many characteristics with the role of Emma James, especially his manner of talking as little as possible.

Injustice and its hopeful righting are often enough to keep me interested. Besides a wrongful conviction and jail sentence, the theme of racial prejudice against the indigenous aborigines is part of the injustice. Stay tuned to see if the bad guys get their comeuppance.

While enjoying this series very much, I also came to appreciate that I would NEVER live in such a remote area.

Keeping Faith (2017)

From Acorn TV:

Fun-loving Faith Howells is drawn into a mystery when her husband and business partner Evan (Bradley Freegard, EastEnders) disappears. He leaves for work, but never arrives. His sudden absence strikes deep into the heart of this tiny Welsh community and forces Faith to come back from extended maternity leave to defend a hopeless vagrant on shoplifting charges. As increasingly-desperate Faith searches for clues, she discovers new revelations about Evan’s private life and questions how well she really knows the man she loves. Also starring Hannah Daniel (Hinterland), Matthew Gravelle (Broadchurch), Mark Lewis Jones (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), and Aneirin Hughes (Hinterland).

From Acorn TV you can stream the 8 one-hour episodes of the only season offered.

“Mounting Frustration” best describes the progress of the series. Just when you think things could not get any worse for poor besieged Faith, they get much worse. Finally Kathy and I arrived at the eighth and last episode only to be rewarded with an ambiguous somewhat happy ending, which seems to beg for another season.

Too much time is spent in long-held motionless poses where we watch Faith suffer. Could the villainess be any nastier?  As plots go, this one is fairly complicated.

Just don’t expect justice to be served perfectly, and for all the heroes to live happily ever after.

Safe (2018)

From IMDB:

After his daughter goes missing, a widower begins uncovering the dark secrets of the people closest to him.

Originally this thriller was offered on Acorn TV.  In 2020 Netflix started streaming the  8 episodes of this real pot-boiler. All the characters live in a gated community. All have guilty secrets to hide. In fact, many if not most of the inhabitants are not very nice people.

You will recognize  Michael C. Hall  (the gay undertaker from “Six Feet Under” and also the lead character in “Dexter”).  Hall is an American born in Raleigh, North Carolina, but his British accent in this series is flawless (to my ears at least).

Some pot-boilers are done well and this is one of them, very binge-worthy. One attraction, if that is what it is, is the fact that things just worse and worse. Additionally the film is based on a book by Harlan Coben, one of my favorite leisure thriller authors.

DO NOT MISS!

Case Histories (2011)

From Amazon Prime:

Based on the novels by Kate Atkinson. Former soldier and police officer Jackson Brodie (Golden Globe-nominee Jason Isaacs, “Harry Potter,” “Star Trek: Discovery”) becomes a private investigator, assisted by the loyal Louise (Amanda Abbington, “Sherlock”), compelled to bring peace to victims and their families, all while escaping the memories of his own traumatic past.

Season 2 is now available from Amazon Prime.

SEASON 1 REVIEW:

Amazon Prime streams season 1 of this TV series set in Edinburgh, Scotland. Each of the 3 stories is presented as 2 one-hour episodes, giving us a total of 6 episodes.

Jason Isaacs is perfect for the part of Jackson Brodie. Once again his private life is the usual cliché of a detective so wrapped up in his business that his marriage fails. Much of the time he spends trying to convince his former wife not to move to New Zealand and take his young (and really appealing) daughter Niamh with her. His attachment to Niamh and subsequent heartbreak when she leaves for New Zealand is genuinely portrayed.

Jackson’s main line of work is finding lost people. Even in one story he is searching for more than one person. For this reason you must pay a bit of attention. Often these missing people are somehow connected.

SEASON 2 REVIEW:

Season 2 offers 3 episodes. In general the mood is the same: Jackson Brodie is still the lonely seeker of lost persons and solver of cold cases.

Episode 1: Started Early, Took my Dog has Jackson searching for a woman’s birth mother.

Episode 2: Nobody’s Darling (in which his daughter Marlee returns) has Jackson finding the true murderer of a woman’s daughter.

Episode 3: Jackson and the Women has Jackson finding the true murderer of a young man’s mother. In addition Jackson has several unfortunate relationships.

Because I watched this series twice and enjoyed it both times I hereby deem this series a DO NOT MISS!