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Mr. and Mrs. Murder: Series 1 (TV)
R2 - United Kingdom - Acorn Media Review written by and copyright: Matthew Crossman (28th July 2015). |
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The Show
 Disc One 1. Early Checkout (45.26) Charlie (Shaun Micallef) and Nicola Buchanan (Kat Stewart) run an industrial cleaning company. On this occasion they are called to a hotel where a murder has taken place. The murder victim is a national hero but to Charlie and Nicola is seems that the police are barking up the wrong tree. 2. A Dog’s Life (44.51) There is an argument amongst a dog walking group and members of a golf course. After which a member of the golf club is mauled to death 3. En Vogue (43.53) A fashion designer is mysteriously killed by a flying mirror. Charlie and Nicola investigate. 4. Atlas Drugged (44.28) A body builder is drugged and burnt to death on a sun bed. As per usual, all is not as it seems as cleaners Charlie and Nicola take a look at some red hot clues. 5. Lost Soul (44.20) When a leading lady in a theatre production is found dead it’s up to Charlie and Nicola to find out the motive and murder before he, or she, strikes again. 6. The Next Best Man (44.21) A the CFO of a successful family business, and the Best Man at a glamorous wedding, is poisoned and it’s down to Charlie and Nicola to solve the case. 7. Thoroughly Dead Thoroughbred (43.30) A horse vet is found dead, poisoned by Ketamine. The clues don’t initially add up but the murderer has not banked on Nicola’s nose for solving crimes. Disc Two 8. A Flare For Murder (44.50) Jennifer Travers is murdered on her yacht, and you guessed it, it’s those pesky kids again! Nicola and Charlie swim against the current and try to bring justice crashing down on the murderer. 9. The Art of Murder (44.21) A homeless man is found crushed to death in an art gallery under a floating wall. The police suggest that it is a burglary gone wrong but Nicola and Charlie can’t help poking their noses in once more to prove how clever they are and how stupid everyone else is. 10. Little Boxes (44.44) James Langlan is harpooned through the chest. The Police deem it to be a robbery that has gone wrong but Charlie and Nicola know better! Stupid Police. 11. Keeping Up Appearances (43.08) A beautiful young woman is found dead in the gardens of a cosmetic surgery. Everyone seems to think it is a clear case of suicide except the dynamic duo of industrial cleaning. 12. Zootopia (44.10) When one zoo keeper dies and another goes missing Nicola cannot help herself and books Charlie into the zoo resort so they can investigate. 13. The Course Whisperer (44.28) This time it is a chef that is murdered in a well renowned restaurant. Batman and Robin, sorry Charlie and Nicola, once again set out to show everyone how to do it whilst putting themselves in danger and wringing some low rent suspense out of a badly written plot. Mr & Mrs Murder is an Australian television series that aired during 2013. It has since not been ‘picked up’ and it looks like there will be no more episodes produced. The series seems to have taken it’s cue from programmes like ‘Hart to Hart’, ‘Murder She Wrote’, and to a much lesser degree, ‘Moonlighting’. Shaun Micallef and Kat Stewart play Husband and Wife industrial cleaning team Charlie and Nicole Buchanan. They are based in Melbourne, Australia and are called in to clear away the messy remnants of murders around that area. Nicole is the sassy one with the nose for spotting clues whilst Charlie is the sweet talking one, getting Nicole the information she needs to solve the murders that the police have overlooked. If it was not for the occasional bloody murder scenes this is the type of programme that would be showing around 2pm on BBC 1 during weekdays. It’s relatively low rent and the episodes become quite samey after just one or two. I mentioned ‘Moonlighting’ earlier and this is because the verbal interplay between the two leads is supposed to add a sassy touch to proceedings but is quickly becomes very annoying with both leads coming across a smug and unbearable. I’m sure there is a market out there for this type of programme, probably those of an older generation to me, as it’s quite harmless for the most part and easily forgettable but I can understand why a second series was not ordered by the powers that be.
Video
The picture is presented in 1.78:1 (anamorphic) and for a fairly modern programme the picture is quite soft. The colours are fairly muted. I have no idea if this programme was broadcast in High Definition on it’s original run in Australia but the picture on these DVD’s are of a slightly lower quality than I would normally expect.
Audio
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Nothing outstanding but the dialogue is clear. The incidental music can, at times, be quite loud. English Hard of Hearing subtitles are provided. These are of the computer generated, blocky sort but are unobtrusive and quite welcome.
Extras
All the extras are found on disc one. The Idea (2.32) - Shaun Micallef (Charlie) talks about how he liked show like ‘Columbo’ and ‘The Mentalist’ growing up. Jason Stephens (Co-creator and producer) discusses how he got inspiration for the series from some newspaper articles and how they should approach the show as either a serious programme or a light hearted programme. Cast Interviews (2.49) - The cast and crew are interviewed about the series, the characters and about the uniqueness of being a forensic cleaner. Meeting Shaun Micallef (2.03) - Lucy Honigman (Jess) and Kat Stewart (Nicole) talk about working with Micallef and his past works as a comedian. The Worlds - Featuring Lost Soul (3.24) - The cast and crew talks about the different worlds Nicole and Charlie will inhabit in the series, and how a real musical had to be created for the episode ‘Lost World’. Lost Soul - Good Stuff (2.47) - A complete rendition of the song ‘Good Stuff’ that was featured in the episode ‘Lost Soul’. Lost Soul - At Twenty Seven (3.47) - A complete rendition of the song ‘At Twenty Seven’ that was featured in the episode ‘Lost Soul’ Picture Gallery (1.33) - A selection of colour stills from the television series which includes promo stills and behind the scenes shots.
Overall
As you can probably gather from my episode listings this series started to grate on me the longer it went on. What started as sassy and sweet word play between the two leads soon turned into annoying smugness. None of it makes a jot of sense and the cast are straight from daytime television. I'm sure there will be some people out there who will like it but I'm afraid it just set my teeth on edge as if nails were being drawn down a blackboard.
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