Death in Paradise
This really is the low point of the year. Christmas is over; Valentine’s Day isn’t too far off I suppose but unless you’re one of the rare and special individuals that observes my birthday, the next good-sized celebration is right up there at the end of March. What we all need is a nice travelogue on the television. One that has some lovely sunny scenery to look at. Or failing that, perhaps an undemanding murder-mystery might be the thing to distract us from our spavined credit cards.
How about both? Death In Paradise (Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One) is a good-natured whodunnit set in the imaginary Caribbean island of Saint-Marie. The show starts its second series this week and while I can’t in all conscience pretend it’s breaking any new ground, it’s a pretty agreeable bit of fluff to waste an hour on.
Considering that there’s a murder on Saint-Marie (admirably played by the island of Guadeloupe) every week, it’s a pretty upbeat place. Ben (Armstrong & Miller) Miller stars as somewhat stiff-necked detective Richard Poole, who has by some improbable chain of coincidence ended up as chief of police on the island.
There’s a frisson of sexual tension between him and his sassy, fearless second-incommand Det Sgt Camille Bordey (Sara Martins). Likeable Red Dwarf alumnus Danny John-Jules is there to ask the questions that we’d like to ask when Poole and Bordey start using high-tech detective techniques to solve the murder of the week.
What we’re looking at here is a piquant reduction of Midsomer Murders, seasoned with a generous dash of Bergerac and topped off with a sprinkle of Holiday 86. The mystery is even wrapped up with one of those ‘get everyone into a room and explain the plot’ devices that seemed a touch tired when Sidney Toler was still slipping the roomy white suit on to play Charlie Chan.
Against all rational expectation, Death In Paradise works well. This opening episode has a terrific tipsy guest prime suspect in Stephanie Beacham, some slightly Live And Let Die voodoo carnival work, and a vaguely spooky subplot. Best of all, it’s set on a beautifully sunny island that we can enjoy while we’re all stuck on a dark, windswept one. Future star guests signed up for a delightful working holiday include Dexter Fletcher, Jamelia, Amanda Mealing and the peerlessly charming Neil Pearson.
If you could do with something that’s easy on the eye that you can follow without too much effort while you take down the last few Christmas decorations or schedule a trip in to town to exchange one or two of those more ill-advised yuletide gifts, I’d suggest that Death In Paradise might be just the thing to brighten up a cold January evening.
How about both? Death In Paradise (Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One) is a good-natured whodunnit set in the imaginary Caribbean island of Saint-Marie. The show starts its second series this week and while I can’t in all conscience pretend it’s breaking any new ground, it’s a pretty agreeable bit of fluff to waste an hour on.
Considering that there’s a murder on Saint-Marie (admirably played by the island of Guadeloupe) every week, it’s a pretty upbeat place. Ben (Armstrong & Miller) Miller stars as somewhat stiff-necked detective Richard Poole, who has by some improbable chain of coincidence ended up as chief of police on the island.
There’s a frisson of sexual tension between him and his sassy, fearless second-incommand Det Sgt Camille Bordey (Sara Martins). Likeable Red Dwarf alumnus Danny John-Jules is there to ask the questions that we’d like to ask when Poole and Bordey start using high-tech detective techniques to solve the murder of the week.
What we’re looking at here is a piquant reduction of Midsomer Murders, seasoned with a generous dash of Bergerac and topped off with a sprinkle of Holiday 86. The mystery is even wrapped up with one of those ‘get everyone into a room and explain the plot’ devices that seemed a touch tired when Sidney Toler was still slipping the roomy white suit on to play Charlie Chan.
Against all rational expectation, Death In Paradise works well. This opening episode has a terrific tipsy guest prime suspect in Stephanie Beacham, some slightly Live And Let Die voodoo carnival work, and a vaguely spooky subplot. Best of all, it’s set on a beautifully sunny island that we can enjoy while we’re all stuck on a dark, windswept one. Future star guests signed up for a delightful working holiday include Dexter Fletcher, Jamelia, Amanda Mealing and the peerlessly charming Neil Pearson.
If you could do with something that’s easy on the eye that you can follow without too much effort while you take down the last few Christmas decorations or schedule a trip in to town to exchange one or two of those more ill-advised yuletide gifts, I’d suggest that Death In Paradise might be just the thing to brighten up a cold January evening.