Murder City (2004)

In a busy inner city murder squad tough and methodical Detective Susan Alembic (LA Law's Amanda Donahoe) is teamed up with unorthodox Luke Stone (Love Actually's Kris Marshall) to unlock diabolical mysteries and track down relentless killers. Working closely with the rest of the squad their investigations bring them face to face with tormented pasts grim secrets and deadly deceptions as they follow up grisly discoveries and frequently put their own lives in jeopardy.System Requirements:Running Time: 360 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 014381364521 Manufacturer No: ID3645GKDVD Product Description

Not bad but a bit lacking in bite

Before Hill Street Blues most television cop shows were like this. There would be a couple of characters who would solve a mystery. The main attraction was the plotting of the mystery and the surprises and twists of the plot. Occasionally there might be an exotic location to give interest or some attempt to base stories on actual cases.

Then Hill Street Blues broke threw and set new standards for television shows. Now if you watch something you expect story arcs, character development some degree of realism or reference to real issues. NYPD Blue, Homicide life on the streets, the Shield and the Wire have been American shows which have set very high benchmarks.

There is nothing really wrong with Murder City. Amanda Donahue has screen presence and Kris Marshall real charisma. The difficulty is that expectations have been so fuelled by top quality American cop shows that this seems quaint and dated a bit like Agatha Christie compared to Elmore Leonard.

Each episode is driven by the plot line and the main viewer interest is who did it or, in a couple of cases how did they do it. Apart from that the main characters fail to develop and each mystery appears somewhat contrived and a creation by a script writer to string out the action rather than anything else. Not such a bad show but nowdays the bar is so high.
June 25, 2008

murder city

I ENJOYEDD THIS DVD AND I FIND THAT SO MANY GOOD SERIES GET CANCELLED AND THIS WAS ONE OF THOSE THE CHARACTERS WERE GREAT AND I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO ENJOYS A GOOD WELL DONE AND ACGTDD SHOW..I WONT GIVE AWAY ANY OF THE PLOT BUT IT HAD A GOOD ONE ...ENJOY AND INVEST YOU CANT GO WRONG June 10, 2008

BBC Seasons are much shorter than US seasons

Yes, it is difficult to get invested in a T.V. show in America, only to have it pulled, with the viewer left dangling.

Like most BBC shows, The OFFICE (two seasons of 6 episodes and one special) State Of Play, Waking the Dead, Prime Suspect, Life On Mars, and MI-5 to name but a few, Murder City is limited to a short season, by US standards any way, but didn't abruptly disappear as other reviewers have referenced. If you catch these shows on BBCA, often the seasons are run together which can make it appear to have ended abruptly.

What makes BBC shows like the ones stated above, and Murder City, is the story lines, being short, are much tighter, written ahead of time with an ending which allows the actors to shine as they know where the show is going. Each short season ends with all of the strings tied up.

That this DVD set covers all of the aired episodes, don't let that dissuade you from investing your time and money in purchasing this great series. Nor is there reason to beleive that because this set is inclusive of all of the aired episodes, that there won't be future episodes some time down the line. Instead, revel in the taught, tightly woven story line and the actors' immersion in their roles, knowing they won't end up pigeon holed or type cast as so frequently happens to American actors.

Kris Marshall, who has a long resume of BBC hits, could have been typecast as the older, slacker son from My Family, another great BBC show, but in the comedy genre, however, because of the brief, usually 6 episode seasons, Kris is able to switch genres and continuing enjoying his craft.



June 4, 2008

Murder City Series One

The mysteries are quite good, and keep you carefully keeping track of all action, so as to follow and try to solve. One must be prepared, however, that these are not the English "Comfortable" murder musteries. More blood and graphic scenes, overall more "harsh" than Agatha Christi, and Midsommer Murders, as example. Still enjoyable, as long as you know ahead what you will be seeing. Acting is excellent. May 31, 2008

excellent DVD

this is an excellent series - i especially like the young detective - he's extremely intense and make the series flow very nicely. all the characters are great and the stories unfold in a number of diferent directions March 26, 2008

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