British Detective News - Autumn/Winter 2015/16

This is older news - check out this link for the latest.

Coming soon (Inspector Lewis, Luther, Sherlock, Endeavour, Father Brown):

The start of the year saw the finale of two major series: Foyle’s War and Agatha Christie’s Poirot (and effectively confirmed that Broadchurch might as well be over.)

Inspector Lewis has been lumbering along his merry way for eight series, and many are beginning to suspect the end is nigh. The first episode airs in the U.K. on October 6th, at 9:00 PM, with the subsequent five (there are three episodes, split into two parts) airing each Tuesday thereafter, presumably. No trailer yet, but in my opinion, this is far more fun:

What a privilege and treat to work with each and everyone of the fantastic Lewis crew. With HUGE apologies to John Denver. Thankyou for supporting us. See you on the other side. X
Posted by Laurence Fox on Tuesday, August 25, 2015

My reviews: Season 8 -     
Episode 1 - Entry Wounds     
Episode 2 - Lions of Nemea
Episode 3 - Beyond Good and Evil

Recapping the Debate With an 81-year-old Political Junkie

Yesterday evening, I had a chance to interview an 81-year-old on one of her favorite topics: politics. A mild-mannered, middle-class white Republican widow, she lives quietly in a small town, but loves to observe the excess and drama of political theater. She chose to remain anonymous ("oh, honey, they'll come and lock me up"), but said she wanted to go by the pseudonym Jane Eyre ("no kin to" the other one), and quote her thoughts on each of the candidates who participated in the latest debate. As she was a bit sleepy and distracted, some of the answers may appear a bit more focused than others, but I found the whole thing very entertaining. She has...a unique perspective.

Kim Davis vs. Sir Thomas More - How Now Shall We Disobey?

The latest battle in the gay marriage debate: I'm sure you know the story. Kim Davis is the county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky. Since the Obergefell decision, she has refused to hand out any marriage permits to either gays or straights, nor to authorize her deputies to do the same. She's now been held in contempt of court and thrown in jail.

These confrontations have become more and more common as the American government begins to tackle the gay marriage issue. Post-Obergefell, there's no reason to imagine the numbers will go down. Kim Davis is merely an opening skirmish.

As per usual when these issues surface, my immediately appeal for guidance is to historical cases I admire. Above all, I think of my favorite meditation on religious freedom, the film A Man for All Seasons, which examines the conflict between personal conscience and obeying the government.

Sir Thomas More was chancellor of England when King Henry VIII decided to amend the law, dissolve his own marriage, separate from the church of Rome, and declare himself lord over the newly-established Anglican church. More - a devout Catholic - heartily objected to the king's decision, but was aware of the danger of saying so. Instead, he resigned his post.

Partners in Crime - Episode 6 Review - N or M?

My review of last week's episode

Rules of the game: if a character is suspicious, you should look elsewhere for whodunit. Since last week found us pointing the finger at the quirky psychologist couple, the sprightly Mrs. Sprot (who Tommy likes), and the cunning Carl Denim (who Tuppence likes), it seemed a fairly safe bet that one of our other suspects would be the culprit.

(Spoilers.)

Partners in Crime - Episode 5 Review - N or M?

 My review of last week's episode

If Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are all that stand between England and an atomic blast, England had better start worrying. Last week left Tuppence facing down an angry Major Khan, whose room she had broken into. It only takes a few minutes and a gun for Tuppence to spill all: name, true identity, mission. Luckily, Major Khan is not N, and is confident enough that Tuppence is not N that he lets her go.

Lest we still suspect him, he's swiftly dispatched in a suspicious suicide at a party Tommy and Tuppence wheedled their way into attending. Meeting up with Carter and Albert, Tommy and Tuppence learn that matters are far more serious than they imagined, but for reasons unknown, Carter can still offer no concrete aid.

Partners in Crime - Episode 4 Review - N or M?

My review of last week's episode

N or M? finds our two heroes on their way to meet with Tommy’s eccentric uncle, spymaster Carter. Supposedly, it’s just to discuss a business investment (Tommy’s abandoned bees and moved on to wigs), but as it turns out, Carter has a mission for Tommy: he has to find a man named Harrison, take note of what he says, and convey that information to Carter. Carter is being watched, so the only person he can trust is, as he says, “a nobody.”

And there’s no one more nobody-ish in spy circles than the ordinary man who saved the American secretary of state from an evil communist plot!

Why You Should Listen to Cabin Pressure

I feel a little bereft today. It's like the moments after a huge party and the guests have left and the house seems all echoey. That word - echoey - makes me even sadder, because it sounds just like something Arthur Shappey would say, and Arthur Shappey is no more. He has ceased to be. He's expired and gone to meet his maker. He is an ex-Arthur.

Sort of.

Am I being melodramatic, considering Arthur Shappey is a character from a comedy radio show that I just finished yesterday? Well, probably. While he's not literally expired and gone to meet his maker (he and brilliant show writer John Finnemore are, in fact, one and the same), his absence in my daily listening leaves a huge hole. And it's not just him. Over the course of four seasons, all the cast have grown so familiar they feel like old friends. As for the show itself, I permanently keep all 26 episodes on my iPod, ready at hand should I desire to evangelize some prospective new fan or simply need a laugh to keep me going, because Cabin Pressure is invariably clever, funny, and intelligent, and definitely my favorite radio program of all-time.

Partners in Crime - Episode 3 Review - The Secret Adversary

 My review of last week's episode

Has there ever been a more British threat than a promise to imperil a boy's cricket skills? Obviously disconcerted by such grim portents, Tommy Beresford - left, last week, in the hands of the communists - caves to the wishes of his sleazy captors. Big villain Mr. Brown needs a file from MI6, so bumbling bee-man Tommy is obviously the man for the job (never mind that Mr. Brown could probably have gotten it himself, but more on that later.)