What is it? Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Season 1, 13 episodes on four discs from Acorn Media
How much? $59.99
When? Now
Who is Miss Fisher? Wealthy aristocrat Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis) is a thoroughly modern woman living it up in 1920s Melbourne, Australia.
Phryne is cheerful and gutsy and ready for a good time, but there are some big shadows lurking in her past - particularly the long-ago murder of her sister, Janey, and her own experiences as an ambulance officer in World War I. Both still haunt her, although she tries not to let them get her down.
She grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, but the war wiped out so many male cousins that her father inherited a title and a good deal of money. That means she’s free to do as she likes. What she likes is jazz, high fashion, good booze and solving crimes.
Yes, the private investigator business is a “man’s job,” but Phryne is smart and adventurous enough to be a perfect fit. After all, in addition to dancing a mean tango and knowing how to fly an airplane, she knows how to shoot that pearl-handled pistol she usually keeps in her purse. She’s also quite skilled at shimmying up drain pipes for a little snooping.
Just as well that she’s a detective, because Phryne has a Jessica Fletcher-like knack for stumbling across murders. And, like the Murder, She Wrote character, her acquaintances, friends and family tend to end up as victims or suspects.
The level of coincidence is, at times, staggering, but you’re not really supposed to put all that much thought into it.
As for the police, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson (Nathan Page) thinks she’s a nuisance, although there is a certain amount of simmering attraction on both sides. Jack’s assistant, Constable Collins (Hugo Johnstone-Burt), is far more pliable, mainly because Phryne leaves him too flustered to respond.
Phryne usually gets some degree of help from her conservative maid, Dot (Ashleigh Cummings), her butler, the aptly named Mr. Butler (Richard Bligh), and her working-class, communist pals Bert and Cec (Travis McMahon and Anthony Sharpe).
While the mysteries are wrapped up nicely in each episode, there are a few running story lines, like the sweet, budding romance between Dot and Collins and lingering questions over the murder of Janey Fisher. It’s best to watch them in order.
Would I like it? If you’re a fan of the 1920s period and love (mostly) lighthearted murder mysteries, this would be your cup of tea. But don’t expect a cozy, sanitized story. It doesn’t quite reach pay-cable levels, but, like its heroine, the series is pretty casual about sex, drugs and violence.
It also throws in more than a few commentaries on social issues that still resonate, like drugs, abortion and homosexuality.
That said, on the whole, this is mostly a playful romp through 1920s Australia.
Are there extras? There are. There’s a decent collection of interviews and behind the-scenes bits on the sets, costumes, makeup, historical accuracy, vehicles, location shooting and so on. And though they’re all fairly short, they manage to pack in a lot of information.
New this week: Adam-12, Classic Collection; Boss, Season 2; The Dick Van Dyke Show, Season 1 (Blu-ray); Family Ties, Season 6; Hey Dude, Season 4; Merlin, Season 5; Route 66, Classic Collection.
Next week: China Beach, Complete Series; Flash Gordon, Complete Series; Fraggle Rock, Season 2; In the Heat of the Night, Season 8.
Style, Pages 47 on 04/07/2013