TV Crime Log: Paradise, City
It’s always a sweaty moment for TV producers when their hot TV show loses its leading man. Didn’t seem to bother Taggart much, though – that went on for several millennia following the death of its eponymous lead. More recently, Midsomer has defiantly soldiered on after Bergerac called it quits.
The moment of truth, then, for the BBC’s Death In Paradise tomorrow. Ben Miller, who stars as the fish-out-of-water copper in the Caribbean, is jacking it in, and the producers have enlisted Kris Marshall in his place to appear as - that always hilarious archetype - a bumbling copper.
Hang onto your sides, the blurb is just about to fall backwards off some railings:
Bringing some much-needed sunshine to UK screens in January, BBC One returns to the idyllic Caribbean island of Saint Marie, for the third series of Death In Paradise.
In the opening episode of the new series, DI Richard Poole is joined on the island by some of his old university friends who are there for a reunion. However, the party is brought to an abrupt halt when one of the group is brutally murdered with an ice pick.
The case proves particularly tricky, leading to the arrival of new British detective, DI Humphrey Goodman, to help the team get to the bottom of the mysterious murder. As the station’s newest recruit with his own set of methods, will Humphrey be able to adjust to his new team and surroundings?
With the crime scene a remote villa only accessible by car, all the attendees of the reunion are prime suspects. However, after 25 years of not seeing one another, who would possibly still hold a grudge? Did trip organiser, Angie, have an ulterior motive for the reunion? Has old rival Roger been waiting for an opportunity to get revenge? Or has old flame Sasha’s husband James finally let his jealous streak take over?
To further complicate matters, the murder appears to have been committed in plain sight of all of those at the party. How did someone manage to commit murder with no-one seeing?
Humphrey is increasingly baffled and, still not feeling part of the team yet, takes solace in knowing that at least his wife will soon be joining him on the island. If only he can just solve this case first and show his new team what a brilliant detective he is…
The third series of Death In Paradise starts tomorrow night - that’s Tuesday - at 9pm on BBC1.
If you’re already mourning Boardwalk Empire, which is reportedly to end after its fifth series later this year, then Mob City may just fill that sumptuous period gangster drama-shaped hole in your life.
Frank Darabont – original showrunner of The Walking Dead – is the man behind this story of 1940s Los Angeles detectives attempting to take down evil mobsters Bugsy Siegel and Mickey Cohen. Fans of James Ellroy’s LA Trilogy will be right up for this, I’d imagine.
Keep your blurb where I can see it:
An epic battle between a determined police chief and a dangerous mobster inflames 1940s Los Angeles in Mob City.
Based on real-life accounts, this action-packed series is set in post-war Los Angeles, home to glamorous movie stars, powerful studio heads and returning war heroes.
But it’s also a city caught between a powerful and corrupt police force and an even more dangerous criminal network determined to make L.A. its West Coast base.
Centred on an ex-Marine who holds his cards close to his chest, Det. Joe Teague has been assigned to a new mob task force headed by Det. Hal Morrison. The task force is part of a crusade by Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker to free the city of criminals like Ben “Bugsy” Siegel and Mickey Cohen, the ruthless king of the Los Angeles underworld.
Mob City was originally called LA Noir, until someone tapped someone else on the shoulder and mentioned there was already a bestselling computer game of that title. Then they changed it to Lost Angels, and then Mob City.
The only downside is that there’s only six episodes – and, as yet, no word on a second season – so make the most if it.
Mob City is on Fox on Friday night at 10pm.
