Blue Murder, although stylized in a similar fashion to such crime dramas as Law and Order, The Closer, and NYPD Blue, comes off comedic and lacks the grittiness of most of its contemporaries. In the first episode, Detective Janine Lewis (Caroline Quentin) is shown proudly bounding down the hall in an oversized sweater to tell her colleagues that she has been promoted to Chief Inspector. She then gets a bottle of champagne to celebrate, and drives home to surprise her husband, who is unfortunately in bed with another woman. She’s pregnant with her husband’s child as well at this point, a surprise.
Perhaps the choice of music in the show aids in this comedic feel, an instrumental saxophone that blares when Janine is happy and then winds down when she’s having a bad day, or finds her husband with his mistress. The show does well to juxtapose Lewis’s harrowing day job with her chaotic home and personal life, but even when she is delivering the news of a murder, for example, the wife of the victim does not react as expected (screaming, asking questions, flailing, etc) instead she seems mildly “put out,” she’s crying but not at the level one would expect, and this comes across as unrealistic.
The series picks up as it progresses, however, with some unexpected plot twists having to do with the murder mysteries, as well as with Janine’s home life, as her case progresses her children begin getting into trouble in school and also with the law. It’s positive and entertaining to see a woman in this powerful role and also juggle her family life which is often hilarious (her daughter pointing out her perfume and makeup while she’s entertaining a guest, for example). The episodes do seem to drag on a bit long, however, this may be due to how many plot twists there are in the actual murder mysteries, but it is at times a bit slow.
There is an adorable flirtation between Lewis and her second in command Richard (Ian Kelsey) which alternately progresses and regresses throughout the series. Lewis herself is the highlight of the show, a woman who is powerful in her job but also needs to make family a priority, it’s a three ring circus and she seems able to somehow keep it all afloat. Lewis’s pregnancy isn’t so clear at the beginning, however, perhaps as a result of British idioms lost on the American viewer, but it becomes clear by the end of the second episode that she is indeed, on top of everything else, pregnant by her ex husband.
Blue Murder is light and entertaining, it is stylistically farcical which is quite unique for this genre. Also, the use of videotapes as opposed to DVDs dates the show somewhat, revealing is was shot in 2002.
DVD Bonus Features A behind the scenes documentary that outlines the structure of the episodes. In every episode, they say, without fail: someone dies. Caroline Quentin says that she was drawn to the show because it mixes comedy and drama; this shines through in many of the scenes between Caroline and Ian, which were unscripted.
The viewer gets the sense that the cast and crew of this show spend a lot of time kidding around, which aids in the show’s comedic feel and ease of humor. A blooper of Ian not nailing the line “over the side with her” meaning an affair, it takes him days to get the line down. The final take, however, is flawless.
"Blue Murder " is on sale February 1, 2011 and is not rated. Television. Written and directed by Cath Staincliffe . Starring Caroline Quentin , Ian Kelsey .
