S01.E01: The Suspect

[Snazzy Daisy]

Quote

When a longtime resident of the town ends up bludgeoned to death in his own home, Karl Alberg must determine if another longtime resident is to blame.

Meanwhile, Alberg meets local librarian Cassandra Lee for a first date.

Air Date: Sep 24, 2024

 

Edited September 26, 2024 by Snazzy Daisy

[AnimeMania]

James Cromwell as George Wilcox

Fiona Vroom as Phyllis

[Tdoc72]

Overall, I liked it.  I thought it was going to be a season-long murder case so I found myself thinking that it was wrapping up quickly and wondered where would they go from here. My bad! 
 

I never heard of the lead before only to find out that he’s Donald Sutherland’s son and he’s my new celeb crush.  😍

James Cromwell was great as always. 
 

Looking forward to the rest of the season. 

[AnimeMania]

I had bad weather in the area and FOX showed a weather report for 2 hours instead of the show. I happened to have Hulu so I was able to watch it. I don't know why, but two things bothered me. One, the kitchen of George Wilcox seemed to be new and very modern, it didn't seem to have the furnishings and fixtures I would expect from an elderly married couple and Two, the items in the barn seems to be very old and cluttered. As a very active gardener you would think there would be a gardening section that was very neat and well maintained.

But that is probably just me applying the principles of what seemed out of place in this picture.

[kaygeeret]

I was distracted during the episode, so I hope my impressions make sense.

The main couple story was odd.  First they don't connect only then they do and oops in bed they go and he leaves for....reasons and gets distracted.

The main character seems very VERY low key and almost unsure until he puts random items together and solves things.  How does someone that low key, that distracted and seemingly that unsure expect to head a police department, even in a small town?

I am missing something there.

I will watch again to see if it gets clearer to me.

 

[LakeGal]

I enjoyed the episode.

I was distracted by the fact the death house had both a fireplace and a wood stove in the living room.  

[emma675]

16 hours ago, Tdoc72 said:

I thought it was going to be a season-long murder case so I found myself thinking that it was wrapping up quickly and wondered where would they go from here. My bad! 

Oh good, I thought it was just me! I didn't realize this was going to be a murder of the week type show, I thought one murder would take the entire season to solve. I also thought this was going to be in the style of Twin Peaks, so I was way off base. But I liked it well enough to watch again.

But what was with the weird characters like the neighbor's grandkid and the fish seller guy? They both acted really strange (fish guy suspiciously putting dollars into the atm and grandkid freaking out over the presence of cops) and then it went nowhere. I wonder if they will be in future episodes?

[Chaser]

I’m going to need to rewatch this. I feel like I got the premise wrong. I was expecting an ongoing mystery and more of a noir vibe. And that could be where it’s headed, it just needs space to get there. Which is a little worrisome with this network.

Initial positives: I like the setting and the Detective. He’s very low key. Kind of a gentle giant.

I like Cassandra but I honestly thought they moved that relationship way too quickly. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

This show is gray and cozy with Hallmark vibes to it. The small town setting is beautiful. Oddly, it doesn’t recognize slow burn because things are heating up pretty quickly with “Karlandra”.

Kristin Kreuk as Cassandra Lee is OK. She finally finds a male person with whom she can have adequate conversation and spectacular sex. Good for her. My worry is… in the long run, how are they going to keep inserting her in COTW?

Am struggling to like Karl Alberg. He has no appeal. He is dull and withdrawn. He’s supposed to impress us with his detective skill but he is just observant. Rossif Sutherland doesn’t have the leading man qualities like the other 2 Sutherlands. Sorry.

We don’t have enough opportunities to get to know Sid, Edwina, Andy, Isabella and Phyllis yet. Hopefully, we will.

The murder mystery part is very straightforward and really underwhelming. James Cromwell is wasted in this premiere.

I was looking forward to this series and now am disappointed. 😣

 

[isalicat]

Well, I enjoyed this a lot! More intelligent than most TV murder mystery series with some nuances and a truly interesting male lead. I had never heard of this particular Sutherland previously so what a pleasant surprise - very understated and subtle acting which is a good balance to Kristin Kreuk's *constant* emoting (though her style suits the character who I assume is supposed to radiate quiet desperation or something...). There wasn't much of a mystery here but lots of scene setting, so I hope the next ep will have a more compelling crime etc. I'm in...😸

[emma675]

I love how so many of us were like "this is totally not what I was expecting" or "I didn't understand this" or "that confused me" and we're all still planning to watch next week. 🤣

[LakeGal]

The location reminded us of the old Canadian show The Beachcombers.    

[12catcrazy]

16 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

This show is gray and cozy with Hallmark vibes to it. The small town setting is beautiful. Oddly, it doesn’t recognize slow burn because things are heating up pretty quickly with “Karlandra”.

Kristin Kreuk as Cassandra Lee is OK. She finally finds a male person with whom she can have adequate conversation and spectacular sex. Good for her. My worry is… in the long run, how are they going to keep inserting her in COTW?

 

 

I think the show is starting off slowly and looks to be a "cozy" type of detective show, which is fine with me because sometimes you just want something that you don't have to think too hard about.   It cracks me up that these TV shows present us with  picturesque small towns that  have murder rates on par with Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit combined.  

Personally, I think the show would have been better if they did show us the "slow burn" between Cassandra and Karl.  It would have given viewers something to yearn for and built up a solid relationship for the two leads.   Call me old fashioned, but I don't like the meet up, don't even have a "real" date and then jump into bed together thing, especially because at this point, there doesn't seem to be any real chemistry between the two of them, just kind of desperation.    I'm sure they'll be able to figure out how to bring her in the COTW because it is a small town and everybody knows everybody and is in each other's business, and in her job, she probably does know everybody in town (at least who reads).  

[shapeshifter]

21 hours ago, LakeGal said:

The location reminded us of the old Canadian show The Beachcombers.    

Cabot Cove to me.

 

20 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

Personally, I think the show would have been better if they did show us the "slow burn" between Cassandra and Karl. 

I would have been fine with it if he hadn't yelled at her the next day.
It gave me PTSD. 
Probably not the show for me. 
I've got too many now anyway.

[Raja]

On 9/25/2024 at 4:19 PM, kaygeeret said:

I was distracted during the episode, so I hope my impressions make sense.

The main couple story was odd.  First they don't connect only then they do and oops in bed they go and he leaves for....reasons and gets distracted.

The main character seems very VERY low key and almost unsure until he puts random items together and solves things.  How does someone that low key, that distracted and seemingly that unsure expect to head a police department, even in a small town?

I am missing something there.

I will watch again to see if it gets clearer to me.

 

It seems like one of those towns where no one would make a rolling stop at a stop sign, much less get into a bar fight. Am expecting Barney Fife and Sheriff Taylor not all the officers around when a murder did happen.

[Johannah]

I liked it. 

I like the lead - didn't know he was Donald Sutherland's kid.  I wasn't crazy about him with Cassandra.  I have no idea what they saw in each other during that awkward first date.  Actually, they seemed awkward throughout the show.  Something about her...  Maybe I'll warm up to her in later episodes.  It seemed like he thought she was the only eligible woman in town, so he might as well settle for her.

I liked the new cop.  I wish they had shown us more of her and less of Cassandra.   Maybe I'd know her name.

I liked the case and I get why Karl was mad that Cassandra didn't say what she knew.  Maybe it was just hearsay, but I don't think that's why she didn't tell him.  She wanted him to get away with it.  You don't get to get away with murder just because you are old.  I'm not sure they knew he was dying.  

I'm not really upset that Karl let him leave, just a little surprised.  Cops generally think it's their job to find and arrest and the jury's job to decide whether to acquit.  He wouldn't have lived until his trial, anyway.

The scenery was beautiful.

 

[DanaK]

On 9/26/2024 at 12:58 AM, Snazzy Daisy said:

Am struggling to like Karl Alberg. He has no appeal. He is dull and withdrawn. He’s supposed to impress us with his detective skill but he is just observant. Rossif Sutherland doesn’t have the leading man qualities like the other 2 Sutherlands. Sorry.

This is what I was feeling about him. He seemed morose and too low key, and he lacked charisma. I think it brought down the show for me and as a result, the 90 minute premiere felt way too long. I’ll see how the next couple of episodes go before I give up

[chediavolo]

On 9/27/2024 at 2:02 PM, shapeshifter said:

Cabot Cove to me.

 

I would have been fine with it if he hadn't yelled at her the next day.
It gave me PTSD. 
Probably not the show for me. 
I've got too many now anyway.

Yeah, that was like a red flag, but probably not. It did seem out of character.

[badgerwoman]

these are based on the novels by late L.R. Wright, who wrote the books in the 1980s thru the mid 90s.  Love the books, haven't read any of them in a long time.  they are pretty low key, and there aren't that many of them.

Enjoyed the episode.

 

[david gideon]

The scenery was a familiar (to me) Vancouver filming spot. Primeval New World filmed there, as did any number of Hallmark movies and season two of Exorcist.

Unfortunately neither the librarian nor the police chief apparently realized that when someone confesses to a crime, even if it's to a civilian, that's an exception to the hearsay rule and not only is it admissible, it's enough for a conviction.

[Crashcourse]

Since the old guy was dying, the police chief just decided to let him go and spend his last days in peace.   I was hoping at the end that the old guy was smiling because he got away and he wasn't dying yet.  

[Anothermi]

On 10/7/2024 at 1:45 PM, Crashcourse said:

Since the old guy was dying, the police chief just decided to let him go and spend his last days in peace.   I was hoping at the end that the old guy was smiling because he got away and he wasn't dying yet.  

I'm pretty sure that Karl Alberg noted in at least one scene that the crime didn't have the hallmarks of pre-meditation.  He seems to have concluded it was a "crime of circumstance".  He'd spent enough time talking to "the old guy" to have formed an opinion on his character. 

On a different note: The "Small Town" is actually Gibsons, in BC. (you can drive north along the coast from Vancouver, but you have to take a ferry to get there (or two!). Not a quick jaunt. 

Gibsons is where the longest running TV show in Canada—The Beachcombers (1971 - 1990)— was filmed, and the restaurant—Molly's Reach— only existed in the show. After the Series ended the restaurant was revitalized and kept the name. After all, it was Iconic by then.