Vera - General Discussion

[abbyzenn]

Love the comments about Kenny baking the cake.  Surprised no one also mentioned the scene where Kenny calls the station and tells Vera and Aidan to get over to (can't remember what kind of shop it is)  anyway the look on Kenny's face when Aidan goes in and sees the guy he was looking for was priceless.

I too enjoy the scenery on Vera although I find a lot of it rather bleak.

[Suzn]

23 hours ago, abbyzenn said:

Love the comments about Kenny baking the cake.  Surprised no one also mentioned the scene where Kenny calls the station and tells Vera and Aidan to get over to (can't remember what kind of shop it is)  anyway the look on Kenny's face when Aidan goes in and sees the guy he was looking for was priceless.

I too enjoy the scenery on Vera although I find a lot of it rather bleak.

Yes, a lot is bleak, but somehow, I find it appealing.

[LisaM]

Is this the last new episode for 2022? 

[isalicat]

On 2/6/2022 at 3:19 PM, LisaM said:

Is this the last new episode for 2022? 

As far as I can tell, the season had 6 episodes and they were all shown on Britbox, so I think that is it for now. I would love to be wrong!

[TaraS1]

I thought this new season was fantastic, and I love that the new episodes showed up on Britbox so quickly.

Brenda said on Twitter that they start filming again next month!

[dargosmydaddy]

On 1/27/2022 at 3:07 PM, peacheslatour said:

Also when Joe was injured in like a tunnel (I think) she was begging him to be okay. Calling him "son" over and over.

Sorry, late to the party here... does anyone know which episode/ season this was?

[enoughcats]

There's a new Vera Stanhope NOVEL being released Sept 6, 2022, called The Rising Tide

Quote

For fifty years a group of friends have been meeting regularly for reunions on Holy Island, celebrating the school trip where they met, and the friend that they lost to the rising causeway tide five years later. Now, when one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding, and whether the events of many years before could have led to murder then, and now . . .

But with the tide rising, secrets long-hidden are finding their way to the surface, and Vera and the team may find themselves in more danger than they could have believed possible . 

[enoughcats]

Without the TV series Vera, some of us would never have seen the huge statue "Angel of the North".

OK, this is stretch, but this is summer, after all. Sir Arthur Gormley just installed his equally large statue "Alert" at City College London.  Some of the students are commenting that the statue isn't kneeling (one interpretation) but has a three meter long erection.

 Some of the unsubtle views of the statue that Google has found

I can just imagine Vera walking by it with a snicker.

Edited August 3, 2022 by enoughcats

[Suzn]

1 hour ago, enoughcats said:

Without the TV series Vera, some of us would never have seen the huge statue "Angel of the North".

OK, this is stretch, but this is summer, after all. Sir Arthur Gormley just installed his equally large statue "Alert" at City College London.  Some of the students are commenting that the statue isn't kneeling (one interpretation) but has a three meter long erection.

 Some of the unsubtle views of the statue that Google has found

I can just imagine Vera walking by it with a snicker.

I love that glimpse of the "Angel of the North" at the start of the episode.  I always hope they include it in a plot sometime.

[isalicat]

I just Googled that "statue" at City College London and it is hideous. What passes for art these days SMH!

[WildPlum]

Randomly watched a couple of episodes of the most recent series and went back to start the series at the beginning (just finishing up Season 4). I watch on BritBox (I think, maybe Acorn?). I'm from the US but visited friend in the North, so I recognize a few things (Angel of the North, Winking Bridge, the steep parts of downtown Newcastle by the quayside,  pretty sure I saw Durham - the college and the cathedral - on an episode). If they'd add a section of Hadrian's Wall or Vindolanda to an episode, my "places I have visited" bingo card would be complete.

I like watching this series in summer - even when the sun is out it looks cold, lol, especially on the beaches. Often beautiful, but cold. Very refreshing when it is 100 out here.

[WildPlum]

Was motivated to look up other series based on Ann Cleeves books - watched almost 2 seasons of Shetland and didn't really care for it (except for the grimly beautiful scenery) and watched a season of Lost Call and thought it was awful in pretty much every way. I'll stick with Vera (can't binge watch it because the spouse is watching with me and his tolerance for watching TV is limited to about twice a week).

[Suzn]

I do think the Shetland books are better than the show, but I do love it too.  It has a very dark tone and Vera is much easier to like.  I was sorry to find Lost Call a disappointment.  I think the lead actor is unappealing and that's part of the problem.

[Milburn Stone]

22 hours ago, Suzn said:

I do think the Shetland books are better than the show, but I do love it too. 

I like Shetland as of Season 3 (which we just finished) because of the one-story-arc-over-6-episodes format,  which I tend to prefer generally.

[enoughcats]

I loved the books.  Cleves had lived in the Shetland Islands and even worked at a bird sanctuary, so when she painted word pictures, it was so easy to go there mentally.  I liked the 'relationship' of the two Dads in the books a lot more.  But I must remind myself to be thankful for the writers who produced a story that was current enough to be made for broadcast. 

[WildPlum]

Started on the first of the Cleeves "Vera" books and I find the head-hopping between characters sort of annoying. Are all of the books likes this? I'd prefer to stick with one POV character rather than multiple POV.

[isalicat]

3 hours ago, WildPlum said:

Started on the first of the Cleeves "Vera" books and I find the head-hopping between characters sort of annoying. Are all of the books likes this? I'd prefer to stick with one POV character rather than multiple POV.

I've read all the Ann Cleeves "Vera" and "Shetland" books and yes, that is her style. If you don't enjoy it then perhaps the books are not for you. It is impressive that the people who write the TV screenplays are able to convert her novels into a watchable program without losing anything of crucial importance, in my opinion.

[mledawn]

1 hour ago, isalicat said:

I've read all the Ann Cleeves "Vera" and "Shetland" books and yes, that is her style. If you don't enjoy it then perhaps the books are not for you. It is impressive that the people who write the TV screenplays are able to convert her novels into a watchable program without losing anything of crucial importance, in my opinion.

I think this is largely true - except for The Long Call, unfortunately. I know it wasn't included here but I was disappointed with a few elements of that adaptation.

[enoughcats]

IMO the book The Long Call was written for this decade, not for this century necessarily. 

I can see coming back and rereading and rewatching both Shetland and Vera.  

[WildPlum]

Finally moved along to Season 7 - which is not on Britbox or Acorn at the moment, but requires a purchase from Amazon. Currently 8-11 are on Britbox, I better hurry up and finish before something happens with those series.

Tried to watch "Kate and Koji" but didn't get through first episode. Modern comedies aren't my thing, though.

[enoughcats]

`The latest Vera Book "The Rising Tide"

Library copy came home with me Tuesday afternoon, I finished reading it Wednesday night about 9pm. (And I did other things, too.)   It was a great read.  Interesting characters in a modern world.  

It's a complex enough story that one hour TV show wouldn't handle it. And it's such a good read that I'd say don't wait for the TV show.  

There are a couple of digs at Vera's 'style ' of clothing and her faithful Range Rover that her father had.  

[kimaken]

On 10/12/2022 at 11:30 PM, enoughcats said:

`The latest Vera Book "The Rising Tide"

Library copy came home with me Tuesday afternoon, I finished reading it Wednesday night about 9pm. (And I did other things, too.)   It was a great read.  Interesting characters in a modern world.  

It's a complex enough story that one hour TV show wouldn't handle it. And it's such a good read that I'd say don't wait for the TV show.  

There are a couple of digs at Vera's 'style ' of clothing and her faithful Range Rover that her father had.  

I haven't read any of the books but love the show and all the characters. Can you tell me if Joe is Vera's DS throughout all the books, or does Aiden (current DS) show up in the books? I wondered if the actor who played Joe left the series to pursue other projects, thus opening up a slot for a new  character, or if book-Joe left for a career move and there's a book-Aiden who replaced him?

[MrsKravitz]

26 minutes ago, kimaken said:

I haven't read any of the books but love the show and all the characters. Can you tell me if Joe is Vera's DS throughout all the books, or does Aiden (current DS) show up in the books? I wondered if the actor who played Joe left the series to pursue other projects, thus opening up a slot for a new  character, or if book-Joe left for a career move and there's a book-Aiden who replaced him?

I’m reading the latest now. Joe is still her DS. 

[WildPlum]

Just finishing off the Season 11 eps - finally almost caught up. And now I am sad.

Having watched all the episodes in the last several months, I will say that I missed Joe terribly at first, but Aidan has definitely turned in to a Joe clone, which is maybe a little too bad - he started off much edgier than Joe but that lasted less than a full season. I'd have liked to see him come out from under Vera's wings a little more. I snort every time Vera says "With me, Aiden", as that is what the spouse says to the dog when he wants the dog to walk at heel. (Well, except for the "Aiden" part.)

I'd also like to be introduced to more of the the team - we have Aidan, Kenny, Jac, Mark, but there are at least 3 other team members shown sitting around in the office briefings. Plus George (?) the Missing Persons guy, who pops up occasionally (played by Steve Evets, lol). I do love the parade of sarcastic coroners as well - the first was my favorite, but I do like Malcolm, who pretty much takes no shit from Vera.

[kimaken]

14 hours ago, WildPlum said:

I'd also like to be introduced to more of the the team - we have Aidan, Kenny, Jac, Mark, but there are at least 3 other team members shown sitting around in the office briefings. Plus George (?) the Missing Persons guy, who pops up occasionally (played by Steve Evets, lol). I do love the parade of sarcastic coroners as well - the first was my favorite, but I do like Malcolm, who pretty much takes no shit from Vera.

I miss those who've left--Joe, Shep and Hicham (spelling?), Marcus, and of course, Bethany's exit was a shock. Glad to see Mark is still there but they need to give him more to do. Love Kenny and Aiden, of course! I believe the actor who played the first coroner passed away a year or so ago.

[enoughcats]

On 10/17/2022 at 6:41 PM, WildPlum said:

the parade of sarcastic coroners

OT, but I HAVE to mention The Brokenwood Mysteries  set in and filmed in New Zealand who have a coroner who lights up the screen every time she appears. She's a continuing character with a sincere and healthy interest in "Mike".  I find the characters there are growing to be my favorites and I wish they were real life neighors of mine.

[WildPlum]

16 hours ago, enoughcats said:

OT, but I HAVE to mention The Brokenwood Mysteries  set in and filmed in New Zealand who have a coroner who lights up the screen every time she appears. She's a continuing character with a sincere and healthy interest in "Mike".  I find the characters there are growing to be my favorites and I wish they were real life neighors of mine.

Lol, I am not sure I'd want Gina, Froddo or Trudi as a neighbor....

there is a forum (well, a thread)  for Brokenwood,

[mledawn]

From Kenny Doughty's Instagram "And that’s a wrap. S12 E5. We now have 7 episodes to show & I’m excited for you to see them."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmPUssDIonG/?fbclid=IwAR0xtJRsyIVhQpaAlEOXaHvYLCV-1cgHWALUlHCpjoDBpR086so3vUYNCcw 

Edited December 18, 2022 by mledawn

[enoughcats]

She looks so good to be 76 years old and this article talks about the four shows for next season.

There's also a video of her as a blonde on a current tv show and her dog is with her, not behaving particularly well.

[WildPlum]

4 episodes is a pretty thin "season" but it sounds like we are lucky to even get those 4. At least the Vera shows are done-in-one, so it will likely be 4 plots.

[WildPlum]

Britbox says new episodes starting January 29.

[mledawn]

If you live in NYC you can attend a free screening of the new episode on Thursday

Vera Season 12 Premiere Screening with Brenda Blethyn and Ann Cleeves

[enoughcats]

Who do we contact to request respectfully that there's an American audience who would like to hear the content of that broadcast that isn't the show?

[isalicat]

Just finishing Season 12, Episode 1! Quite enjoyable, full of familiar tropes and lots of Vera saying "pet", but also an intimate, rather fraught murder mystery. On form!

[krankydoodle]

Sorry to see them go, but I wonder who they'll get to replace the departing cast member.

I saw from Wikipedia that one of the episodes this season will be based on the book The Darkest Evening, one of the few Vera books I've read, so I'm interested to see how faithful it will be.

[mledawn]

Just watched S12 E1 and found the storyline to be quite good and interwoven. After the big reveal I did think Vera was a bit harsh, but I guess that's the character!

I checked IMDB to see how many episodes Paul Kaye is listed for and it only shows E1 which is a bummer. Malcolm's a bit of an asshole but I like the actor.

Edited January 30, 2023 by mledawn

[Maren]

That was a very good episode. Twisty but not artificially so. Glad to see the team all back! 

[peacheslatour]

I thought fans of Vera would be interested in this. In fact I believe we even discussed something very much like it.

 

Feb. 1 (UPI) -- CBS has announced it is working on a Matlock remake starring Oscar-winning actress Kathy Bates.

From AP

 

 

[Daff]

S12, E1. Glad to see Vera’s back. Had to laugh at the “butt dial” repartee. Loved Vera quipping “talking out your a”, but she’s old enough to to know the original version-talking through your hat! 

[sempervivum]

Watched S12 episode 2 last night, and I can't say I'm feeling the new medical examiner. 

Not that it surprised me, but it seemed kind of rude to come to the soldier's funeral, but then go stomping out of the church just as it was getting started.

Also, can anyone clue me in as to where the 500 pounds came from that she gave to the shelter?

[mjc570]

58 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

Watched S12 episode 2 last night, and I can't say I'm feeling the new medical examiner. 

Not that it surprised me, but it seemed kind of rude to come to the soldier's funeral, but then go stomping out of the church just as it was getting started.

Also, can anyone clue me in as to where the 500 pounds came from that she gave to the shelter?

I have to admit I LOVED the new ME.  It's so refreshing to come across someone who can take it and dish it out.  I'm sure she won't last long, though, they never do.

The 500 pounds were donated by the members of Vera's team (ie, a whip round).

I thought the actual story was pretty good, although I knew as soon as I saw the person (don't want to spoil it, although I guess that's probably not necessary by saying more)

[mledawn]

I watched ep2 today and it didn't hold my attention as well as last week's. I also am not keen on the new ME and found her attitude out of the gate offputting. Snide comments don't make you witty ("You mean do my actual job?")- they make you rude. I did enjoy Aiden correcting her "Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope". Malcolm and Vera had a history, so his snarking makes sense. No one knows this new ME, so maybe just ease into being a jerk?

I loved the exchange with Kenny and Mark about the pastie or whatever was in the foil that Vera stole - twice.

[LisaM]

I watched Episode 2 tonight and liked it - even though I immediately knew the identity of the killer. 

Watching Aiden running after Tony - in multiple locations - and failing to catch him - cracked me up. 

[WildPlum]

Just watched  episode 2 and I think maybe the ME just transferred in from somewhere that she had been pressured about interpreting the results to support what that DCI wanted to hear?

 

Also, given Vera's character as it has been established on the TV show, I'm not so sure that she'd have been quite so immediately sympathetic with the trans character. I think it would have been in character for her to fuss a bit first - even though she frequently says "I'm not judging, pet" she really does. She also generally suspects everyone and asks sharp questions but she was very hands-off with Rae.

Edited February 7, 2023 by WildPlum

[Suzn]

I didn't care for the new ME.  She had a prickly relationship with the previous ME (Malcolm, I guess), but underneath that, there was mutual respect.  The new one needs to be taken down a few pegs and Vera's just the girl to do it!

[storyskip]

On 3/29/2019 at 3:48 PM, welnoc said:

Keep watching! There is more about Vera's background in later series.

I prefer Aiden to Joe although I think I'm probably in the minority. They do get closer as time goes by.

Billy was mentioned in passing in one of the episodes. I can't remember the exact line but sounded to me as if he'd died.

Count me in with the minority as well.  I prefer Aiden to Joe

Edited February 8, 2023 by storyskip

[Jordan Baker]

I found Episode 2 to be among the saddest--if not the saddest--of all the episodes I've seen. I rarely get teary-eyed watching Vera, but this one did me in. 

[Enigma X]

I like the new ME but disliked the episode. I also preferred Joe.

[Maren]

Dang, still no episode 2 for me yet!

Count me in as preferring Aidan too. 

[Daff]

On 2/6/2023 at 6:58 PM, mledawn said:

I watched ep2 today and it didn't hold my attention as well as last week's. I also am not keen on the new ME and found her attitude out of the gate offputting. Snide comments don't make you witty ("You mean do my actual job?")- they make you rude. I did enjoy Aiden correcting her "Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope". Malcolm and Vera had a history, so his snarking makes sense. No one knows this new ME, so maybe just ease into being a jerk?

I loved the exchange with Kenny and Mark about the pastie or whatever was in the foil that Vera stole - twice.

Tell that to today’s youth (the actual competent ones). Vera will appreciate her expertise, and will deliver her retaliatory jabs as before. I liked that the new ME used the exact same retorts as the last one (with a bit more attitude) and loved Vera’s raised eyebrows at it. Vera was visibly impressed that the youth ventured out of the morgue (and ignored the What Are YOU Doing Here?) to share findings (important ones). They will get on well, and I anticipate better humorous jabs than with the last one. 
I liked this episode better-more involved, more players. I was really happy to see Vera return, but apparently each episode will be delivered every other week. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Daff