Season 1-5 Discussion

[Brattinella]

I hate to be a duh, but please, can someone remind me of where the red letters are found?

[kassygreene]

In the end credits of Masterpiece Mystery shows.  Usually after all the actor credits, and I always have to be ready to hit pause to get them all.

[Brattinella]

Thank you.

[laredhead]

I love this series and have been impressed with the acting in it by all characters.  There are so many intricacies to the plot(s) that you can't miss a single second.  I do have the closed captioning turned on to watch it since I am not familiar with a lot of British terms.

[fauntleroy]

Well after saying I was done with this of course I went back and watched 2nd and 3rd parts. Great production all around. Pretty dense so benefitted from a second viewing. I don't mind the Strangers on a Train plot, Law and Order used it too. There are only so many plots after all and it is an elegant solution. Similar to the first arc where two murders by the same woman was not real believable to me though, the idea that Sara could have staged the disappearance of Paxton off a yacht, Colin could have staged a hanging, and Marion could have kilt Walker and stuffed him into a suitcase, all successfully, didn't seem plausible.

Agree with others, could have done without the dad subplot which IMO added nothing, and would like to have seen some comeuppance, or something, for the blackmailers.

Overall great job, looking forward to the next story.

[atlantaloves]

Oh me too I can't wait for the next one.  This was THE BEST. She is my favorite detective after Prime Suspect. 

[kassygreene]

I kind of suspect that it wasn't any one of them committing the murder for someone else, but that it was the pair that wasn't connected to the murderee who did the deed.  I.e., Colin and Marion killed Walker, Sara & Marion did the coach, and Sara & Colin got Marion's father.  

Also, there was an evolving "skill" to it, because the disposition of Walker's body (he was first) was not very well thought out, but the coach vanished at sea, while Marion's father was a convincingly staged "suicide".

[attica]

Nicola Walker fans who are about to suffer withdrawal might want to tune in to Sundance channel this Wednesday night  for he debut of another series of hers, The Split. It's about divorce lawyers, I gather.

[AZChristian]

14 hours ago, attica said:

Nicola Walker fans who are about to suffer withdrawal might want to tune in to Sundance channel this Wednesday night  for he debut of another series of hers, The Split. It's about divorce lawyers, I gather.

Thanks for this info!  Just set up a "Record Series" on our Cox DVD.  We love Nicola.  We always refer to her as "Our Jillian" (Last Tango in Halifax).

[sugarbaker design]

On 5/18/2018 at 5:36 PM, kassygreene said:

I kind of suspect that it wasn't any one of them committing the murder for someone else, but that it was the pair that wasn't connected to the murderee who did the deed.  I.e., Colin and Marion killed Walker, Sara & Marion did the coach, and Sara & Colin got Marion's father.  

But didn't Colin have an airtight alibi for Walker's murder?  That's why I'm thinking Marion killed Walker, Sarah killed the coach and Colin killed Marion's dad.

[abbottrabbit]

On 5/20/2018 at 10:20 AM, AZChristian said:

Thanks for this info!  Just set up a "Record Series" on our Cox DVD.  We love Nicola.  We always refer to her as "Our Jillian" (Last Tango in Halifax).

For me she's still D.I. Susan Taylor, from Touching Evil BITD. 

[attica]

4 hours ago, abbottrabbit said:

For me she's still D.I. Susan Taylor, from Touching Evil BITD. 

I never saw the 3rd season of that show, and for years and years sought it out on various video formats to no avail. I recently thought to look again, and whoo! All three seasons are streaming on Amazon! My long weekend is sorted!

(My favorite of NW is still Ruth from Spooks/MI5.)

[abbottrabbit]

58 minutes ago, attica said:

I never saw the 3rd season of that show, and for years and years sought it out on various video formats to no avail. I recently thought to look again, and whoo! All three seasons are streaming on Amazon! My long weekend is sorted!

Fair warning: I still get a little heartbreak when I think about something that happens in that 3rd season. 

[dcalley]

On 5/14/2018 at 2:06 AM, kassygreene said:

Red Letters were Donkeys Ears, which I guess is another Brit cultural reference I don't get.

It came up in the show. I don't think I'd heard it before. The neighbor of the 99 house (where the children were taken) said the current residents had been there ~5 years and that the previous guy had been there donkey's ears.

 

On 5/14/2018 at 8:13 PM, krankydoodle said:

I think Masterpiece cut some scenes out. I read a recap describing something that I don't remember seeing in the final episode: Tessa and David Walker's son Jason finally setting up a date with the downstairs neighbor he was awkwardly trying to flirt with during an earlier episode.

Thanks for that. I saw Bryony Hannah's name at the beginning and she never appeared, and her role in the first episode was minuscule, so I did wonder.

 

On 5/21/2018 at 1:25 PM, sugarbaker design said:

But didn't Colin have an airtight alibi for Walker's murder?  That's why I'm thinking Marion killed Walker, Sarah killed the coach and Colin killed Marion's dad.

Yes, he was in a care facility at the time, though I believe Sunny said he could have gotten out for an hour or two without being noticed by staff.

[JudyObscure]

I always hear it as "donkey's years," meaning a very long time.

[fauntleroy]

On 5/26/2018 at 6:58 AM, JudyObscure said:

I always hear it as "donkey's years," meaning a very long time.

Yea. That's what the closed captioning had.

[Brattinella]

Compo and Clegg and Truly always say "donkey's years" and the closed captioning agrees.  But saying it as "ears" makes sense, too, as British rhyming slang.

[Tyro49]

What, exactly, was Colin being blackmailed about? I couldn't make out the dialog in that scene. (Was it the supposed "rape", which he now knows never happened?)

[Brattinella]

I think Colin was being blackmailed because he is gay.  Homosexuality was illegal in those days.

[SusanSunflower]

yes, and a terrible double-bind for gay boys sexually abused by gay men ... the toxic attitude being that the boys must have "wanted it" even more than the "usual" child-as-seducer scepticism (whereby a child's "secondary rewards" for participating and continuing a relationship was used to  -- both -- mitigate the crime and blame the victim.  

I watched the final installment and it was very well done.  There's been so much in the news that's been triggering (whether you like or approve or disapprove) ... it hit important points without ignoring how sordid the reality was ... it's one thing to talk about abuse endured, it's another to talk about there lasting physical / sexual damage inflicted or PTSD looming in shadows even when it's apparently dormant.  (I discovered that my "triggering" can be demonstrated I start to "recognize" random faces/people ... it means that some undercurrent of anxiety wrt stalking has been triggered, even if I have no clue what triggered it, like a news report or a movie -- kind of like how an old broken leg hurts when when the barometric pressure falls) 

[zoey1996]

The show returns on PBS this Sunday!  My station has Season 3 listed as beginning April 7, 10 p.m.  Six separate episodes, one each week.  Happy!

[dcalley]

Spoiler-phobes be aware that season 3 aired in the UK last summer.

Here's the PBS page for the show: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/unforgotten/

[Pickles]

New season started tonight. Love this show. Am anxious to see how these characters all relate to one another and everything unfolds. 

[JudyObscure]

Like seeing this series back and a cast of familiar actors.  The only drawback is I get thrown out of the story for a few minutes while I'm thinking things like; oh yes, Edward the VIII from The Crown, Amanda Root from Jane Austen's Persuasion,   Lady Cora's ladies maid and so on to the point where I miss important information.

I don't know what the British do to make their shows look so great but I love it.

[AZChristian]

53 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

 Lady Cora's ladies maid . . .

I didn't notice.  Which one?

[Brattinella]

1 hour ago, JudyObscure said:

Like seeing this series back and a cast of familiar actors.  The only drawback is I get thrown out of the story for a few minutes while I'm thinking things like; oh yes, Edward the VIII from The Crown, Amanda Root from Jane Austen's Persuasion,   Lady Cora's ladies maid and so on to the point where I miss important information.

I don't know what the British do to make their shows look so great but I love it.

And Hugo Horton from The Vicar of Dibley!  (James Fleet)

[AZChristian]

19 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

The Vicar of Dibley! 

"I can't believe it's not 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter '"!!!

[atlantaloves]

Now THIS is a great series....so wonderful. Loved every minute of it, it flew by and what a treat to see all these lovely actors.  

[Brattinella]

29 minutes ago, atlantaloves said:

Now THIS is a great series....so wonderful. Loved every minute of it, it flew by and what a treat to see all these lovely actors.  

I agree so much.  I loved seeing "Our Gillian" again!

[JudyObscure]

3 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I didn't notice.  Which one?

You probably didn't notice because  I had it all wrong.  I thought "Amy" was Raquel Cassidy who played "Baxter," but IMBD says it was Emma Fielding and they're right.

[LGraves65]

I didn't even know this was coming back until I saw a preview during Call The Midwife! It's nice to be pleasantly surprised.

[jujybean]

16 hours ago, Pickles said:

New season started tonight. Love this show. Am anxious to see how these characters all relate to one another and everything unfolds. 

I hated that I couldn't binge watch this.  I love the mystery and the connections as well.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, JudyObscure said:

You probably didn't notice because  I had it all wrong.  I thought "Amy" was Raquel Cassidy who played "Baxter," but IMBD says it was Emma Fielding and they're right.

I did happen to Google Raquel Cassidy. Could not believe how beautiful she is when she's not dressed as Baxter.

[kassygreene]

4 hours ago, jujybean said:

I hated that I couldn't binge watch this.  I love the mystery and the connections as well.

I keep pushing the PBS website and PBS Passport - most shows are on the website for at least  two weeks, and all of Unforgotten Season 3 went up when the show started Sunday, and can be viewed behind the Passport paywall (along with the first two seasons).  I will be binging next week after the Xfinity Watchathon finishes.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

8 hours ago, atlantaloves said:

Now THIS is a great series....so wonderful. Loved every minute of it, it flew by and what a treat to see all these lovely actors.  

Watched the episode last night and found the show riveting.  This is__ a great series, will tune in next week. Great acting on all parts.  

[Mermaid Under]

Love that this is back.  The acting is so good and the pacing is so unique for a drama.

Did anyone else think they were really piling on the subplot that Cassie is an empty nester (even Sunny has moved on) alone with her wine?

[AZChristian]

3 hours ago, Mermaid Under said:

Did anyone else think they were really piling on the subplot that Cassie is an empty nester (even Sunny has moved on) alone with her wine?

I picked up on that.  I hope we're wrong, though.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I only saw the last 30 minutes or so, but with the scene where she is drinking the wine alone, I got that impression she was drinking and lonely.  Bless her heart, I've known people like that in real life who are all alone  and  miss having someone in their life.

[JudyObscure]

Come to think of it, has there ever been a British detective who didn't go home and drink alone?  Endeavor, Grantchester's  Sidney, Wallander, Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect ...

[Pickles]

Okay, last night's episode. I think I missed something. The young woman who talked to the detectives and said she was supposed to go "on a date" with some guy, but instead, the dead girl went on the date in her place---she said she cleaned the rental house that summer or whenever it was. So, the four guys who rented out the house--was the date with one of them?

[geekgirl921]

56 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Okay, last night's episode. I think I missed something. The young woman who talked to the detectives and said she was supposed to go "on a date" with some guy, but instead, the dead girl went on the date in her place---she said she cleaned the rental house that summer or whenever it was. So, the four guys who rented out the house--was the date with one of them?

No, the young woman who was talking to Cassie and Sunny was supposed to clean the house but instead went on a date so the dead girl cleaned the house instead. The indication seems to be that all of the men (except for the younger one who I assume was Hayley's boyfriend) that they have shown were staying in the house at the time (I don't know if the families were there or not).

[Pickles]

Thank you geekgirl! I was so tired last night, but wanted to watch the episode and I clearly zoned out and missed this. 

[dcalley]

2 hours ago, geekgirl921 said:

(except for the younger one who I assume was Hayley's boyfriend)

Yes, Sunny had said his name and then they showed it on his office mailbox before he concernedly looked at the newspaper. I think he might be a teacher. And he was something like 23 when he was seeing Hayley, 16.

ETA: Just found recaps on the WETA blog: episode 1, episode 2

Edited April 15, 2019 by dcalley

[Brattinella]

I think this show is the best thing on TV.  (at the moment anyhow)

[chitowngirl]

There had better not be an identical twin switch, where one has taken over the other’s identity to start over.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

There had better not be an identical twin switch, where one has taken over the other’s identity to start over.

My mind went there too but one would hope the parents could tell the difference. 

But it could also be that the sister was the intended target but her twin was accidentally mistaken for her.

[atlantaloves]

Oh Wow, I did not think of that, thank you Ireland.🍀

[SunnyBeBe]

I thought about one twin pretending to be the other when they commented on how they shared the same DNA.  Not sure why. Maybe...overthinking..lol.?

 I do really like this series. Didn't realize there are previous seasons.

[Mermaid Under]

I thought the final phone call (from the tv presenter to his cross-dressing son) implied that the troubled son had killed Hayley.  Which means he didn't, because it is way too early to expose the culprit.

[zoey1996]

On 4/15/2019 at 4:58 PM, chitowngirl said:

There had better not be an identical twin switch, where one has taken over the other’s identity to start over.

The plate in the broken (wrist?) on the remains matched with the missing daughter, unless it turns out that the twin also had that injury & repair, would rule that out.

On 4/15/2019 at 6:33 PM, Irlandesa said:

My mind went there too but one would hope the parents could tell the difference. 

But it could also be that the sister was the intended target but her twin was accidentally mistaken for her.

That is a more likely scenario, but it seems like it was likely a crime of opportunity and not a targeted crime.

I felt so bad for the man whose van was broken into, possessions stolen, and dog disappeared.  I was so happy when Frankie (the dog) came back!

The investments salesman is not likely the culprit IMHO, but he’s definitely shady and will no doubt be found out.  That’s my hope anyway.