Shetland

[Suzn]

I am going to miss Jimmy Perez.  I honestly don't know if the show can work for me without him.  I was happy that things got tied up with a bow for him.  We can imagine that he has found something else to focus on and has time and energy to be really present in a relationship with Meg.

I hope they can find a way to have Tosh be in charge.  We don't really know what she would need to qualify for an exam that would make her able to be in charge.

It would take an exceptional person to be added to the show to take on JP's place.

[Capricasix]

I was inordinately happy to see that the actor playing Billy the desk sergeant finally got into the opening credits this season 😄

[lidarose9]

I am one of those people waiting for the whole thing to be done before watching, so I am only now starting. I just finished the second episode, where Jimmy & Tosh drive out to the junk yard when a body is found in a car there. Jimmy takes a look and says to Tosh: "It's her. It's Bryd," and they both act like Bryd's been missing and everybody's been looking for her, when in fact we just saw her at the dorm the night before, getting a text from Connor. Why did they both expect it to be her? Did I miss something?

[Milburn Stone]

7 hours ago, lidarose9 said:

I am one of those people waiting for the whole thing to be done before watching, so I am only now starting. I just finished the second episode, where Jimmy & Tosh drive out to the junk yard when a body is found in a car there. Jimmy takes a look and says to Tosh: "It's her. It's Bryd," and they both act like Bryd's been missing and everybody's been looking for her, when in fact we just saw her at the dorm the night before, getting a text from Connor. Why did they both expect it to be her? Did I miss something?

I'm trying my best to remember that moment. :) All I can remember thinking is, they had an expectation that it would be Connor or someone closely connected to Connor, and their words meant "we were right, it's someone closely connected to Connor."

[Rickster]

I have always been amused that on this show, 90% of the time the Shetland police force seems to consist of about 4 people and some random foot officers, yet when needed, they are able to field forensics teams, bomb disposal experts and a whole SWAT squad of armed officers.

[isalicat]

3 hours ago, Rickster said:

I have always been amused that on this show, 90% of the time the Shetland police force seems to consist of about 4 people and some random foot officers, yet when needed, they are able to field forensics teams, bomb disposal experts and a whole SWAT squad of armed officers.

They fly them in from Inverness. With such a tiny population on the four inhabited islands, there is no way to have the requisite forensic laboratory facilities for modern policing, let alone the personnel on hand at all times. It is spelled out in the books but I guess they assume the TV audience doesn't care or already knows.

[Rickster]

6 hours ago, isalicat said:

They fly them in from Inverness. With such a tiny population on the four inhabited islands, there is no way to have the requisite forensic laboratory facilities for modern policing, let alone the personnel on hand at all times. It is spelled out in the books but I guess they assume the TV audience doesn't care or already knows.

I guess I would say while this is the logical answer, the show never builds in the time lag needed to bring in these people into the storyline. They magically appear, and pretty quickly. For example, in the final episode, the bomb disposal expert and the SWAT team were immediately on site. Maybe the explanation would be that they were flown in anticipating that they would be needed in a possible bombing case. 

[isalicat]

17 hours ago, Rickster said:

I guess I would say while this is the logical answer, the show never builds in the time lag needed to bring in these people into the storyline. They magically appear, and pretty quickly. For example, in the final episode, the bomb disposal expert and the SWAT team were immediately on site. Maybe the explanation would be that they were flown in anticipating that they would be needed in a possible bombing case. 

Yes. Having read all the Shetland novels, Ann Cleeves always builds into the story the time lag between when Jimmy Perez or whomever decides they have to call in people from Inverness and when they get there (usually overnight, sometimes much longer due to weather conditions that are also usually part of the story). If you haven't read any of the books, I can't recommend them enough - there is only overlap on a couple vis-a-vis TV. (Raven Black being the most notable). There is also much taking of island ferries in order to interview suspects or other people of interests. It would really drag down a TV show to show all this.

[lidarose9]

In the earlier seasons, this did play a factor, as did having to take a ferry to get from one island to another. As the books got further into the rear view, it became less of an issue. Which is a shame cuz it was part of what ramped up the dramatic tension: the feeling of being isolated in these remote islands. 

[lidarose9]

So how did Tosh get out of that caravan?

[isalicat]

On 10/26/2022 at 11:46 AM, lidarose9 said:

So how did Tosh get out of that caravan?

I'm guessing she kicked out that back window and dove, headfirst, away from the blast. And then rolled really fast...or something...

[dleighg]

20 hours ago, isalicat said:

I'm guessing she kicked out that back window and dove, headfirst, away from the blast. And then rolled really fast...or something...

I just happily spoiled myself after watching that caravan blow up. That was unsurvivable! So I'm glad she (somehow or other) managed to get out before it blew :) 

[RedElf]

Does Tosh only own one shirt?

Patrick Robinson does a great American accent.

I'm surprised that Jimmy didn't give Lloyd a chance to talk to Alison before he left.

Any word on who's going to star in the next season?

[isalicat]

Is anyone here watching "Karen Pirie" on BritBox? It is based on the Val McDermid novels and I've seen two of the three episodes (90 minutes each) in the first season - great! so far.

[Suzn]

9 hours ago, isalicat said:

Is anyone here watching "Karen Pirie" on BritBox? It is based on the Val McDermid novels and I've seen two of the three episodes (90 minutes each) in the first season - great! so far.

I liked it and hope for another season.

[dleighg]

Just finished last night and really enjoyed it. I hope Tosh gets her personal life in shape. I kept yelling at the TV when she was so clueless about the good guy she's got there and how she's screwing it up.

And I could listen to any of them roll the r's saying "Murder" all day long :) 

[mledawn]

On 11/5/2022 at 11:47 PM, RedElf said:

Does Tosh only own one shirt?

Patrick Robinson does a great American accent.

I'm surprised that Jimmy didn't give Lloyd a chance to talk to Alison before he left.

Any word on who's going to star in the next season?

Oh, I need to disagree - that accent came and went with the breeze. I've never seen him in anything else and I was taken out of almost every scene, unfortunately.

Tosh does love her plaid but she's always been a bit casual.

No word on any new casting that I've seen.

Edited November 7, 2022 by mledawn

[Hava]

Quote

And what did the the druggie woman with her cocaine boyfriend have to do anything? Or just a coinkidink? Did I miss anything? Was there another kitchen sink they forgot to throw in there?

Oh man! You're right. I totally forgot about them! Wasn't there going to be a big reveal about who the guy was working for?? I thought it was going to lead to the big bad.

On 6/13/2022 at 9:22 PM, Andyourlittledog2 said:

I've been watching a lot of British detective shows lately and in absolutely all of them I see them suspecting someone, arresting them immediately, questioning them without an attorney usually (although they are told their rights etc) and even if they have an attorney the attorney never seems to say or do anything but take notes.

I am so glad you said this because it is something I have noticed with British shows, as well, and it is so baffling to me. Suspects being interrogated while their attorney doesn't say one word. Suspects never asking to leave or stop the questioning.

Luckily, it's easier to suspend my belief since I'm not familiar with British criminal law, so I just chalk it up to differences between the US and the UK.

[LisaM]

Ashley Jensen (Agatha Raisin) taking over as head of the unit. 

https://thekillingtimestv.wordpress.com/2022/11/23/shetland-ashley-jensen-confirmed-as-douglas-henshalls-replacement/

[Door County Cherry]

1 hour ago, LisaM said:

Ashley Jensen (Agatha Raisin) taking over as head of the unit. 

https://thekillingtimestv.wordpress.com/2022/11/23/shetland-ashley-jensen-confirmed-as-douglas-henshalls-replacement/

Oooh.  I hope this doesn't mean the end for Agatha Raisin but I do like this casting.

[enoughcats]

I like Agatha Raisin. For light, silly time filling. 

Actresses are supposed to act, right?

Let the AR character get rid of the Page Boy haircut and the very bright look at me clothes (as well as the F***me vertiginous shoes), and let her take over with plausible deniability.

If she fails, she will be another corpse to find and id the killer(s). 

[buttersister]

I know her more from her work with Ricky Gervais (I've seen AR, though). Definitely a different dynamic, and interesting. So no guy I can look at and say, you're no Jimmy Perez.

[Hava]

I'm rewatching season 1, and Duncan says to Jimmy, "I'm glad you came back here." I don't understand.

What's Jimmy's history? Did he live in Shetland and then leave? If so, why?

[Daff]

On 10/13/2022 at 12:00 PM, buttersister said:

I love this show and the DI Perez character. The Jimmy—Meg talk made me wonder about he and his late wife. Was he always intensely career focused and she accepted that or, after her death, did his grief drive him deeper into his work? Will the wind down toward his departure and relationship with Meg help him move on or bury him deeper? 

One more question: Previously, I recall something Sandy did wrong and was supposed to tell Perez about (he promised Tosh). Did I miss it or did they drop it? 

I suspect you’re talking about this season. Since I just watched it over 3 days, it’s fresh in my memory-early episode, press in everyone’s faces, and Sandy leaks photos to them!!! For all the crap he’s pulled over the years, it aggravates me that he does.not.learn.

[LeDucDiableBleu]

On 11/15/2022 at 12:06 AM, Hava said:

Oh man! You're right. I totally forgot about them! Wasn't there going to be a big reveal about who the guy was working for?? I thought it was going to lead to the big bad.

I think they showed us this because it was a potential lead in the case, Jimmy et. al. followed the trail and it led to nowhere. They could then rule those people out. Those people had nothing to do with it. They thought their cousin or whoever who died (I think his name was Perry? or started with a P) was killed by Conor's dad's involvement in their case as an undercover officer. But it actually wasn't his fault. Jimmy found out that Perry and Conor's dad's partner's brother were working on the inside, and Conor's dad's cop partner killed Perry by running into him with her car. So to me that whole story line was to show us that Perry's relatives had a motive, but they were eventually ruled out. Underlined when Jimmy told Conor's dad that nothing in his previous cop life had anything to do Conor's death.

I think another reason for that particular story line was that it added to Jimmy's disillusion with being a cop. In that scenario, there was Conor's dad (former cop) who ruined his own life for 5 years and an innocent person (Perry) was killed, while he was doing his duty. Conor's dad's partner got in too deep and killed someone and ruined her partner's life because of duty to the force. (I'm sorry I'm using American terms). The season opens with Jimmy visiting Duncan who's in prison as a result of the legal system not working. Jimmy himself is cleared of wrongdoing in that case, he had to go through his own trial even though he was innocent. All that work he did previously on the force wasn't appreciated by the system itself. And even though he was cleared, at every turn he was questioned by his boss(es) that he wasn't himself and implied he couldn't do it anymore.

Lloyd Anderson was on the run as a result of being framed for killing a cop. They would execute him in America (example of legal system not working). His wife/gf killed William Rodgers to protect Lloyd (another life taken as fallout from the failed legal system just like Perry). And if we dig even deeper, the cop who was killed not by Lloyd Anderson was also killed in the line of duty, and justice for his murder didn't happen. So the overarching theme this season was disillusionment in the legal system and being a cop, the collateral damage and the lives lost in this system, which leads to Jimmy's decision to quit.

I just finished it last night, still processing. It's one of my favorite shows and I'm going to miss Doug Henshall so much.