Shetland - General Discussion

[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.
 

[Milburn Stone]

Maybe this has been mentioned? Douglas Henshall is great in another series, In Plain Sight (2017), based on a true story from the 1950s. He plays a detective in this one, also. Martin Compston is his quarry. Compston gives good despicable. Make that great despicable.

I remember seeing Compston in the first episode of the first season of Line of Duty, and thinking, "not an actor yet, but shows promise." That sure came true.

 

[Milburn Stone]

And yet another great Douglas Henshall show: Collision. Again, he's a detective with a propensity for sadness, only younger. 🙂 Watched the first episode last night, and was immediately hooked. So far, based on three different shows, I conclude that Henshall has excellent taste in show runners.

[Tim McD]

That whole thing from season 6 about Sandy leaking the photos made no sense to me. When Tosh tells him she knows it was him, he’s all gobsmacked, like he seriously thought he would get away with it. He leaked the photos from his work computer!  The digital forensics team would bust him for that in about 2 seconds, how did he not know that? Dumbass.

[gingerella]

On 4/16/2023 at 5:26 AM, Milburn Stone said:

And yet another great Douglas Henshall show: Collision. Again, he's a detective with a propensity for sadness, only younger. 🙂 Watched the first episode last night, and was immediately hooked. So far, based on three different shows, I conclude that Henshall has excellent taste in show runners.

Where were you able to watch Collision?

[mledawn]

3 hours ago, gingerella said:

Where were you able to watch Collision?

It's on Acorn.

[Rickster]

It also seems to be on Freevee streaming with ads.

[enoughcats]

For fans of the Shetland Islands, you may want to read a news story about the Orkney Islands (that are between Scotland and the Shetland Islands.

The Orkney are wondering if they should rejoin Norway.

With lots of history and beautiful pictures.  'The history of Orkney

[mledawn]

I forgot there was a proper forum for Shetland somehow!
 

Britbox has shared the first image from S8

https://www.instagram.com/p/CwNw0O6s1x9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“Here’s your first look at #Shetland season 8! The new season stars Ashley Jensen as Met Police DI Ruth Calder, tasked with retrieving a murder witness. The official synopsis states: “Tosh must pause her investigation into a string of mysterious animal deaths to help DI Ruth Calder find the witness before it’s too late. However, Calder’s hostility to Shetland will challenge Tosh’s view of her adopted home and their journey into the darker recesses of Shetland's past and present will test this fragile, new partnership."

[buttersister]

Thanks for sharing. Likely not enough to refire my Brit Box subscription 

[dleighg]

7 hours ago, buttersister said:

Thanks for sharing. Likely not enough to refire my Brit Box subscription

I just discovered Silent Witness (I know) so I've been working my way forward from when Nikki started (so young!) after watching the last two seasons first. So Britbox will stay for awhile, and I love Tosh even if my crush isn't there anymore.

[mledawn]

I forgot there was a Shetland forum.

Britbox has shared that the newest Shetland season starts November 29 *in North America*. It starts today in the UK.

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by mledawn
Clarifying for the North American air date.

[isalicat]

1 hour ago, mledawn said:

I forgot there was a Shetland forum.

Britbox has shared that the newest Shetland season starts November 29 *in North America*. It starts today in the UK.

 

So its Agatha Raisin in the Orkneys? Plus Posh? 😸

[dubbel zout]

Thanks for the start date. Sometimes Britbox is very cagey about that sort of thing, and it drives me nuts.

[mledawn]

What a great first episode. Typical placesetting to start, and not quite fully “Shetland” but without spoilers I am on board with Ashley Jensen. 

[abbyzenn]

Have seen the first two episodes of this season and I'm really enjoying it.  Lots of twists.  I've watched this show from the beginning and really liked Jimmy Perez but will admit I didn't miss him at all.

I've only seen Ashley Jensen in Agatha Raisin so for the first couple of scenes I kept waiting for some smart alec comment to come out of her mouth.  After a few scenes I didn't even think of Agatha.  

I thought something was dodgy with Phyllis Logan and her family from their first scene and wouldn't be surprised if one of them murdered her granddaughter.

They're really showing some beautiful scenery of Shetland in these first two episodes.  I can't imagine living some where so isolated like those crofts but the views are stunning.

 

[mledawn]

I loved Tosh bringing out the classic Jimmy Perez "...Okay..." this episode. 

I have no idea where any of this is going just now, which is great.

[mellyf]

Can't wait to see it! I was disappointed when Douglas Henshaw decided not to return, but it should be interesting to see the new dynamic with Ashley Jensen and Tosh (and the other regulars). This is starting in the U.S. on the same date (or close) as season 3 of Slow Horses...my other favorite. 

[xfuse]

On 11/9/2023 at 4:33 PM, abbyzenn said:

I've only seen Ashley Jensen in Agatha Raisin

I haven't seen her in anything so I don't know if it's the actress or the role but I don't feel like she got much of a presence. She is bla to me. I love the show but to me she can't carry it and I struggled to watch it.

[mledawn]

I haven’t felt like the writers have rammed the new character down our throats, she seems to fit in the fabric due to her history with the island and its residents. 

It is a different vibe without Jimmy Perez (and Rhona) but the rest of the gang is still there and Temporary DI McIntosh is holding things down well.

[mellyf]

21 hours ago, mledawn said:

I haven’t felt like the writers have rammed the new character down our throats, she seems to fit in the fabric due to her history with the island and its residents. 

It is a different vibe without Jimmy Perez (and Rhona) but the rest of the gang is still there and Temporary DI McIntosh is holding things down well.

Even though I loved the character of Jimmy, I'm looking forward to the new season. Between Shetland and Slow Horses, both premiering Nov 29th, my husband and I feel like Christmas is coming early. :) (Not to mention Midsomer Murders on December 4!)

[dleighg]

Why Why Why doesn't it have closed captioning? I depend on it, particularly for Scottish accents. (I'm watching on Britbox through Amazon)

[Broderbits]

6 hours ago, dleighg said:

Why Why Why doesn't it have closed captioning?

I also have Britbox through Amazon and closed captioning is working for me.

[dleighg]

32 minutes ago, Broderbits said:

I also have Britbox through Amazon and closed captioning is working for me.

I don't see the option. Where do you see it? (please and thank you)

never mind; i see it now-- thanks!

Edited November 29, 2023 by dleighg

[dleighg]

So I enjoyed the first episode, and actually didn't really miss Jimmy, to my surprise. It would be very binge-able if we were able to do that! Now I gotta wait a week! 

And the scenery! It is not just a supporting player! So gorgeous.

Edited November 29, 2023 by dleighg

[Milburn Stone]

In all the preceding seasons, I never noticed that there were no trees!

[dleighg]

My husband and I have visited similar islands (Faroe, Orkney, Iceland, though not Shetland) so are used to (and love) that bleak scenery.