I have to admit that I am hooked on British mysteries. Most
anything the BBC cooks up is perfect for me! Believe me, I have tried to find
mysteries to watch on Hulu. What is advertised as a light mystery often turns
into dreadful, bloody, haunting fare, sometimes with zombies, to boot! I have
about given up on the US studios and streaming studios with their over-the-top
mystery fare.
Give me good old Agatha Christie’s “Poirot” or her “Miss
Marple” any day over most US mystery shows. The BBC has produced dozens of
intelligent, interesting mysteries. Besides the renowned Agatha Christie and "Sherlock Holmes" films are: “Father Brown”, “Midsomer Murders”, “Vera”, "Death in Paradise", “Pie in
the Sky” and many other quality shows. You can even see women, and not always
Hollywood Barbie types in the lead detective roles, like with “Vera”. How
refreshing!
As summer progresses, I will probably watch more British
mysteries in the evenings when I am winding down before going to bed. I hope I
don’t run out of these engaging series. I would not be happy to have to resort
to American mysteries. It seems every time I think I have landed on a decent
show, all of a sudden it degrades into a horror film with images of brutal, graphic murders or zombies
stalking a city. Yuck!
It would be instructive to find out why American cinema has
so degenerated. One thinks it is to keep viewers engaged and scintillated as
they are dragged into sheer terror on screen. Why does the American viewing
public seem to require blood and gore in order to be entertained these days?
Perhaps there is a connection with the ever-increasing rate of brutal and
bloody mass murders happening in this country. In Great Britain the police
don’t even carry guns, and mass murders are so rare that it is hard to find an
example in that country. What have we come to in the United Stares? Why are
many so bloodthirsty and depraved in their viewing habits?
I am pondering this question as I turn on BritBox to watch
another installment of “Pie in the Sky”.