A Remarkable Place to Die

We're enjoying the show very much. The lead characters build and fall into jovial, professional and sometimes quirky relationships. Two mysteries build. One quickly, one long term. It has a thread running through it that holds your attention well. AcornTV only has the first two episodes available. We need the other two. Nice range of established NZ actors from 800 Words, Under the Vines, Brokenwood, and My Life is Murder. New Zealand's South Island is just exquisite, it becomes another character in the show. I like the 90 minutes episode format, it gives a lot of time to build for the storyline of the episode and the running thread. I will look out for the next lot of episodes to be released.

Each episode solves a crime, but throughout we are teased with the question of who and what was behind the younger sister's death. And there is mystery about the mother's unwillingness to say what she knows.

The individual crimes are handled adequately, but the overarching mystery of who and why are suddenly dumped upon us at the very end of episode 4, leaving the viewer tempted to rewind to see whether some point zipped by unnoticed.

The series itself is ok, but not exactly gripping, and the emotional exchanges between characters are pretty low key. A second series would be more worthwhile if the humanity of participants were cranked up. As things stand, the outstanding part of this series is the spectacular scenery of New Zealand in the mountains of the South.

Love my NZ, Aussie and British murder mysteries. This was one is very promising, but there are a lot of disjointed issues. It feels like some departments got a better budget than others. The cinematography/scenery/drone department got the best budget as the vistas are gorgeous. The fact that the name of the Remarkable Mountain Range is in the title this makes sense. But other departments such as costumes, script writing, directing, and sets did not.

Script: show is episodic and serialized. Great! The detectives solve one murder per episode, but we have to deal with murder of protagonist's father and sister, which one is not resolved in last episode. This show wanted to be serious (One Lane Bridge, Toppo) but also quirky/funny (Brokenwood, My life is Murder) which is OK with me (don't enjoy One Lane Bridge) but it is done heavy-handily. The quirky character is usually the coroner or a nosey relative/friend, but here they loaded all the shows quirkiness on the poor youngest detective. Kudos to the actor who plays him and puts up with it.

Relationship between mother and main detective drove me crazy. If any viewer made a drinking game of how many times Anais went to her mom's house to make up with her or get help with the cases and got slammed out they would be sloshed. None of these scenes moved the plot forward or made any sense.

The details of the car accidents (both the first murder and detective's sister) and helicopter are played out forever in the first 3 episodes, but the finale was literally the last 10 minutes of episode 4. It happened so quickly I had to rewind to make sure i hadn't missed anything.

Anyway an OK way to see Queenstown and NZ outside a documentary compared to other murder mysteries, but not a top notch show.

I enjoyed the first episode very much. The New Zealand scenery is a huge bonus and the South Island of such great beauty, it adds to the atmosphere. I enjoy seeing different actors rather than the UK and USA actors I so often watch. I have seen Ms. Gibney in other series and she is always a great addition . There was a mystery to solve but also an ongoing one that will tie things and people to the plot line. And no car chases at least not yet. I certainly will continue with season one as it becomes available and hope for more. Chelsie Preston Crawford is most convincing in the role of Anais Mallory.

Thank you Acorn TV for another wonderful mystery series. I'm picky about mystery series. If I can figure out who-done-it in the first five minutes, I'll lose interest fast. This series is wonderful since it solves a mystery with each episode, but has an ongoing additional mystery that flows throughout the season.

I really like all of the main characters and they're portrayed as normal human beings with admiral qualities and flaws. Constable Jarrod's character adds a touch of humor and sympathy with his bumbling and inexperience. Jarrod's character reminds me of Sgt. Troy from Midsomer Murders.

The main thing I would change about this show is the elimination of the "F" bomb from all the scripts. It's completely unnecessary and far too reminiscent of the garbage Hollywood slops to the public. Certainly Acorn TV is miles above that. What's the point of walking in the gutter if you don't have to. I would also make the fight scenes a touch more realistic for the main character, but this is a small item.

Good stories, nice twists and turns, great character development, beautiful scenery, and surprising who-done-its, plus good acting. This is what good television is meant to be. Thanks Acorn!