Murder, They Hope

I just discovered that Series 2 (Season 2) is on Prime in USA. But NOT on Britbox which has all the rest.

Im so disappointed in this 2nd Season. It was all more simplified & just plain dumb/stupid. Many scenes were just gross & not funny at all. Lacking everything good about the Movies or even Series 1. SKIP S2.

The earlier first 2 movies "Murder on the Blackpool Express" & "Death on the Tyne" were a spoof on the Mystery genre with a specific style of British humor but with subtle & wry, sly references & a soundtrack with song titles/lyrics that were incorporated perfectly. (In #1, the coachbus speeds down the highway as Meatloafs "Bat out of Hell" plays or in #2 theres that moment when James Fleet comes down the stairs as the Ships Captain). I laughed out loud a few times.

I didnt care for the 3rd movie "Dial M for Middlebrough", probably because it was more a spoof of Horror movies more than mystery & I dont like horror. The deaths were gross.

The 1st Series was a step down from the first 2 movies but still were somewhat clever, if not a bit more twisted. I remember seeing a very young Janine Duvitski as the naive Jane in "Waiting for God". It was so funny to see her play this character in the Bunny Trap episode. I fast forwarded thru parts of some episodes (theres only 3).

I havent checked who made this 2nd Series (Season) but it really feels like the writers got rid of the best ideas & only kept the rest. So many familiar actors but they didnt have much to work with, although Vicki Pepperdine did make me kaugh. She mustve had alot of fun in her role in S2 Ep1 "Cant see the blood for the trees" but thats not enough to carry the 2nd Series. The 2 episodes after that get much worse. Its too bad they think we have no brains to recognize subtle jokes/innuendo & instead chose to push dumb or gross gags repeatedly.

A bit of a slow starter but 2 and 3 just got funnier and funnier keep going.

If you're a fan of the first two films which spawned this Franchise (Death on the Tyne) and (Murder on the Blackpool Express) or even if you're just a fan of Johnny Vegas in general, you'll probably hate this.

He's been reduced to a bumbling idiot in order to provide comic relief - and boy does this film need relief. It really wants taking out back and shooting, if I'm honest. The only time Vegas' character has not been given a line to show off his stupidity, is when he's been given one to show off his grumpiness. He's only been given enough material to flip flop between those two states.

Even the haircut he's been given is a metaphor for how all the life has been battered out of any potential his character may have had initially and all that remains is a droopy floppy mess.

Gemma is firmly in charge of the pairing which is very much a gamble, considering she's about as useful as a lighthouse during a power cut and only slightly more intelligent than her sister's character who has really no need to be there.

For those who've never heard of either Vegas or Gibson before, you may find this a pleasant outing. For those of us who have seen what they're both capable of, it's very disappointing and truly worth a miss. Won't even bother watching the others as I value my braincells.

While this show is in fact not going to win awards, it is a wonderful little side track from our current hectic world. It is cute, funny and one does not need to be of sound mind to enjoy. I really like the Comedy and the who done it is gravy. I highly recommend for the laughs.

Vegas and Gibson show they are still a magical pairing as they take the characters from the very good TV Movies and ease them into an even better 3-part series.

Janine Duvitski stole the show in episode one but she has fierce competition due to a brilliant and wonderfully sarcastic performance by the ridiculously underrated Shobna Gulati.

Sarah Hadland as the deranged Monica is also another hilarious turn.

There are plenty of laugh out loud moments and a lot of "yes, we know this visual gag could be seen coming from miles away but it's still funny" knowing winks to the audience which is part of the fun.

Murder, They Hope doesn't claim to be re-inventing the wheel. It's lighthearted, funny, well written and a nice, much needed change to the doom and gloom of the past year in real life.

The 4 main characters get better with each episode and I hope there will be a second series of this hidden gem.

The production values are very impressive and the guest stars well cast.