Return to Paradise

I know we all love the original in Death in Paradise and all had thoughts that "oh god this is going to be bad.." "oh its set in Australia.. at the beach because of course."

BUT.. I did read a few internet reviews who didn't recommend watching this, in fact do the opposite.

It may not be England, or the original series but the spin off is worth a watch. Anna Samson is amazing in the role of DI Mackenzie Clarke. Great to see her back on TV after leaving Home and Away.

Also great to see on screen again is Celia Ireland as "Reggie Rocco" who is hilarious in the scenes she is in.

Recommend watching this as I caught it very early on the ABC Iview ap, a great first episode, will watch to see what happens next.

I mean though, if you don't like it, maybe watch something else?

I love the combination of a Sea Change setting, music and Aussie & Brit characters, with the Death In Paradise style. The theme song is just like the Sea Change theme - and I'm waiting for SeaChange's Magistrate Laura Gibson (Sigrid Thornton) to turn up. Nice when DI Mackenzie called DI Jack Mooney (Ardal O'Hanlon) at. New Scotland Yard in London. Retired teacher and police volunteer Reggie Rocco (Cecilia Ireland) gives the show that dinkum Aussie character - "we're as good as any toffs - everyone's equal in Australia" - which makes the show different to the somewhat colonial Death In Paradise. Also good to see an indigenous (Aboriginal) Aussie - Aaron McGrath, as Constable Felix Wilkinson. The UK audience will like Detective Senior Constable Colin Cartwright (Lloyd Griffiths), who liked Dolphin Cove and has moved from the UK. Perhaps in future episodes, we'll also see retired Detective Sergeant Jack Darby (Bryan Browne) and retired British clinical nurse Joan Kirkhope (Greta Scacchi) from Darby and Joan.

Beautiful scenery backdrops a murder mystery show led by a quirky detective with a shady past. The humor is light although the first episode didn't have the intriguing plot that the French/British series it's based on has. It's passable, but the lead actress doesn't seem' comfortable in her role as a weird police officer with commitment issues and an emotional retinue understaffed. Her facial expressions tend towards pantomime. She over does the confusion of other's responses to her which seems unlikely given it's a personality trait. The second episode was better and the lead seemed more convincing in her role as a sociopath. This is an ok show but lacks the Caribbean vibe of the original. Recommended to soft mystery fans.

I will check out the next episode, not least because I tend to like seeing things shot in Australia.

But I have to wonder why some creators seem to feel the need for "weird" in every series. The lead character, Mack, has a nasty back story and a problematic current situation, an absent mother -- whom I fear will not be absent long, and who will add to the "weird" already contributed by the "volunteer police person."

The single best thing about this for me was the reference to Inspector Mooney, to whom Mack referred as "Jack." That's OUR Inspector Mooney, from the original Death in Paradise, and it holds out a little hope that Ardal O'Hanlon may make a cameo or even guest appearance at some point. The postcard on his desk that said "Visit Saint Marie" was another nice touch.

But this was a rather clunky debut, with too much time spent on telling us Mackenzie Clark, including that she is "brilliant." As a result the other cop regulars-to-be got very short shrift, especially Catherine McClements, whom I suspect is going to be criminally underused.

Let's hope it sharpens up -- a cop show in Australia always has potential, as does a Thorogood spin-off, but there have been too many first-rate Australian cop shows for one to coast on his reputation. This one will have to raise its game.

Both Return to Paradise and Beyond Paradise lack the verve, spark and colour of the original, Beyond Paradise. I agree with another poster that the main character, Mackenzie Clarke, is hard to like. I assume the producers will realise this and her character could easily be tweaked for the next season (should there be one - the door was, not surprisingly, left open for a second run and ratings for the first season were solid). The other characters are eclectic and likeable, the murders confounding, the "love triangle" is somewhat unsatisfactory, and the scenery is great, so there is plenty to work with and improve. Return to Paradise has potential....