Sister Boniface Mysteries

I loved this character when she appeared in Father Brown so I was delighted to see this spin-off. It is wonderful light, amusing British TV. Some of the dialogue makes you giggle. Occasionally you laugh out loud: "We took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They never said anything about sobriety." Looking forward to each week's episode.

Yes, it's pretty, yes the costumes instil Sunday evening style swooning nostalgia, however, the acting and plot lines are appalling. Think Father Brown with less credulous storylines, complete with wooden acting and a direct attempt to entertain that falls totally from the mark. I have never ever left a review, but this is absolutely awful. So bad it lets down the pretty sets and nostalgic costumes. Such a shame, I was looking forward to this!

We have so many tropes here in this unexpectedly-spirited new arrival on BBC in early 2022.

We have the knowledgeable religious person (a nun who originated in series one of "Father Brown")

We have some kind of reverse Windrush Generation for 1960 - a detective from the West Indies, transferring in to Scotland Yard in London, who arrives on a (nicely-preserved) steam train in the west country village of Lower Slaughter (don't ask!) and settles into the ranks of the local constabulary.

The village detective depends upon the nun (who has a chemistry PhD and worked in Bletchley park during World War 2 (did I mention this is set in 1960?) Giving us some kind of reverse "death in paradise" homage to "In the heat of the night" (which would be filmed five years later...

And yet - it works!. Intellectually un-taxing, this is material and storylines which would probably pop up in the 8PM Sunday "Heartbeat" slot on British TV a decade back.

The early 1960s scene is beautifully crafted and, with a ten-episode first season (and confirmation in Q1-2022 that a series two will be commissioned) I predict that we shall be enjoying this 2020s creation for some time to come.

I wonder who will start the fanfiction storylines?

As the title says, the vibe of the show is pretty light hearted and the setting is quite idyllic and sort of alt-historical (early 20th century England). So, there is an appealing escapism aspect to this show that keeps bringing me back.

That said, how the stories play out, the way they investigate and figure out who did it, etc. Has gotten quite repetitive. It's identical in every episode so far. This is not Sherlock or Poirot level. It can also come off as too light hearted, well goofy, sometimes, think they could dial that back some but it varies by episode.

Like many mystery shows, Sister Boniface doesn't solve the mysteries on her own, there are 2 official detectives plus a tabloid news reporter who all play parts gathering clues. Sister Boniface just always plays the most important part piecing everything together towards the end. Most of the acting is pretty good given the nature of the show.

Poorly written, poorly acted, and really quite charmless. It's strange that there are credits because I can't believe that anyone would want to put their name to this dreadful, boring tripe.

Despite an overly fast pace to the plot development, these mysteries are tedious. The dialogue is drivel designed merely to race the plot along. It's very cheap to assume that throwing in some nuns (all wearing too much make-up) will make a mystery interesting or enjoyable; it doesn't.

This sham of a TV show has all the charm of diphtheria and I feel that someone should be locked up for this shameful garbage.