Rosemary & Thyme

...and it has real women in it, Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris, two dynamite actresses.

Rosemary & Thyme is about two women, Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme who are in the gardening business together. Everywhere they go to work, they become involved in a murder mystery.

In order to enjoy the show, you have to accept two conceits. The first is, both these women are incredibly nosy. They come into a situation to fix, put in, or expand a garden and before you know it, they're sneaking around roofs and attics and asking outrageous questions.

The second conceit is that the solutions are sometimes really out there and you wonder how they ever figured them out. Hidden messages on trees, that sort of thing. Wild.

Nevertheless, I like it. Sorry to hear it was canceled.

The women in this series appear as if they're having fun and they take us along for the ride.

The relationship between Felicity Kendal & Pam Ferris is like salt and pepper. One is spicy, sharp and speaks her mind. Sometimes this places her in a 'dangerous' situation but she's willing to take the risk.

The other is more diplomatic and a tad cautious. This makes a good blend which will reach most of us (women, that is).

You know at the outset there's little chance of real danger but it's a pleasure to have a cup of tea while enjoying their adventures.

Sugar and spice make a good combo. The Brits really show us up -- almost all the time. Watched them from the outset. Delighted they keep coming back.

I was highly entertained by this program. While the episodes weren't particularly difficult brain teasers, the mysteries were adequately engaging and intriguing while the characters well drawn with logical motives (generally explained at the end). I liked that the show avoided obvious red herrings, and didn't try to "trick" the viewers with hidden clues; though sometimes the guilty party was a bit too easy to figure out (and sometimes too early which can spoil the progress of the story line), while our amateur sleuths were still stumbling about--nonetheless a fun exercise for us armchair detectives.

I really enjoyed the main characters. I thought they were well-matched and eccentric enough to be interesting without being too annoying. The guest characters were all pretty well fleshed out as well, which helped the show a great deal. I thought the fact that they were gardeners was a unique hook that gave them reasonable access to the nooks and crannies of the parks and residences they were investigating, as well as a somewhat plausible excuse for stumbling over so many bodies. If you dig deep enough, wide enough and in enough places, you're bound to come up with something....

I was lucky enough to be able to binge watch all three seasons--which offers both pros and cons. The unlikelihood of these two women constantly becoming embroiled in a new murder mystery each week becomes much less plausible when you watch the shows back to back like I did, but then that's the case with any program of this nature. The bickering between the two main characters also became a bit more annoying than if the episodes had been watched a week apart--but I can hardly fault the program for the way I decided to devour three seasons in one go.

The fact that the program managed to keep me involved and guessing right along with the cast for the full three seasons is a compliment to the writers. It can't be easy to come up with unique murder mysteries for that many episodes, yet they did manage to avoid feeling repetitious for the most part. I even managed to learn a bit about plants and gardening that I hadn't known. Good job! In all honesty, while I understand why many people would be disappointed by the cancellation of this program, after 3 seasons it had started to feel a bit stale. Again, though, if I was watching it as it had aired weekly with summer breaks or whatever, I may not have felt that way at all, so take this opinion for what it deserves. Overall an entertaining program worth a go!

Okay, so Rosemary and Thyme won't be featured with latest edition of brain busters, but the show isn't intended that way. With such seasoned veterans as it's main stars, both ladies never disappoint. With a touch of warmth, Rosemary & Thyme rate with the staples from Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. While the mysteries may not be as involved, both ladies help work through the mystery, while making you feel as part of the team. With this show, I have to say you never are left wondering about the obvious clue you missed, because you experience everything with them as they experience it. There's no hidden brother's cousin's sister who arrives five minutes before the murder and leaves and is discovered at the end. The viewer is treated to background mini-dramas of both character's past relationships and lives as they delve in the murder afoot. This series is definitely worth watching and in my opinion worth buying.

This wonderful "who done it" British TV series lasted only three seasons and was canceled because of budget concerns. As it is, 22 episodes are available on DVD.

Basic plot has Rosemary Boxer (Felicity Kendal) who's been fired from her job as a university lecturer in plant pathology, and Laura Thyme (Pam Ferris) a housewife (and former police woman) dumped by her husband. The two meet by chance and form a fast friendship that leads them to start a business as gardeners. But they get more than they bargained for when they get involved in local politics, family squabbles, and (invariably) in murder.

The two women use their natural curiosity and knowledge of plants to help the cops solve the murders.

The show is notable for never showing the actual violence of murder and for having two women of a certain age who are not involved in relationships or with cutesy kiddies. Another big bonus is the gorgeous location filming at various estates around the UK and a few trips to the continent. The viewer can also pick up bits and pieces of garden lore and tips.

Kendal is of course a major TV star with hit series like THE GOOD NEIGHBORS and SOLO to her credit. Ferris also has a long list of TV credits. They work perfectly together. These women are smart, independent, and funny.

The series boasts a lot of familiar faces as guests like Anthony Andrews, Phyllida Law, Suzanne Bertish, Belinda Lang, Michael Cochrane, Mel Martin, Crispin Bonham-Carter, Margaret Tyzack, Tilly Blackwood, Julian Firth, Murray Head, Diana Hardcastle, Christopher Bowen, and Neil McDermott.

Terrific!