Murder in a Small Town

I don't give any real consideration to the notion that "sleepy" when it comes to TV and movies means "boring". Yes there's a small town slow moving vibe to the pilot but what's wrong with that? American TV and films are often frenetic and loud. That also doesn't mean "exciting" or even good. I never pass up a slow moving film, it's gotta brew so the nuances rise to the top. I'm certainly happy to give this one some time. A nice blend of Canadian actors and a somewhat typical plot but I'm intrigued. The Sutherland progeny, well he has the perfect demeanor for this. I knew he was related just from the voice. If you like sleepy at its finest, check out the Jesse Stone films with Selleck. Those are the gold standard.

Murder in a Small Town piqued my interest due to Kristin Kreuk, and lo and behold, she is paired with another Sutherland lad. I love small-town settings, and a murder mystery makes for a great combination. The first episode started out nicely: there's a murder, and the next-door elderly neighbor seems to be the culprit, but how and why? I liked that they elaborated on the characters and gave them a good backstory. I also liked that the show doesn't feel like the usual flashy, slick murder-mystery theme. But what intrigued me the most is the chemistry of the two leads: two 40-somethings with past experiences and baggage, trying love for the second time. Kreuk's Cassandra is feisty and bubbly, while Sutherland's Karl is this two-shirt type of detective. Together, they turn this small-town mystery into a slow-burn romance that's worth every twist.

I liked it as I like the hallmark mysteries and this reminded me of one of those - a romance battling with a murder to be the top story. The sets even reminded me of hallmark movies - very folksy. No, it's not going to be a critic darling show, one that gets the attention of the critics, but I like murder mysteries of all kinds so if you do too, you might like this. It has the vibes of a small town, if the small town was Cabot Cove. I find pilots to not always be the best and I do think there are things that can be improved but will let the first few episodes cook to give them a chance to develop.

Big city detective moves across the country and becomes chief of police in a small Oceanside town with a small number of interesting subordinates under his command. . Doesn't this make anyone else think of Jesse Stone amd Paradise. I loved all of those Selleck movies, and hope this effort pans out as successful. It seems to have all the makings and so far I am enjoying this show very much. If the writers can come up with the necessary intriguing stories, I expect this series will be successful. Makes me wonder if those writers, as well as all the actors, are watching all those Jesse Stone movies.

I can think of worse things they might do.

After just watching the pilot episode Murder in a Small Town, I was quite impressed with the simple plot of a murder that the small towns' new Police Chief was thrust into solving having recently joined the Gibsons Police force.

The new police chief. Karl Alberg (Rossif Sutherland) is an impressive murder investigator bringing his vast knowledge from a major city police force to the small quaint town of Gibsons.

Within the first episode we also get to know some of the characteristics of the other officers of the Gibsons police force, both rookies and seasoned police officers. All who look up to their new police chief, Karl Alberg.

One other key character in this new TV series is the town's librarian, Cassandra Lee (Kristin Kreuk) who meets Police Chief Karl Alberg through a dating web site service they both decided to subscribe to.

If the story line appears vaguely familiar to you (as it did to me) you may recall the previous former TV movie series Jessie Stone which delivered nine (9) TV films between 2005 and 2015 starring the aging but still appealing Tom Selleck. Sound familiar now?

Regardless whether or not Murder in a Small Town is trying to recapture some of the magic in the bottle of the Jesse Stone TV films, I really enjoyed this pilot episode and I am looking forward to the new story lines and the characters in the town of Gibsons.

I give the pilot a solid 8 out of 10 IMDb rating.