After a footrace in which Jean's son wins by cheating, we get to meet the person she has talked about from time to time. He has had an ugly past which was precipitated by dealings with his father. He is handsome but rather unlikeable. We cut to a window washer who looks into a house and sees three people, all from the same family, dead. They are known for their benevolence. During the investigation, a sister is found hidden in a closet. She is blind. Blake has to wade through a couple things. Lawson is gone and has been replaced by a no nonsense veteran, rather cold and serious. He has no interest in Blake's past successes. This is nicely done because the son is suspected. This allows us to focus on Jean's character. She blames herself for his painful past. Blake has to continue to investigate, knowing that Jean is in great pain. We also see more evidence of his love for her.
3 Reviews
Family Murder Mystery with a Feeling of Meeting Old Friends Once More
l_rawjalaurence14 December 2014
The second series of the DOCTOR BLAKE MYSTERIES rounds off with a family-centered murder mystery in which Blake's (Craig McLachlan's) housekeeper Jean Beazley (Nadine Garner) finds herself directly involved. This is a good move; for too many of the episodes in the series she has played second fiddle to the main character, being shown making various meals and offering tea whenever the Doctor requires it. In this episode her son Jack (Aaron Jakubenko) is one of the chief suspects in a particularly grisly murder of an entire family.
The plotting - as with many episodes in this series - is intricate yet satisfying, involving a telescoping of time, the replacement of human with animal blood, and a deliberate attempt to falsify the evidence. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this episode is that we are encouraged not to believe the evidence of our eyes - people's motives might be more clandestine that might first be assumed.
Fans of Australian police thrillers might be pleased to see the presence of John Stanton in the cast, taking over from Joel Tobeck as Doctor Blake's superior. The series BELLAMY (1981) was aired late at night on ITV during the Eighties, in which Stanton played the eponymous hero as a tough, no-nonsense cop in the Jack Regan (THE SWEENEY) mold. Although gray-haired now, he plays Doug Ashby in similar mode - Blake will have his work cut out to try and maintain his maverick status, should Ashby appear in future series.
The plotting - as with many episodes in this series - is intricate yet satisfying, involving a telescoping of time, the replacement of human with animal blood, and a deliberate attempt to falsify the evidence. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this episode is that we are encouraged not to believe the evidence of our eyes - people's motives might be more clandestine that might first be assumed.
Fans of Australian police thrillers might be pleased to see the presence of John Stanton in the cast, taking over from Joel Tobeck as Doctor Blake's superior. The series BELLAMY (1981) was aired late at night on ITV during the Eighties, in which Stanton played the eponymous hero as a tough, no-nonsense cop in the Jack Regan (THE SWEENEY) mold. Although gray-haired now, he plays Doug Ashby in similar mode - Blake will have his work cut out to try and maintain his maverick status, should Ashby appear in future series.
Not very summery
TheLittleSongbird21 April 2018
'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' may not quite be among my favourite shows of all time, but it's a riveting series that keeps getting better and one of the better detective drama shows in recent years. It is always fascinating to see a mystery series from outside England and America, and 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' is one of the better examples.
Unfortunately, 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' tends to be buried within daytime television scheduling, both on the BBC when first getting into it three or so years ago and on not as much watched channel (i.e. Alibi). It also tends to be aired at a time where most people will be at school or work, for me it was during sporadic periods when not needing to go into music college. The series deserves much better than that when it has consistently been one of the better shows to be aired in the early afternoon.
Judging from the review summary, one may think me not considering the episode good. Quite the contrary. In fact, "An Invincible Summer" is excellent, one of the season's most intricate and interesting for how one perceives evidence, motives and the overall truth. The summary was merely alluding to the serious, grim tone of the story, that is not very summery at all. Do miss Lawson, but Ashby is an intriguing, if slightly too cold, contrast very well played by John Stanton.
By now, 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' felt like it had found its feet and had established things well by this point. Relationships and characters continue to deepen, the mysteries are even twistier and the pace has more lustre.
Like the rest of 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries', "An Invincible Summer" is exceptionally well made. The post-war period is beautifully evoked in the sumptuous but also atmospheric settings and scenery and charming costumes and period detail. It is beautifully shot and atmospherically lit, the dark grey-ish tinge being very appropriate and adding much to the overall feel of the episode. It is scored sensitively and the haunting theme tune gets embedded in the brain, while the direction is suitably restrained.
Writing continues to be very good with the tone established very well. There is great thought-provoking dialogue that always makes the mystery elements interesting but the atmosphere doesn't ever feel too grim. The story is riveting, suspensefully written and you care about having it solved. The solution is not obvious nor is it too complicated, very neat without being too pat. The characters are well written and more than just stereotypes, Lucien Blake still has it in how fascinating a character he is. Of the season, this was most apparent in this and "The Ties of the Past".
Craig McLachlan is superb in the role as well, quite possibly his best role and certainly the best acting he's ever done. He seemed an unlikely choice at first, but the character suits him perfectly. All the acting is very good actually, and seldom if ever any less. The relationships between the characters are well worth investing in, loved that there was more to Jean here.
In summary, great episode yet again. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Unfortunately, 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' tends to be buried within daytime television scheduling, both on the BBC when first getting into it three or so years ago and on not as much watched channel (i.e. Alibi). It also tends to be aired at a time where most people will be at school or work, for me it was during sporadic periods when not needing to go into music college. The series deserves much better than that when it has consistently been one of the better shows to be aired in the early afternoon.
Judging from the review summary, one may think me not considering the episode good. Quite the contrary. In fact, "An Invincible Summer" is excellent, one of the season's most intricate and interesting for how one perceives evidence, motives and the overall truth. The summary was merely alluding to the serious, grim tone of the story, that is not very summery at all. Do miss Lawson, but Ashby is an intriguing, if slightly too cold, contrast very well played by John Stanton.
By now, 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' felt like it had found its feet and had established things well by this point. Relationships and characters continue to deepen, the mysteries are even twistier and the pace has more lustre.
Like the rest of 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries', "An Invincible Summer" is exceptionally well made. The post-war period is beautifully evoked in the sumptuous but also atmospheric settings and scenery and charming costumes and period detail. It is beautifully shot and atmospherically lit, the dark grey-ish tinge being very appropriate and adding much to the overall feel of the episode. It is scored sensitively and the haunting theme tune gets embedded in the brain, while the direction is suitably restrained.
Writing continues to be very good with the tone established very well. There is great thought-provoking dialogue that always makes the mystery elements interesting but the atmosphere doesn't ever feel too grim. The story is riveting, suspensefully written and you care about having it solved. The solution is not obvious nor is it too complicated, very neat without being too pat. The characters are well written and more than just stereotypes, Lucien Blake still has it in how fascinating a character he is. Of the season, this was most apparent in this and "The Ties of the Past".
Craig McLachlan is superb in the role as well, quite possibly his best role and certainly the best acting he's ever done. He seemed an unlikely choice at first, but the character suits him perfectly. All the acting is very good actually, and seldom if ever any less. The relationships between the characters are well worth investing in, loved that there was more to Jean here.
In summary, great episode yet again. 9/10 Bethany Cox
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