Dr Lucien Blake returns home to find Ballarat hosting a very public stopover in a cross-country, endurance motor race - and a very suspicious death.Dr Lucien Blake returns home to find Ballarat hosting a very public stopover in a cross-country, endurance motor race - and a very suspicious death.Dr Lucien Blake returns home to find Ballarat hosting a very public stopover in a cross-country, endurance motor race - and a very suspicious death.
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- TriviaAnother exit for Chief Matthew Lawson.
- GoofsSergeant Davis was shown as Senior Constable Davis in the closing credits.
Featured review
Deadly motor racing
'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.
Season 4 gets off to a very good start with "The Open Road", albeit there are far better episodes of 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' including all the episodes of the previous season. Not that there is much wrong with it per se, it just lacks the extra something of the best episodes, ones that had more tension, poignancy, darkness and a more personal nature. It is agreed that there are some sloppy inaccuracies regarding cars, considering that the mystery is centred around them it was not easy to ignore or forgive. Though am not going to mark the episode down harshly just because of that.
Am glad to see the back of Munro. His combative relationship with Blake did get finally more interesting in the last two episodes of the previous season, but the character with his cold fish nature never did it for me.
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', "The Open Road" 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.
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.
In conclusion, very good and could have been great if more thought was put into the accuracy side of things. 8/10 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.
Season 4 gets off to a very good start with "The Open Road", albeit there are far better episodes of 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' including all the episodes of the previous season. Not that there is much wrong with it per se, it just lacks the extra something of the best episodes, ones that had more tension, poignancy, darkness and a more personal nature. It is agreed that there are some sloppy inaccuracies regarding cars, considering that the mystery is centred around them it was not easy to ignore or forgive. Though am not going to mark the episode down harshly just because of that.
Am glad to see the back of Munro. His combative relationship with Blake did get finally more interesting in the last two episodes of the previous season, but the character with his cold fish nature never did it for me.
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', "The Open Road" 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.
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.
In conclusion, very good and could have been great if more thought was put into the accuracy side of things. 8/10 Bethany Cox
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- TheLittleSongbird
- Apr 30, 2018
Details
- Runtime54 minutes
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