Something to watch tonight: Monday 17 November
Shetland (2014-2024)
I whakapapa back to Shetland and have something of an affinity for that bleak and windswept landscape.
Crime writer Ann Cleeves set several mysteries in Shetland and initially they were the source material for the BBC series, but it has since taken on a life of its own.
I wrote a brief appreciation of Shetland — the show — for RNZ back when streamer AMC+ launched a local version of its AcornTV imprint in March last year:
AcornTV’s parent corporation is also a major shareholder in the company that owns the Agatha Christie estate, so detective stories and whodunnits are very much part of their DNA.
As a proud descendant of the Shetland islands, I was always curious about the long-running crime drama set in that locale and, thanks to Acorn, I can watch all eight seasons.
The first season – a kind of pilot, I suppose – was really a two-part TV movie, based on the novel Red Bones by Ann Cleeves. An elderly woman is killed with a shotgun on one of the remote islands and detective Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) takes the short ferry ride from Lerwick to investigate. He uncovers a family feud going all the way back to World War II and that story sets the tone for a well plotted and easy to watch show with an excellent sense of place. Although, I was disappointed to discover that much of the show is filmed on the mainland and they only go to Shetland for important exteriors and atmospherics.
Henshall is an appealing lead as Perez, a recent widower with a teenage daughter and a paternalism for his team that warms the heart. He left the series after season seven and the most recent season – broadcast in the UK at the end of last year – now stars the great Ashley Jensen (Extras).
Shetland is one of the most popular shows on AcornTV and its easy to see why. With 44 episodes in the can, it represents great value for your streaming dollar.
Also mentioned in that article: Robbie Coltrane and Julie Walters in the plucked-from-the-headlines, National Treasure, and the excellent Australian political drama series Total Control.
Further listening
Last Friday night on RNZ Nights with Emile Donovan we had a free-ranging chat that included the new Spinal Tap sequel, The End Continues (in cinemas), an excellent indie drama out of this year’s Sundance, East of Wall (rental from AroVision), and the truly horrendous vanity project from the Irish dancer Michael Flatley, Blackbird (YouTube).
Where to watch Shetland
Aotearoa: S1-7 Streaming on ThreeNow (free with ads), S1-9 streaming on AMC+
Australia, Canada, USA: Streaming on Britbox
Ireland, India: Not currently available
UK: S1-10 BBC iPlayer (free with a TV license)
The atmoshere in Shetland is unmatched for Nordic noir style storytelling. Douglas Henshall brought such warmth to Perez while maintaning that quiet intensity needed for the role. Its facinating how the landscape itself becomes a character in the series, especally when you consider the real Shetland connection. The transition to Ashley Jensen must have been interesting for long-time viewers.
Heard tell that you were missing Albuquerque on RNZ. This triggered memories: apart from being both beautiful and home to the least skilled / coherent driving you might ever experience, ABQ is also the setting for Track of the Moon Beast (even worse than it sounds), done up here by Mystery Science Theater 3000, which no one has time for and possibly has never heard of in Aotearoa. Quite goofy, in a 90s kind of way.
https://archive.org/details/mst-3-k-1007-trkmnb-2.0