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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries-Series 1 (2019)

Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries-Series 1 (2019)

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Released 1-May-2019

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Mystery Featurette-Behind The Scenes-7
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2019
Running Time 339:08 (Case: 354)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Dual Disc Set
Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Fiona Banks
Kevin Carlin
Lynn Hegarty
Studio
Distributor
ABC
Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Geraldine Hakewill
Catherine McClements
Joel Jackson
Case Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI $29.95 Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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Plot Synopsis

    Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries was a successful show for the ABC which ran for three seasons and a Christmas special earlier this decade. The reviews of all of the seasons and the special can be found here .

    That show was set in the late 1920s in Melbourne and featured Phyrne Fisher as a lady detective played by Essie Davis. This new show Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries has been updated to the 1960s and features the original character's niece, Peregrine Fisher (Geraldine Hakewill). Peregrine is living in a country town in Victoria, struggling to get by when she is called to Melbourne for her inheritance. She knows nothing of her aunt but quickly discovers that she was a detective and a member of the Adventuresses Club, led by Birdie Birnside (Catherine McClements). She finds out that her aunt in missing in New Guinea plane crash and that she has been left her house and car. She quickly decides that she wants to follow in her aunts footsteps and become a detective, becoming a member of the Adventuresses club which only allows talented, brave and resourceful women to join. Birdie is an ex-spy and other members include scientists, mountain climbers and pilots.

    This set of 2 DVDs contains all four episodes of the first season, which are all feature length. The episodes all use unique sixties settings; Episode 1 set around a fashion show, Episode 2 features a young TV singer killed during a live broadcast, Episode 3 features a secret military facility and UFO sightings and Episode 4 is set in a Chinese cooking school run by a white man. Each episode highlights one of the other Adventuress club members.

    This is an entertaining light mystery series which should be enjoyed by those who like murder mystery style shows such as the original series. The period detail in sets, costumes, cars, trains, locations and other detail is very well done and creates an atmosphere that is believably 1960s Melbourne. The various stories are well written and keep the audience intrigued and entertained. Those after a grittier style of television mystery such as Taggart or Cracker should probably look elsewhere. The cast are well chosen and seem to be enjoying making the show. Unlike the original series these stories have been directly written for the screen rather than based on novels. To me, this new series is not quite as compelling as the original but is certainly still enjoyable.

    Recommended for murder mystery fans and fans of the original.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

    The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout and the shadow detail was good. A standard DVD presentation with no artefacts of note.

    The colour was very good with no issues to report.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired which were clear and easy to read.

    


Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is good.

    This disc contains an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 at 224 Kbps.

    Dialogue was quite clear and easy to understand.

    The music sounds pretty good, featuring songs of the era.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    There are a collection of short featurettes on the second disc.

Menu

    The menu was silent and still.

Behind the Scenes - Birdie Birnside (1:58)

    Interviews snippets and scenes focused on the character of Birdie. EPK style.

Behind the Scenes - James Steed (2:00)

    Interviews snippets and scenes focused on the character of Detective Steed. EPK style.

Behind the Scenes - World of Miss Fisher (2:04)

    Interviews snippets and scenes focused on creating the new character and the 1960s world. EPK style.

Behind the Scenes - Storyworld (2:24)

    Interviews snippets and scenes focused on the stories of the episodes and the supporting characters. EPK style.

Behind the Scenes - Design (2:16)

    Interviews snippets and scenes focused on the getting the right locations, props, costumes and period detail. EPK style.

Behind the Scenes - Peregrine (2:01)

    Interviews snippets and scenes focused on casting and developing the character of Peregrine. EPK style.

Behind the Scenes - Costume (2:11)

    Interviews snippets and scenes focused on the costume design and finding various period pieces. EPK style.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The show is only locally available at this point.

Summary

    A fun and light period murder mystery series from Australia which is a spinoff of the successful Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

    The video quality is good.

    The audio quality is good.

    The extras are OK but are all short featurettes.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Review Equipment
DVDSony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player, using HDMI output
DisplayLG OLEDC8PTA 55”. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 2160p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationMarantz SR5012
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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