Year Released: 2014--present
Starring: Neill Rea, Fern Sutherland, Nic Sampson, Cristina Ionda
(Not rated, approx. 90 min per episode)
Genre: Mystery and Suspense

“Pinot Noir with a hint of dead wine judge.” –D.I. Shepherd overlooking a dead body in a fermentation vat

It’s New Zealand’s version of Midsomer Murders, but a lot more fun. Replace the rather stuffy and happily married chief inspectors of that English series with Detective Mike Shepherd, who has an indeterminate number of ex wives and a passion for muscle cars and country music, New Zealand style.

And, yes, trade in those too perfect picturesque Midsomer villages for a beautiful but rough country and its people, and you begin to get the idea.

Stir in the New Zealand accents instead of plumy English vowels and the real fun starts. It’s different from how the Aussies speak, too. What I love most is the way they pronounce “dead,” which in this case, comes up quite a bit. It’s more like “deed” in a short clipped kind of way, as it is with all the other short e sounds. If you can, opt for the closed captions to help you through this. You will need it, too, since the plots are about as complicated and convoluted as those on its sister English version.

And like the equally comic mysteries such as Balthazar, Midsomer Murders, and Death in Paradise, our murders are anything but routine. A guest judge at a wine show is found in a fermentation vat (a bit of a steal from a Midsomer’s plot), a golfer face down in the sand trap, the coach of a rugby team strapped to a goal post, a severed hand in a fishing net, an organic farmer trussed to his scarecrow pole, and a woman wrapped in a fake cobweb poisoned with spider venom at the local Lord of the Rings tourist trap, to name a few.

Of course, we have D.C. Sims (Fern Sutherland) a by the book detective who learns to appreciate Mike’s whimsical investigative strategies, even if his car, 1971 Holden HQ Kingswood sedan, is older than she is.

And ginger haired D.C. Breen (Nic Sampson), a little lower on the totem pole, recalls the newbie hazing chores given early on to NCIS’s Tim McGee. Or as Nic Sampson himself says, "If there is some really weird character, they always get Breen to go and talk to him.” Like the somewhat scary owner of the local pub, Trudy Neilson, who gives him “the collywobbles.”

Then there’s the Russian born pathologist who seems to have a bit of a crush of Detective Shepherd. Although she has a hard time with some of the Kiwi idioms, her deadpan humor is as funny as it is awkward.

Adding their unique cultural spice to this series, which never takes itself or anything else too seriously, are the original new Zealand natives, the Māori. Jared Morehu (Pana Hema Taylor) is Shepherd’s neighbor, who helps tend to Mike’s vineyard and sometimes the murder investigations as well, when he’s not on stage playing Hamlet.

Also Rawiri Jobe plays Kaur Taylor, Jared’s brother’s cousin (yes, you read correctly), a plumber by trade but also Sims’ part-time beau.–Francine Brokaw

Not to mention Mrs. Marlowe, New Zealand’s version of Father Brown’s beloved town gossip, Mrs. McCarthy .

Wrap it all up in the New Zealand country western music that D.I. Shepherd loves and D.C. Sims abhors. In fact, you might even start to groove on it a bit yourself after several episodes.

Not to miss for fans of mystery laced with humor and sometimes a little arsenic. Maybe even worth subscribing to Acorn streaming for about 5 bucks a month. You know you want to.

–Kathy Borich
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Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

The sweet and fussy Mrs. Marlowe is the town gossip, who invariably turns up and around the murder scenes. And like Mrs. McCarthy of the beloved Father Brown series , she too loves to cook, especially her famous Secret Cheese Rolls, which are not so secret now that Different Drummer has unearthed her recipe.

Oh, and she makes a mean lasagna, too, which she brings over to an invalided Detective Shepherd as he is recovering from a broken leg. She says that the lasagna will help him heal, since Italians are such virile men. If she is disappointed when Shepherd tells her he has no Italian blood, she doesn’t let that faze her. Without skipping a beat, she tells the detective inspector that she had a former life as a registered nurse and is quite adept and giving sponge baths, if he is interested.

He gives her the same look my dog does when I tell him it’s bath time.

Now flush any disconcerting images you might have of said event and concentrate on the Cheese Rolls. And you might want to wash them down with a good New Zealand wine, such as one of their great Sauvignon Blancs.

Mrs. Marlowe’s Secret Cheese Roll

Ingredients

· A 12 oz. can of evaporated milk

· 1 cup cream

· 1 small onion, grated (about ¼ cup)

· 1 tsp mustard powder

· ½ tsp fine white pepper

· 2 cups edam cheese, grated

· 1 packet onion soup powder

· About 35 slices white or light grain sandwich bread (about 1½ loaves)

· Softened butter or mayonnaise, to spread

Directions

Place evaporated milk in a pot with cream, onion, mustard powder and pepper. Heat until almost boiling. Remove from heat, add cheese and soup powder and stir until cheese has melted and sauce has thickened. Allow to cool before using (it will thicken further as it cools). This mixture can be made in advance and stored in a container in the fridge for up to a week.

To cook rolls, preheat oven to Place evaporated milk in a pot with cream, onion, mustard powder and pepper. Heat until almost boiling. Remove from heat, add cheese and soup powder and stir until cheese has melted and sauce has thickened. Allow to cool before using (it will thicken further as it cools). This mixture can be made in advance and stored in a container in the fridge for up to a week.

To cook rolls, preheat oven to 350˚F and line 2 oven trays with baking paper.

Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter or mayonnaise and remove crusts if desired (traditionally they aren’t removed). Spread 2 tbsp of the cooled cheese mixture on the unbuttered side of each slice, and then roll up firmly, placing joined-edge down on the prepared tray. Bake until crisp and golden (15-20 minutes). Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Annabel Langbein.com