Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Jan. 29th, 2014 06:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sasha_featherI am watching "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" on Netflix --as many people are-- and I mostly love it. I am nearly done with Season 1. Phryne Fisher is amazing in so many ways. I think it was on meganbmoore's journal that I read her described as a James-Bond like character-- wealthy, always well-dressed, super-competent, etc-- a female fantasy role. She sleeps with many different men, helps educate young women, is open-minded, and delivers some great lines. She handles herself well in complex social situations as well as bloody, dangerous ones. I like the developing backstory and the arcs for the various characters.
The show itself does a nice job balancing serious situations with an overall lightness in tone. I appreciate that it takes on issues such as abortion, worker's rights, the lives of immigrants, and gay people living under the radar.
What I mainly dislike is that every episode is a murder mystery, as it says in the title. In some episodes, multiple people are killed, and one starts to wonder about the murder rate in Melbourne in the 1920s. As a private detective, Phryne would be much more likely to take cases that weren't murder, so I'm not sure why the show needs to be about murder (I do realize it's based upon books, so perhaps my real criticism lies there). (This is one issue where I agree with my mother: there is too much murder on TV, and I'm simply getting tired of it; perhaps I need to watch other types of shows.)
Also, the specific cases are sometimes a problem:
spoilers
In episode 9, a teenage girl dies, and it's a girl who was in the social sphere with Phryne and Jane, which was upsetting to watch and doesn't feel like it's really dealt with in subsequent episodes.
In episode 10, "Death by Miss Adventure", a female factory worker is murdered in what turns out to be some sort of lesbian lover's quarrel. Dead lesbians are just what every show needs!
In episode 11, "Blood and Circuses", Miss Christopher, a circus performer, is killed. She is an intersex person, and we never hear her speak. We only hear others speak about her. She is referred to as a "hermaphrodite" by Jack. Rather than just explaining to Jack about Miss Christopher's condition, Phryne takes Jack to look at the body, because, apparently, some things are better shown than told. This scene felt really gross and objectifying. Having an intersex character on TV, only to have them be a murder victim, is in itself pretty gross.
eta:
The last couple of episodes also feature-- guess what-- a serial killer! Ick.
I will keep watching a bit more. I just am tired of serial killers etc. There are other ways to do drama.
meganbmoore's journal that I read her described as a James-Bond like character-- wealthy, always well-dressed, super-competent, etc-- a female fantasy role. She sleeps with many different men, helps educate young women, is open-minded, and delivers some great lines. She handles herself well in complex social situations as well as bloody, dangerous ones. I like the developing backstory and the arcs for the various characters.The show itself does a nice job balancing serious situations with an overall lightness in tone. I appreciate that it takes on issues such as abortion, worker's rights, the lives of immigrants, and gay people living under the radar.
What I mainly dislike is that every episode is a murder mystery, as it says in the title. In some episodes, multiple people are killed, and one starts to wonder about the murder rate in Melbourne in the 1920s. As a private detective, Phryne would be much more likely to take cases that weren't murder, so I'm not sure why the show needs to be about murder (I do realize it's based upon books, so perhaps my real criticism lies there). (This is one issue where I agree with my mother: there is too much murder on TV, and I'm simply getting tired of it; perhaps I need to watch other types of shows.)
Also, the specific cases are sometimes a problem:
spoilers
In episode 9, a teenage girl dies, and it's a girl who was in the social sphere with Phryne and Jane, which was upsetting to watch and doesn't feel like it's really dealt with in subsequent episodes.
In episode 10, "Death by Miss Adventure", a female factory worker is murdered in what turns out to be some sort of lesbian lover's quarrel. Dead lesbians are just what every show needs!
In episode 11, "Blood and Circuses", Miss Christopher, a circus performer, is killed. She is an intersex person, and we never hear her speak. We only hear others speak about her. She is referred to as a "hermaphrodite" by Jack. Rather than just explaining to Jack about Miss Christopher's condition, Phryne takes Jack to look at the body, because, apparently, some things are better shown than told. This scene felt really gross and objectifying. Having an intersex character on TV, only to have them be a murder victim, is in itself pretty gross.
eta:
The last couple of episodes also feature-- guess what-- a serial killer! Ick.
I will keep watching a bit more. I just am tired of serial killers etc. There are other ways to do drama.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-30 02:32 am (UTC)The murder thing is a problem of the mystery genre. I'm not as versed in the history of the genre as I am in SF, but even in "cozy" mysteries, where the violence isn't graphic (nor is the sex, hmph), somebody gets murdered. I'm not sure things will get marketed as mysteries if there's no murder, though I would be happy to see a book or show about solving crimes where murder is rare-- I could do with less murder as well. It's been interesting to watch a German crime series, Tatort, because while there is murder, there are also much more mundane crimes like bicycle theft.
The serial killer stuff was seriously over the top. I'm hoping for a bit more restraint next season. I'm also curious to try the books; I'm hoping the plot with, say, the intersex character is treated with more thoughtfulness there, given how concerned the series seems to be with social justice.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-30 03:02 am (UTC)I like the lighter bits and the comedy in this show, and that's just hard to balance in a murder show.
Phryne Fisher
Date: 2014-01-31 02:41 am (UTC)I've avoided the intersex murder so far, thank ghu. And yes, the number of characters murdered in books likely outstrips by far the number of actual (similar) murders IRL. Also thank ghu.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-30 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-30 03:04 am (UTC)Well, at least there's Top of the Lake, which while being dark, at least the women live through to the end.
murder shows
Date: 2014-01-31 02:50 am (UTC)For less dude-centric stuff, there's also Killer Women (eight-episode premiere season currently airing; not renewed). Features a Texas Ranger who's also a woman -- and not overly girly (wears jeans and shirts and boots to work; no pumps or skirts. IIRC I've seen three episodes, and many of the characters are female. Part of the premise may be slightly er *problematic* (women don't kill for the same reasons as men do), but so far the show also present such issues as returning veterans, domestic abuse, and messy human relationships.
Less mainstream (and also less dude-centric) is the Canadian show Cracked, which partners detectives with psychiatrists for investigating tricky or sensitiive crimes. Half the investigators are dudes, but it's more balanced with gender and race than your average US show. Also deals with such fun topics as mental illness, PTSD, war crimes & refugees, stuff like that. I've stopped watching almost all the murder shows, but I still like this one.