TV REVIEW - THE DR BLAKE MYSTERIES

The ABC does a lot of very fine work. Last year, they produced the two best local shows on Australian television (Rake and Redfern Now), so we can forgive them a mediocre murder mystery series every now and again. Last year gave us the distinctly average Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, which buried sub-standard case-of-the-week stories under a period setting and a charming lead performance by Essie Davis. I was hoping The Dr Blake Mysteries would have a bit more spark to it, but it’s just a second foray into the unimpressive. The ABC has clearly decided there’s a niche on Friday nights for fall-asleep-if-you-want-to television, and they’re going to make it theirs.

TV REVIEW - ELEMENTARY

The natural reaction when one finds out about the new CBS procedural Elementary (Sunday, 8:30pm, Channel 10) is a cynical one; surely this idea of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes will be hopelessly inferior to the BBC’s Sherlock? Throw in the casting of Lucy Liu as Dr Joan Watson and the cacophony of cynicism only grew louder, with some critics and fans assuming that Watson and Holmes might be more than just friends as soon as the writers run out of other plot lines. Sherlock Holmes fans might not agree on everything, but they’re pretty consistently against Holmes and Watson having sex with each other.