Show is beginning to become repetitive and boring - Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012) Discussion

[–] BertoBoy 9 years ago

No.

reply

They seem to be trying to make her Superwoman...
I cannot see how 'Mac' would have missed those clues on the bodies, the missing skin, knife wounds not deep enough to kill them. It was all then left up to Miss Fisher to do the big reveal.

reply

[–] CrazyLilAngel 9 years ago

The show is experiencing what many detective shows go through once it goes on for too long. Over time, cases tend to get a bit more contrived and ridiculous b/c it's hard to come up with good murder cases with believable situations and solutions. Being a big fan of Criminal Minds, NCIS, etc., I'm used to that.

I actually have to disagree with your last point; I think Hugh has actually grown quite a bit despite being gone in 2 of the episodes. He stands up for himself much more frequently now and is showing a less pliable personality than what we saw in the first 2 series.

My biggest question/concern is how they're going to address the Jack & Phryne situation. It's clear the two have something special and the writers are pushing towards a romance, but I hope they don't make any overly sappy declaration. That doesn't fit Jack's personality. Also, how are they going to make Jack and Phryne an item without ruining the whole "I'm a modern woman and can never have just one man" aspect of Phryne's character. It'll be interesting to see next week!

I can't decide whether I want the show to go on...On the one hand, I adore Nathan Page's subtle portrayal of Jack, and Essie Davies makes a fun Miss Fisher to watch; on the other hand, I think for the show to go on much longer would lead to stupid drama between the characters.

reply

[–] RightBackAtYa 9 years ago

It's been established that Jack is in love with Phryne. I'm still not sure how she feels about him, however. Perhaps the show will take the "love conquers all" path to these 2 characters. I could see them writing it so that Phryne says something like, "I didn't know I could love a man until I met you." You know, that kind of gooey rot.

What you call discovery, I call the rape of the natural world.

reply

[–] CrazyLilAngel 9 years ago

I think the show's established that both parties are in love with each other. Jack is just more of the silent devoted type; he shows his affections through actions and is a one woman at a time guy. Phryne, on the other hand, is more liberal with her feelings; I think with her, Jack is most important emotionally but she's not going to deny herself physically while waiting for their relationship to blossom. I think she might also be internally dealing with those feelings b/c it's going against her stance of "modern woman, not meant for marriage, etc." But as the show is showing more and more, she is a bit possessive and jealous when it comes to Jack. It's super obvious in the latest episode when the American tennis player is flirting with Jack.

I'm just worried the show will take the path you mentioned...with some sort of romantic declaration/gooey rot. It just doesn't fit the show nor the characters, so it would make me cringe. Jack's little outburst in the 1st episode of this 3rd series was bad enough!

reply

[–] RightBackAtYa 9 years ago

I think with her, Jack is most important emotionally but she's not going to deny herself physically while waiting for their relationship to blossom.

Yes. Well put.

They need to be careful how they get these 2 together. I think it's Phryne's independent spirit that attracts Jack in the first place. I also like who Jack is and I want his personality to stay the same as well. I don't want either of them giving up who they are to be with the other. I have this horrible vision of Jack turning into Phryne's lapdog or Phryne turning into Jack's ex-wife. Gives me the willies just thinking about it. 😱

Phryne has already given up sleeping with the men who interest her, hasn't she? I don't recall her sleeping with anyone since Jack got so upset thinking she was dead in that car crash. Has she been with anyone since then? There was that pilot friend of hers that she was making out with in the bushes, apparently, but since they were both semi-dressed, I don't think they did the deed. She was smooching with the Italian guy but I don't think that went anywhere, did it? I can't remember the last time I saw her sleeping with anyone. 

What you call discovery, I call the rape of the natural world.

reply

[–] CrazyLilAngel 9 years ago

I definitely don't want their personalities to change just so the relationship can happen! And personally, I can't imagine Phryne wanting Jack to be her lapdog; his ability to banter with her and not give into her wiles unlike every other man in the series is part of why she's attracted to him.

As for your second point, it's heavily implied that she slept with the Italian guy in Murder and Mozzarella. It happens in the first third of the episode after she breaks into the restaurant at night and both of them fight off an intruder. The scene ends with them kissing after he licks jam off her wrist. I'm also pretty sure the show implies she slept with her pilot friend; they start kissing in the hangar in the afternoon and the semi-dressed scene isn't until the evening. I always interpreted that shot of Jack giving her bare feet a look and her guilty expression to mean that she did the deed but felt guilty about Jack finding out about it.

Anyway, we can fret all we want, but judging by the previews, we'll find out for sure next episode!

Anyone know why Series 3 only has 8 episodes? And has there been any news about Series 4?

reply

[–] RightBackAtYa 9 years ago

I know they're going to do a Miss Fisher movie but I haven't heard a thing about a series 4. She's going to be going to exotic locales in the movie and I think her first location is England, if I remember what I read correctly. Since she took her father to England, it makes sense that her sleuthing would begin there.

What you call discovery, I call the rape of the natural world.

reply

[–] CrazyLilAngel 9 years ago

You mentioned in another thread that you saw the movie announcement on FB. Any chance you have the link? I couldn't find it on the profile and only found one article that said there's a possibility; it'd be great if it was confirmed!

That movie better have Jack Robinson in it!

I'm a bit meh about the last episode; the relationship is heavily implied, but I'm sad they chose to have Phryne leave for England! Even if she'll supposedly come back. And what the hell was with that "You're not a telescope...it's a declaration of love" scene?!

reply

[–] RightBackAtYa 9 years ago

I will scroll through the FB page with the utmost diligence. I'm sure that's where I read about it. I will let you know when I find it again and will post the link. I can't imagine a movie without Jack. It just wouldn't be the same without him. She did tell him to come after her, so hopefully that's a good sign. 

I didn't understand that "You're not a telescope" conversation. I thought I might have missed something that was said earlier but if you're wondering what was up with it, maybe I didn't miss anything. I don't understand how saying, "You're not a telescope" is a romantic overture. I can't imagine going all gooey with romantic feelings if a man told me I wasn't a telescope. 

What you call discovery, I call the rape of the natural world.

reply

[–] missbea4 9 years ago

Here's a link to an article about a Miss Fisher Film: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/miss-fishers-murder-mysteries-to-be-a-movie-filmed-in-the-uk/story-e6frfmyi-1227336789720

reply

[–] CrazyLilAngel 9 years ago

Thanks :) Seems like they are just interested in making one but it's not official yet. Keeping my fingers crossed!

reply

[–] lucyonenine8 9 years ago

I THINK that telescope remark was, it's because you haven't got a telescope, as in he was offering her one- a bit of schoolboy phallic humour? And yes a terrible romantic overture.

reply

[–] CrazyLilAngel 9 years ago

If I remember correctly, what happened in THAT scene was:

Phryne and Jack were looking for her father and she's worried something's happened to him. But she did comment that maybe he did go back to England. Jack commented that if everything is expanding, then that would mean England would be farther away. Phryne said it doesn't look that way to her, and his response was a bit muddled to me, but it was either b/c she doesn't have a telescope or b/c she isn't a telescope. And then she makes a wry response about whether it was supposed to be a compliment, and he then said it was supposed to be a romantic overture.

Regardless, it was incredibly lame and cheesy and wtf-inducing.

Anyways, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there will indeed be a movie! Another poster below shared an article, but it seems like it's just the writers' idea to do one and it's not confirmed yet. If you have news that's more official, I'd love to know, but please do not feel obligated to go searching for it! I checked out the official FB page but couldn't see it so was just curious if you had it handy.

It's been great chatting with ya!

reply

[–] lucyonenine8 9 years ago

I've posted this elsewhere too, so you may have seen it but this is the only article I've read: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/television/miss-fishers-murder-mysteries-to-be-a-movie-filmed-in-the-uk/story-fni0cc2b-1227336789720?from=public_rss

I also read an interview with Essie Davis where she was asked about it and said something to the manner of that's all top secret- so nothing definitive, but definitely hints.

reply

[–] epulones 9 years ago

It doesn't seem like anyone understood that comment. I'm wondering if there was something earlier in the episode that was edited out that might have shed some light on it? That episode was kind of busy, maybe they realized they were running long and decided to let us all be confused. ;)

reply

[–] pauli_gomez 9 years ago

I took the telescope thing as a joke. I mean, Jack is making a very rational and scientific comment, Phryne just jokes about it. It's like saying "you say the most romantic things" to someone who just give you a scientific data. As I am a scientist and many of my friends are scientists too, I said things like that all the time.

reply

[–] de_bergerac 9 years ago

The Jack and Phrynne thing shipper is soooo frustrating. THEY WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO GET TOGETHER! *sighs* now I've got that off my chest. I think the show is suffering from attempting to make a transition from 'based on the book by Kerry a Greenwood' to 'based on characters of Kerry Greenwood'. During the first season, some of the events and characters deviated from the books but the spirit remained for the most part.
But the more they attempt to contort Jack and Phrynne's characters into more formalaic romance, the more the series suffers. Were I Davis, I would be wholly dismayed by the alteration of Phrynne's character who is becoming such a dull miss when compared with the one of the books.

reply

[–] pauli_gomez 9 years ago

But I love them together! I have never read the books but I want Jack and Phryne to keep the relationship they have. Not married, not exclusive. They are adorably in love.

reply

[–] de_bergerac 9 years ago

Zzzzzzzz....If you haven't read the books and/or are looking for a love story with your detection the show is great. The series direction has shoved huge amounts of Phryne's life and character from the books to make room for a more conventional romance.

reply

[–] pauli_gomez 9 years ago

there is nothing conventional in that relationship. She apparently loves Jack but she has sex with other men. I love that they are so open minded, quite unusual for something set in the 20's- So yes, the show is perfect for me. I was considering reading the books, but now I won't. I am not ready to spend my salary in Phryne if the Jack romance is not a thing.

reply

[–] de_bergerac 7 years ago

Not really unusual...they didn't call the '20's roaring for nothing. Check out some pre--'code' movies like The Animal Kingdom.

reply

[–] filmhist 7 years ago

Love that movie! One of my all time favs.

reply

[–] tjejen 9 years ago

I disagree about character development, I think there's quite a bit of it going on. But their relying on a formula to format the episodes is indeed getting a bit old.

I just watched the last episode of season 3 that was available to me (the one about tennis) out of curiosity, after having thoroughly enjoyed season 1, and I must say that the acting has gotten noticeably bad when it comes to Phrynie and Jack. Or rather, it seems that Essie Davis went from acting in a fresh and spontaneous way in season 1, to having an extremely afflicted tone of voice and theatrical body postures. As if she's doing a parody of her own character almost. Granted she was always a bit theatrical, but back then it did feel very natural and genuine. Not anymore. And somehow the chemistry between Miss Fisher and Jack Robinson has disappeared. Their interactions are still cute and I love how their relationship develops (credit to the writers more than the actors there), but the spark between these two actors is gone somehow.

Strong contrast with season 1. I don't know if I would have noticed it if I watched all the episodes in the right order, but jumping ahead like this you definitely see the decline in quality. It's a shame.

reply

[–] SrEditor 9 years ago

I think it might have more to do with the fact that S3 was an "add-on."

Not only was it not based on books/stories of Phryne, but it also was written last-minute, wasn't it? I mean, the writers and actors didn't have any continuity themselves and had to try to recapture what they'd originally established.

I watched the same thing happen with Foyle's War, albeit with more time in between cancellation and restarting. There too it was more as if the actors were trying to play the part of themselves acting their parts, rather than actually immersing themselves in their characters again.

reply

[–] bpollen 9 years ago

Just like in a relationship, the first year is always the best. They tend to get, shall we say "comfortable" as the years roll on. But still good.

I loved Season 1 the best, then Season 2, then Season 3. But Season 3 is far above most series, so still excellent and very entertaining, to me. Love the whole series.

I did notice that Jack is in control of investigations in Seasons 1 and 2, but is relegated to the back seat in Season 3, while Phryne becomes more of the investigator, which was a bit too much. He IS the constable, after all, and in charge of the investigation. So I wish they had kept her in more of an assistant, but interfering, position in the last season.

As for her interfering, that is part of the character Phryne's personality, and part of the exasperation that Jack has with her. Which adds to the sexual tension.

reply

[–] skay_baltimore 8 years ago

I agree. I'm wrapping up the second season now and I've found myself doing other things and just coming back for the ending. I think this show had a lot of potential and it got lost/wasted along the way. Too much "cutesy" crap, especially between Dot and Hugh. The plots became very formulaic and that's usually the kiss of death for a show that began with so much promise.

Love isn't what you say or how you feel, it's what you do. (The Last Kiss)

reply

[–] LeofricsBeloved 8 years ago

I think Season 1 & 2 were written more tightly in terms of the murder cases. I think any good show that survives beyond Season 2 begins to suffer in quality.

Season 3 is still a fun show.

They didn't rush the consummation of the Jack and Phryne romance or made it the focus of the show.

After all, it was the titillation and the flirtation between them that made is so engaging.

Towards the middle of Season 3, it has been implied Jack and Phryne are exclusively seeing each other. Jack turned down Angela Lombard, and Phryne's gentlemen callers seem to have disappeared. The beginning of Season 3 showed Phyrne still flirting and dating heavily, but after she realized new men are trouble and will never stir her heart the way Jack does, she and Jack finally began dating. Jack finally brought some booze to her house and it wasn't shown that Phryne entertained any gentlemen after that.

transcendcinema.blogspot.com

reply

[–] Mustang (5194) a year ago

Seems to be a trend in most murder mystery shows. The PI is always jumping on the Police cases rather than getting their own. The Police are the real professionals.

reply