Product Description

In the squad room, the cops on the Manchester murder investigation unit call Janine Lewis Boss. At home, the kids simply call her Mum. In both places, she manages to keep everybody in line but just barely with a firm yet affectionate hand. Award-winning actress Caroline Quentin (Men Behaving Badly, Life Begins) brings astonishing dramatic depth to her role as a chief detective and single mom trying to balance the demands of career and family. Ian Kelsey (Casualty) costars as Janine s fiercely loyal second in command and erstwhile romantic interest.

This six-episode set sees Janine tackle some of her most baffling cases yet: the murders of an illegal Belarusian émigré, a suburban cheerleading coach, a rock star about to break into the big time, and more. In Blue Murder s signature style, heart-tugging domestic drama and good-natured workplace ribbing leaven each suspenseful, grimly realistic mystery.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18216 in DVD
• Brand: BLUE MURDER
• Released on: 2009-06-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .45 pounds
• Running time: 271 minutes

Amazon.com
Blue Murder Set 4, comprised of six episodes from this epic crime-drama serial, is perhaps the best yet. If one is left craving the outlandish murder details of previous episodes, one feels completely satisfied for getting more deeply acquainted with Detective Constable Inspector Janine Lewis (Caroline Quentin) and her daily life juggling career and family. Since 2003, Blue Murder has been a fabulous success in its balance of crime with character development. In this fifth series, Detective Lewis and her team, including D.I. Richard Mayne (Ian Kelsey) and Detective Tony Schap (Nicholas Murchie), do solve several bizarre murder mysteries, but the emphasis is on Lewis's means of handling maximum stress, as a policewoman and mother. Opening the season is a two-episode saga, "Private Sins," in which a Russian immigrant is found dead with little to go on other than forged passports and a sexy Russian partner, who Detective Schap gets a little too involved with. While the detective work is gripping, what is most finely rendered here are the hardships Lewis's children face while their mother is too busy at work, and the methods she uses to win them over. "Tooth and Claw," however, involves a highly original crime plot involving a strangling that occurs on a remote hillside. It is fascinating to observe how the police squad's forensics and questioning change to accommodate rural populations and lack of resources. Also fascinatingly bizarre is the murder that takes place in the opening scene for "Having It All." In it, teenager Melanie Gaskell Gaskell (Natasha Thompson-Wild) discovers her mother killed in her garage. While all episodes do show the viewer reasoning and politics behind each case, these feel so sincerely realistic because one begins to truly understand the anxieties that accompany such a difficult job. Quentin is so well-cast, and is as convincing as ever as a woman who seeks balance between loyalty to her employees, her children, and herself. Issues such as income raises, jobs in peril, and other such crises add a dose of social realism to these outlandish, morbid murder plots. And as before, the Manchester dialect and slang is a joy to the ear for an American who likes to consider cultural similarities and differences. --Trinie Dalton

Shakefire
Grade A+

Exclusive Magazine
The episodes on this DVD set are all expertly written, directed and acted.

Customer Reviews

This Series Gets Better and Better
"Blue Murder: Set 4," the latest available television episodes in the hit British mystery series/police procedural, arrives on these shores. The Blue Murder pilot debuted in the U.K. in May 2003, on ITV (Independent Television Stations); where it drew almost 8.4 million viewers, a number seldom heard of there. The series, which was created by native midlands author Cath Staincliffe, has continued to do very well in the U.K., consistently ranking number one in its time slot. It has, unfortunately for us, never aired on broadcast TV here: the "San Francisco Chronicle" calls it "The best British mystery you haven't seen...." Luckily, we can at least get it on DVD; this 2-volume boxed set runs approximately 271 minutes; it includes all six episodes from Series 5, which will air in the U.K. in 2009. (Acorn Media has released all previous episodes in Sets 1-3.) Even more luckily, Acorn Media has given us subtitles, as this set, like its predecessors, is located in Manchester. And, while the Manchester accent and usage fall interestingly on the ear, we're not familiar with them this side of the pond.

To begin with Manchester, it sure has cleaned up very well: centuries of black industrial grime gone, revealing a beautiful city, with interesting, varied architecture. And a diverse, varied population: the M.E. in the current series is surely a descendant of the Indian subcontinent. The series stars the talented, award-winning actress Caroline Quentin (Men Behaving Badly - The Complete Collection (The Original British TV Series); Life Begins - Series 1); as Detective Constable Inspector Janine Lewis, a hard-driving, high-profile contemporary detective and single mother of four, who must always try to balance the demands of family, where she's just "Mum," and career, where she's "Boss." Quentin was once best known as a comic actress, (Jonathan Creek - Season One); but in this series she shows substantial dramatic chops, as well as her comedic gifts. Mind you, she doesn't play Janine Lewis as another Jane Tennyson, Helen Mirren's tough female cop; but, then, she's not intended to. Ian Kelsey (CASUALTY - Series 1 (BBC Series)) costars as Detective Inspector Richard Mayne, Janine's second in command, and erstwhile romantic interest - though in that regard, he seems to be getting a bit doughy of face to me. Among the station house company, Nicholas Murchie stands out as Detective Sergeant Tony Schap, and seems to be enjoying some beefed up roles.

Volume 1 consists of the following:
Episode 1: Private Sins. (Part 1) An illegal Byelorussian immigrant and private investigator is found murdered in a parking lot. Lewis supervises the investigation with more than the usual stress at home; it makes her think an offered promotion, that would get her off the streets, isn't the worst idea. Meanwhile, Schap, who gets a lot of facetime in this arc, seems to be running his own covert investigation.
Episode 2: Private Sins (Part 2). A key informant ends up dead, and Schap's secrets start coming out. Furthermore, in a story populated by ex-cops and firemen, many possible motives for murder start appearing.
Episode 3: Tooth & Claw. Veterinarian Ruth Turner is found strangled, on the route of her daily run near rural, bucolic in appearance, Hunter's Low. As Janine and her team start looking into the case, some of the village's seamy activities come to light.

Volume 2 gives us:
Episode 4: Having It All. A defeat in a cheer leading competition starts the unraveling of the team and its coaches. Melanie Gaskell discovers her mother Helen, team coach, bludgeoned to death in the garage.
Episode 5: This Charming Man. Local hero/rock star Jack Taylor, charismatic leader of an up and coming band, dies in his apartment after a sold-out concert. The cops must find their way through the Manchester music scene, where Richard keeps claiming to have some experience.
Episode 6: Inside. Bernard Aspen has been in prison for 15 years of a life sentence, for a murder his family insists he didn't commit. He's found drowned in a washroom. Richard decides to go inside undercover.

The series has been filmed with a liberal hand, no shortage of cars and people around. The dramas are substantial, the mysteries gritty and challenging, frequently told from the female point of view. The cop shop scenes are lively, leavened with sly humor, and interspersed with Janine's family business. In fact, as everybody grows into their parts, I'm just getting to like this series better and better.

An excellent British mystery series
I have seasons 1 thru 3 of this series and must say it is quite good. A female is promoted to DI over a bunch of British detectives and she tries to balance her stressed personal life with managing her subordinates and solve crimes. The episodes are short, but the story is developed quickly and is very suspenseful. One could compare this series to "Prime Suspect" but it is really quite different, with a bit of humor thrown in. The only real similarity is the fact that a woman is the key character. If you are into British mysteries then this is a series that you will want to watch.

Blue Murder is fabulous!
Originally took a blind leap buying Set 1 because of Caroline Quentin's work in Jonatrhan Creek. As soon as my wife and I started watching this clever and very well made series we were hooked. I have since purchased all available episodes and can't wait for the next installment.
Give this wonderful series a try, you won't be disappointed.