BY KRISTEN WOHLERS
S b # **■ ■** I
Say it like this: “ S h u t-
lun,” with emphasis on
< the <<shut>” and y ° u
* can’t annunciate the
“ t” too m uch.
T h is B B C m urder
m y ste ry
s e r ie s ,
available on N etflix, is set
in the picturesque Shetland isles of Scotland,
and h alf the fun o f watching it is hearing
the Scottish accents. On that note, it can be
difficult to understand, so I suggest turning
on those subtitles.
If you’re into foreign crime dramas, on
Netflix, there’sno shortage of them. Netflix
kindly recommended the show to m e after I
finished both seasons o f th e British drama
“ Broadchurch” in probably record tim e.
Then after finishing “ Shetland,” I’m onto
reading subtitles on the Finnish crime drama
“ Borderland.”
||r
“ Sh etlan d” is based on novels (which
usually m ean s it’ s w orth w atching) by
author A n n Cleeves. It follows the intense
but lovable detective inspector Jim m y Perez,
played by Douglas Henshall, a widower who
cares for his teenage step dau gh ter...an d
everyone else on the island. His sidekick,
“ Tosh,” played by Alison O ’Donnell, is a
bright spot in the show. Her sarcasm brings
some needed com ic relief.
M o st o f th e m ysteries resolve in two
episodes. In th e first episode o f season
one, an elderly woman is found murdered
near h er cro ft, or property, w here an
archaeological dig is takin g place. Perez
him self must dig, through the past that is, in
order to uncover who did it andwhy. After a
second murder, and plenty of misdirection,
aye, Perez finds the unlikely suspect.
In season three, the storyline spans six
episodes. It in v o lv es a m an w ho never
gets o ff the ferry to.the island and is found
later, suffocated to death in a boxcar. This
season isn ’ t based o n one o f Cleeves’ s
novels in particular, but rather is “ based
on characters” from her novels. In other
words, the show’s writers went rogue, and
that m ay have been a mistake. These last
episodes are slower, and seem to have some
plot holes.
Even though season three doesn’t quite
live up to the rest, in it, we get to see our
beloved characters enter some new territory.
These episodes tackle the issue o f sexual
abuse with seriousness and care. And we
see a softer side o f DI Perez, which involves
a love interest.
If you want to go on a virtual vacation to
Scotland-, w itness m ysteries unfold, and
practice your Scottish accent w ith your
flatm a te , th en add “ S h etlan d ” to your
watch list.
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