THREE PINES TV SERIES STARTS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2

Watch the Three Pines Amazon Prime trailer.. The first two episodes will air this Friday, December 2 on Amazon Prime. Need to do something before the show? Read Louise Penny's latest novel, A World of Curiosities. It's a great read. It has it all: Ganache, Three Pines, all the supporting characters, art, food, a locked room, detection, and so much more. I think it's Louise's best yet! 

Want to subscribe to the Notes from Three Pines Newsletter? Nancy Reddy's latest issue had lots of food descriptions from the books. 

https://notesfromthreepines.substack.com/

And/Or: 

The Louise Penny Newsletter:

https://www.louisepenny.com/newsletters.htm

And a note from Louise Penny about the TV series:

Louise Penny:

Here's the trailer for the Three Pines TV series. In the midst of this fun one-minute trailer you might notice that the “Ruth” character describes Three Pines as a place that will expel people who don’t belong. I need to make clear that I fought and fought to have that line changed in the show. It is, as you know, the antithesis of what Three Pines is about. The fact it was not only left it in, but is now highlighted is troubling on so many levels.

 

It makes me wonder if they understand the heart and soul of the village. Three Pines is the soft landing, the open arms, the place at the table. In an often cruel and turbulent world, where physical safety can never be guaranteed, it is a place where we are emotionally safe. Because we are accepted. It is a place of friendship, of belonging, of acceptance and inclusion. No matter who you are. No matter what we believe. No one is turned away.

 

I just needed you to know that I did fight. And lost. But there is much to also commend the series, otherwise I wouldn’t be promoting it. I will always be honest with you.

 

That ridiculous misstep aside, I think you’ll like the trailer.

CRIME SEEN: What to Watch Where? by Kate Derie

If you're like me you're overwhelmed with choices of Mystery TV series to watch but you're never sure quite where, what, or how to watch. Kate Derie, associate editor of Mystery Readers Journal, has a column in each issue called Crime Seen. In the latest issue (Mystery Readers Journal: Big City Cops II), she addressed the multiple platforms and shows for streaming video. Reprinted here is her column: Crime Seen: What to Watch Where? 

KATE DERIE:
CRIME SEEN: WHAT TO WATCH WHERE?

Decisions, decisions… Which streaming video services have the most for mystery fans? As in so many existential questions, the answer is, “It depends.” If all you want is to binge on Poirot and Marple, you can get them almost anywhere. But the original Miss Marple with Joan Hickson (beautifully remastered in high definition) is only on Britbox. So here’s a guide on where to find your favorite series. To save space, I have listed only shows that have more than two seasons or twenty episodes. For additional information, see my chart at https://tinyurl.com/myst-vid-sheet.

Acorn.tv ($5/mo.) specializes in British mysteries, some of which have never been broadcast in the US. They include 19-2, Agatha Christie’s Marple, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Brokenwood Mysteries, The Broker’s Man, Foyle’s War, George Gently, Hamish MacBeth, Lord & Master (Dutch), McCallum, Midsomer Murders, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Mr. and Mrs. Murder, Murder in Suburbia, Murdoch Mysteries, Rebus, Republic of Doyle, Trial & Retribution, Vera.

Amazon Prime offers free streaming video to those who already pay a $99 yearly fee for unlimited shipping. They produce several original series such as Bosch, and have a franchise on recent PBS series, along with some “golden oldies.” Boardwalk Empire, Bosch, Endeavour, The Good Wife, Grantchester, Grimm, Inspector Lewis, Mike Hammer, Monk, Peter Gunn, Psych, Roba (Finnish), Route 66, The Sopranos, Whitechapel, The Wire, Yancy Derringer.

Britbox.com ($7/mo.) is just what it says on the tin—all British, all the time, including some fondly remembered classic series. Agatha Christie’s Marple, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Blue Murder, Cadfael, Cracker, Dalziell & Pascoe, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Inspector Morse, Jonathan Creek, Ka-vanagh QC, The Last Detective, Miss Marple (Joan Hickson), Prime Suspect, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Scott & Bailey, Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett), A Touch of Frost, Vera, Waking the Dead, Wycliffe.

Hulu.com ($8–12/mo.) leads the pack in sheer quantity of mostly US series. Like Amazon, they show several vintage shows that may or may not be as good as you remember. Adam-12, Agatha Christie’s Marple, Beck (Swedish), Blue Bloods, The Bridge (Danish/Swedish), City Homicide, Cold Squad, CSI, DCI Banks, Dexter, Dragnet 1967, Elementary, Flashpoint, I Spy, Ironside, Kojak, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Miami Vice, Murdoch Mysteries, New Tricks, Numbers, Prime Suspect, Rebus, Remington Steele, Republic of Doyle, Rizzoli & Isles, The Saint, Saving Grace, Scott & Bailey, The Shield, Silk Stalkings, Simon & Simon, Southland, Spiral (French), Taggart, Vera, Wallander (Swedish). 

MHz Choice ($8/mo.) is the place for international crime. They have several dozen shows from Scandinavia, Germany, France, Italy and other European countries. All have easy-to-read English subtitles. Most of them are one “season”, which in some cases is really a single mini-series. For longer runs, look at Baantjer Mysteries (Dutch), Beck (Swedish), Maigret (French, not the PBS series), and Tatort (German).

Netflix ($8–14/mo.), like Amazon, has a variety of recent prime-time series plus original productions such as Longmire. Their lineup currently includes Blue Bloods, Broadchurch, Criminal Minds, Death in Paradise, Dexter, Dicte (Danish), Doctor Blake Mysteries, Father Brown, Hawaii Five-0, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Longmire, Luther, Midsomer Murders, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, NCIS, Person of Interest, Republic of Doyle, Ripper Street, Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch), Shetland, The Sniffer (Ukrainian), Wallander (Kenneth Branagh), White Collar.

These services all have free trials of 7–30 days, so you can try them out for yourself. In sum: If you like British shows, try Acorn for current series, Britbox for older series. (Acorn is also the best value for money.) For a variety of current US series, plus original productions, plus movies, both Netflix and Amazon have great lineups. Hulu has the largest number of series, although not many of them are current. Hulu and Amazon both have several vintage (pre-1980) series, but be warned: the oldies can look pretty bad on a large HD screen. 

So which channels do I personally get? All of them, of course. Any one of them is less than the price of a single movie ticket each month, and provides a great deal more entertainment. The only catch is that we have to have a list next to the remote to tell us where we are watching each series!

Don't forget to check out this Chart of Shows and Where They Appear:
https://tinyurl.com/myst-vid-sheet

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