Liv's Current Obsession: Why I Love Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Frequently, I find myself thanking Alethea (@frootjoos) over at Read Now, Sleep Later for introducing me to new television series.  Two of my favorites are Murdoch Mysteries from Canada and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries from Australia.  I seriously think she has everyone watching these.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries takes place in Melbourne in the later 1920's, one of my favorite time periods.  It features actress, Essie Davis as the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher, who fights injustice and solves murders with the help of a great cast of characters, a gold-plated pistol, and a dagger hidden under her skirt.  Shouldn't all heroines have a little something tucked away in case of a dangerous situation?

Miss Fisher is a great character, and far ahead of her time. She is glamorous, and fashionable, and yes, saucy. Here are some of the reasons I love Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries....

1.  Miss Fisher has an incredible wardrobe.  While I love the dresses the women wear on Downton Abbey, Miss Fisher puts them all to shame.  She has such a great sense of style and the confidence to pull it all off.  Plus, I love all of her hats and hair accessories.    
 

2.  Miss Fisher often ignores what is socially acceptable. - In the first episode, you come to meet Miss Fisher's friend Doctor Mac.  There are certain behaviors that are socially acceptable in every time period, and one of the things that I appreciate about Miss Fisher is that she stands by her friends regardless of how society views them. 

Current Obsession: Jaws (Still Awesome)

I recently saw Jaws again on the big screen (thanks, Arclight!) and it is still awesome some 30 odd years later. I'd seen it a bunch of times on cable before but, seeing it in a theater really made me pay attention to it. It's probably better than most of the giant special effects and star laden million dollar blockbusters that are put out today.  Seriously, the acting is top notch (why did I never realize how funny Richard Dreyfuss was in this movie?) and the dialogue is really smart.  There are a lot of really funny lines, too, which I don't remember from my previous viewings. Every actor is excellent in this.

That animatronic shark still scares the crap out of me and its absence is even scarier than when we do see it. There are times when they are just looking at the water, waiting for the shark to appear, that are so suspenseful.  That first scene with the girl being dragged through the later (with nary a shark in sight) is still probably one of the scariest things I have ever seen.

The film is based on a book by Peter Benchley. I've never read it but I want to now.

Previous obsession: Veronica Mars (still into this and am in the middle of Season 2 right now)
So not obsessed with: Now You See Me - Just watched this last week with a friend and it was really lame.

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image copyright Universal Pictures

Current Obsession: Veronica Mars

So today I am going to talk a bit about one of my current obsessions. This past weekend my friend came over with her DVDs of Veronica Mars. I know, I know - where have I been on this time? The Veronica Mars train came and went and even funded a movie, and I still hadn't seen it. I would say that my only excuse is that I am probably the worst TV watcher ever. While most people can plow through a season in a weekend or a week, it'll take me months or even years to finish a show. I don't know what it is except that a TV series seems like such a time commitment while a movie can be consumed in a couple of hours.

Anyhow - she came over and we proceeded to watch 3 episodes of VM back to back. To you TV champs this probably seems like nothing but, to me, that's at least 3 weeks worth of episodes. As everyone predicted, I do love it. It's really smart and funny without being too unbelievable. The mysteries are plausible (for the most part). And I love Veronica! She's a serious spitfire and I love watching her in action. She is smart but also makes mistakes and owns up to them. The supporting cast also excellent and I love her dad and Wallace especially. I really want to know who killed Lily, too.

It's also really fun to watch the show because so many actors have made appearances. So far I've seen Jessica Chastain, Leighton Meester, Aaron Paul, Adam Scott, Melissa Leo...and I am sure more will appear.

That's my mini gush over Veronica Mars. It's nice to find something that lives up to the hype. It's also just fun and not super intense or dramatic. Hope you all enjoyed a peek into what I am currently obsessed with.

Previous obsession: Orphan Black
So not obsessed with: Fringe (seriously I don't understand why people love this show so much. The characters make terrible decisions and the plot barely advances from one episode to the next. I just don't get it.)

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images copyright Warner Bros. Television