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hestia8Originally Crishna watched this show, I believe, because Antonia Prebble was in it, and as any fule kno, she was Trudy in The Tribe. She then passed it on to me as she thought it would be something I’d like.
Oh boy, was it something I liked.
(Crishna is probably going to be disappointed by this review as it’s taken me so long to post it, so sorry Crishna)
Here’s the trailer: www.youtube.com/watch
Jane (Antonia Prebble) is an office temp who gets a job working at a law firm and soon finds out that the previous holder of her job – Rose – is actually dead and hasn’t just moved on to another job. Rose’s best friend Linda suspects that Rose was killed and quickly recruits Jane to help her find out what happened to Rose.
The question of what actually happened to Rose runs through the whole series is the series arc, but there are also cases-of-the-week as Jane and Linda start working with Ganesh (an IT manager at the law firm) and Sonya (an accountant who also used to work there) to investigate other mysteries/cases of corporate dodginess, and to paraphrase Quantum Leap, to try to put right what once went wrong. And also to get tattoos and call themselves the Society of the Blue Rose. OF COURSE THEY DO.
I can’t give too many details as I don’t want to spoil the plot, but one of the things I liked most about the series was the pacing of the main plotline and the individual mysteries.
The real strong point of the series for me is the characters. If you want rounded, developed female characters, this has them in spades. Jane is a sympathetic protagonist who develops her own strength over the series. Linda is an amazing HBIC who has flaws aplenty and isn’t bothered by them. Sonya is a really interesting older woman who decided that she’d toed the line for too long and that she’s going to start living for herself. Krystle is hilariously self-centred. Varsha knows exactly what she wants and how to get it.
On the male side of things, there is Ganesh, who is a low-status IT guy in a company of flashy lawyers who starts off being reluctant to get involved with what Jane and Linda are doing. Charlie’s one of the junior lawyers who comes from a rich family, and Simon, Rose’s/Jane’s charming boss who comes complete with a jealous wife.
(I struggled to come up with the stuff about the men other than Ganesh – the women are more interesting, which is another thing that makes the series worth watching)
Other plus points: it’s smart, it’s funny (the episode with the mobile phone game was particularly good), the plot and character developments are believable and it’s just overall very satisfying viewing. The main characters are trying to solve problems and do the right thing, which is basically catnip to me.
The downside: it doesn’t look like there’s a second series coming ever, which is a damn shame. There is no fandom and therefore no fic which is a shame as I would read it. Also it’s a TV show from New Zealand so the DVD is unlikely to be coming to stores near you any time soon. But! Never fear, for I have a 4shared account and I’m not afraid to use it:
www.4shared.com/folder/ysqOEiKW/The_Blue_Rose.html
So, tl;dr - interesting, entertaining Bechdel test-passing drama with varied characters and a plot that does get wrapped up at the end of the season, thankfully. Give it a try and then come and chat to me about it if you so wish :D.
NB this is the first time I’ve linked to something on 4Shared so yell at me if it doesn’t work.
Oh boy, was it something I liked.
(Crishna is probably going to be disappointed by this review as it’s taken me so long to post it, so sorry Crishna)
Here’s the trailer: www.youtube.com/watch
Jane (Antonia Prebble) is an office temp who gets a job working at a law firm and soon finds out that the previous holder of her job – Rose – is actually dead and hasn’t just moved on to another job. Rose’s best friend Linda suspects that Rose was killed and quickly recruits Jane to help her find out what happened to Rose.
The question of what actually happened to Rose runs through the whole series is the series arc, but there are also cases-of-the-week as Jane and Linda start working with Ganesh (an IT manager at the law firm) and Sonya (an accountant who also used to work there) to investigate other mysteries/cases of corporate dodginess, and to paraphrase Quantum Leap, to try to put right what once went wrong. And also to get tattoos and call themselves the Society of the Blue Rose. OF COURSE THEY DO.
I can’t give too many details as I don’t want to spoil the plot, but one of the things I liked most about the series was the pacing of the main plotline and the individual mysteries.
The real strong point of the series for me is the characters. If you want rounded, developed female characters, this has them in spades. Jane is a sympathetic protagonist who develops her own strength over the series. Linda is an amazing HBIC who has flaws aplenty and isn’t bothered by them. Sonya is a really interesting older woman who decided that she’d toed the line for too long and that she’s going to start living for herself. Krystle is hilariously self-centred. Varsha knows exactly what she wants and how to get it.
On the male side of things, there is Ganesh, who is a low-status IT guy in a company of flashy lawyers who starts off being reluctant to get involved with what Jane and Linda are doing. Charlie’s one of the junior lawyers who comes from a rich family, and Simon, Rose’s/Jane’s charming boss who comes complete with a jealous wife.
(I struggled to come up with the stuff about the men other than Ganesh – the women are more interesting, which is another thing that makes the series worth watching)
Other plus points: it’s smart, it’s funny (the episode with the mobile phone game was particularly good), the plot and character developments are believable and it’s just overall very satisfying viewing. The main characters are trying to solve problems and do the right thing, which is basically catnip to me.
The downside: it doesn’t look like there’s a second series coming ever, which is a damn shame. There is no fandom and therefore no fic which is a shame as I would read it. Also it’s a TV show from New Zealand so the DVD is unlikely to be coming to stores near you any time soon. But! Never fear, for I have a 4shared account and I’m not afraid to use it:
www.4shared.com/folder/ysqOEiKW/The_Blue_Rose.html
So, tl;dr - interesting, entertaining Bechdel test-passing drama with varied characters and a plot that does get wrapped up at the end of the season, thankfully. Give it a try and then come and chat to me about it if you so wish :D.
NB this is the first time I’ve linked to something on 4Shared so yell at me if it doesn’t work.
