Reviewed: Murder Most Puzzling, Mitford drama Outrageous
In the meantime, we will have to make do with Murder Most Puzzling, one of a growing band of 'cosy crime' offerings taking over the TV schedules (Ludwig, The Madame Blanc Mysteries), publishing (Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club) and film (Netflix's adaptation of Osman's book, arriving August). Cosy and crime: it's a difficult combination to get right.
Logan's Cora Felton could have gone either way. A crossword setter known as The Puzzle Lady, Cora has come to the small town of Bakerbury with her niece, Sherry (Charlotte Hope), hoping for a quieter life.
As per, all is not as it seems, starting with Cora. When a woman is found dead with what looks like a crossword clue in her pocket, the local plod ask for Cora's help. Before you can say a four-letter word for unbelievable, the victims are piling up and Cora has turned into a full-blown sleuth.
The oft-married, loves-a-tipple Cora is a likeable sort given added heft by Logan. There's a scene at the start, when Cora is interviewing the parents of a young woman who died in an accident, that could have gone horribly wrong if not for Logan bringing her acting chops to bear.
Cora/Logan is also a highly convincing dropper of the F-bomb, a power she uses seldom but well, ditto her Scottish sarkiness. 'Isn't the internet a marvel,' she says while picking a lock. 'All these instructional videos by cheerful men, helping burglars.'
The rest is strictly Scooby-Doo, and I'd still rather have a series with Logan as a crime clan matriarch, but I might be tempted back to see how Cora is getting on.
Outrageous
U&Drama (free to air)
***
WHAT ho folks, it's a thoroughly spiffing drama about those game gels, the Mitford sisters. You know the ones: Nancy the novelist, Diana the beauty, the one who went full blown Nazi … There ought to be a verse, like the one for Henry VIII's wives. Published, divorced, fascist …
Written by Sarah Williams, Outrageous wisely gives the job of narrator to Nancy the novelist (played by Bessie Carter). It is Nancy who introduces us to the six sisters and one brother. Since he's the lucky chap who will inherit everything, it's up to the rest of them to marry well, a rule swiftly ignored like all the rest.
Outrageous is handsomely shot and convincingly shabby in its depiction of the times. A few clunky moments of exposition aside ('Mrs Guinness? Oswald Mosley'), it rolls along like a game of croquet on a well-tended lawn. The first episode - one of six - is a warm-up for what comes next, but Anna Chancellor is already a standout as the mother desperate to get the gels off her hands. Careful what you wish for, 'Muv'. Next week: Diana invites Unity to join her on a trip to Germany.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Producer of missing Amy Lynn Bradley Netflix doc reveal new leads since series aired & believe she is alive 27 years on
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE producer of the hit Netflix documentary about a missing woman who vanished on a family cruise more than 27 years ago says they have received new tips related to her case. Amy Lynn Bradley disappeared without a trace in March 1998 after boarding the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas with her parents, Ron and Iva, and her younger brother Brad. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Netflix: Amy Bradley is Missing has become a top-watched show on the streamer Credit: Netflix 6 Amy was with her parents and brother aboard the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas Credit: Netflix 6 A bass player nicknamed 'Yellow' on the ship was suspected but ruled out by the FBI Credit: Netflix The family trip began in Puerto Rico and first stopped in Aruba. Just three days into the trip, on March 23, Amy disappeared after spending the night socializing and dancing at the ship's nightclub until the early hours of the morning. She was last seen asleep on the balcony in the family's shared cabin, but no evidence suggests she fell or jumped from the railing. When her father woke up, he couldn't find his daughter and alerted the ship's security crew, but they found no sign of her, and cameras failed to capture any last movements. Amy Lynn Bradley CRUISE MYSTERY About Amy Bradley: Woman who went missing on Rhapsody of the Seas cruise The case has gripped the true crime community for years, and alleged witnesses speak out in the documentary to suggest she may have been sex-trafficked. She was last seen dancing with a bass player who was performing with a band on the trip, Alister Douglas, whose nickname was "Yellow," although he has always maintained his innocence. His daughter, Amica, suspects her father was involved in Amy's disappearance and is seen in the three-part Netflix series grilling him during a tense phone call, in which he insists he has nothing to hide. Filmmaker Ari Mark, who worked with fellow producer Phil Lott on the series, spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun after it became a Top 10 show on the streamer. He said, "[We're] very pleased with very pleased with how the series has been received. The 'buzz' around the show is incredible. "That's what we want. The more people that know Amy's story - the better." Asked if the team had received any possible leads since its release that have been passed on to police or the FBI, he said they had, but they don't want to get their hopes up just yet. "We have had a few leads come in, but I can't discuss them and they're not verified yet, so they may very likely be false leads," he said, as they can get hoax calls, or people getting information wrong. "This was always about one thing: finding Amy," he went on. "But to ensure that the audience is activated, they have to want to help. "To use Iva Bradley's words, they are 'over the moon' that Amy's story is finally getting this level of attention. Everyone in the world now knows her name. "I prefer to believe that Amy is alive. But there's so little tangible official 'evidence' in this case that it's impossible to know. "So much gray area, especially when it comes to timelines. "Remember, no cell phones and virtually no cameras, so we really can't track people's whereabouts, which means we can't take anything as fact." SEX WORKER MYSTERY One of the aspects only briefly touched on in the documentary is how the family's cabin was cleaned before the police were able to look for evidence and deem it a potential crime scene. Mark admitted the cleaner's identity remains unknown, and it is unclear whether a small table on the balcony could have been moved closer to the railing. Her sandals were placed side by side, and a t-shirt was lying on the arm of the chair she'd been sitting on, while her cigarettes were missing, and only an ashtray remained on the table. "Allegedly, 'cruise security' was responsible for questioning their crew," Mark said. He added that they did search for evidence that Amy had jumped or fallen into the water, saying, "They absolutely looked and came up with nothing. "They did find Amy's fingerprints around the cabin, but the whole family's fingerprints were all over the room, so it wasn't really 'evidence.'" One of the most shocking parts of the documentary saw experts review photographs published on a sex worker website years later that showed a woman clad in lingerie. The woman had strikingly similar features to Amy, and her family said they fear it could be her years on. Asked his opinion on the legitimacy of the photographs, Mark said, "I really don't know. We tend to air on the side of something happened to her vs accident. "One thing we do know with missing person cases is that there usually is some elusive piece of evidence out there, but the universe needs to align to bring that thing or person forward." FBI REWARD Asked about the theory that Douglas could have been involved in her disappearance, Mark confirmed his lie detector test was "inconclusive" despite reports he passed, but he was cleared by police. Mark simply said, "I feel awful for the Douglas family and what they've had to endure all these years." Does he have any advice for anyone who has information but is terrified to come forward? He said, "I would say to them: look at this family. Look at the pain this has caused. And look at the millions of people that want to help. "That has to be enough for someone to muster the courage to speak out." He added that Amy's family is "understandably shattered and lives in a constant state of not knowing." Mark added, "Gaining their trust has been a journey, but their warmth, sense of family, and strength has been something that everyone who worked on this show has admired and rallied behind." Timeline of Amy Lynn Bradley's last hours before her disappearance March 23, 1998, evening Amy Lynn Bradley and her brother, Brad, attended a dance party at the ship's disco, where they were seen with members of the ship's band. The ship was sailing from Aruba to Curaçao. March 24, 1998, 3:35 a.m. Brad Bradley returned to the family cabin, followed five minutes later by Amy, after a night of dancing and drinking. They sat on the balcony and talked before Brad went to sleep. March 24, 1998, 5:15 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Amy's father, Ron Bradley, woke up briefly and saw Amy asleep on a lounge chair on their cabin's balcony. This is the last confirmed sighting of her by her family. March 24, 1998, 5:30 a.m. to 5:45 a.m. Three witnesses later claimed to have seen Amy on an upper deck of the ship with Alister "Yellow" Douglas, a member of the ship's band, and said he was seen leaving alone shortly after 6 a.m. March 24, 1998, 6:00 a.m. When Ron Bradley woke up again, Amy was no longer on the balcony, but her shoes were still in the cabin, and her cigarettes and lighter were missing. He began to search the ship for her. March 24, 1998, 6:30 a.m. The family reported Amy missing to the ship's crew and asked that passengers be prevented from disembarking, but their request was denied. The ship had already docked in Curaçao. March 24, 1998, 7:50 a.m. The ship made a public announcement for Amy to come to the purser's desk, but by this time, many of the passengers had already disembarked. A full ship search was conducted later in the day, but no sign of Amy was found. March 24-27, 1998 The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard conducted a four-day air and sea search for Amy around Curaçao and Aruba, but no trace of her was ever found. Authorities initially considered the possibility that she fell overboard, but this theory was later dismissed. The FBI has a page dedicated to Amy's disappearance and a separate website that features images of what she could potentially look like today. The page states, "The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the recovery of Amy Lynn Bradley and information that leads to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person(s) responsible for her disappearance." She is described as standing at 5-feet-6-inches, and weighing 120 pounds with green eyes and short brown hair. 6 Amy pictured with her brother Brad who is still desperately trying to find her Credit: Netflix 6 The young woman went missing after a night out drinking and dancing on the ship Credit: Netflix
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Coronation Street star unexpectedly axed in shock exit as character 'killed off' without warning
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Metro
3 hours ago
- Metro
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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video While there she falls for charming local Jamie (Queen Charlotte's Mylchreest), who also happens to be teaching her classes, and the pair begin a very tedious, chemistry-free flirtationship before a secret he's been hiding threatens their burgeoning romance. (Also warning you that, despite Bridgerton raising our expectations in this department, there are no steamy sex scenes to be found here, and even their tiringly clichéd kiss in the rain gave me nothing.) *Spoilers ahead for My Oxford Year* This is where My Oxford Year takes a sharp left into cancerbait territory, revealing that Jamie is doomed to succumb to an unspecified form of the disease, just like his late brother, despite looking and acting like the healthiest, liveliest rake in the room – plus, y'know, Mylchreest. Obviously, they are reminding us that not everyone fatally ill looks or acts that way (and nor should they have to), but it's a clumsily made point when the film decides to give Mylchreest his first topless scene while receiving chemotherapy. And then they belatedly whack out the greyish face make-up for one scene later on. My Year at Oxford's ending reveals that Jamie does indeed die after catching a critical case of pneumonia, sharing the news surprisingly subtly as Anna lies in bed with Jamie, narrating the stops of the grand European tour they intended to go on. While the montage initially shows the couple happily together exploring Amsterdam, Venice, Paris and the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion in Greece, the camera then swings around to reveal Anna on her own taking the trip instead – and fine, yes, okay, I got a little burning behind the eyes at this, but it is not a high bar to pass for a film to manipulate me intro crying. It proved even more emotionally effective for others though. 'Did I finish the movie or did the movie finish me?' asked fan Agnes on X over My Oxford Year's traumatic conclusion. 'Thought I was signing up for a chill romantic movie with a few clichés. Instead, My Oxford Year wrecked me emotionally, stabbed me in the heart and walked away like nothing happened. That ending?? RUDE. Yeah. I'm not okay. Not even a little bit,' ranted user @_httpSea_, echoing a lot of the shocked reaction to the film. 'My Oxford Year is the biggest Trojan horse ever seen. I thought I was watching a silly romcom and I just got depressed with the ending of it,' tweeted @JENNIEDEMIE. 'Why did nobody warn me that it ended like that and why am I bawling over a movie I thought would be a cute and silly rom com,' complained Lily-Rose, while Mel shared: 'Netflix really thought the book My Oxford Year wasn't sad enough, so they proceed to change the ending to send us in therapy.' Critics have not been kind to My Oxford Year, with it sitting at a dismal 29% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes at the time of publication. Collider criticised it for having the 'plot and character development out of a Wattpad novel written by a 15-year-old One Direction fan', while The New York Times called it 'a limp attempt at being this generation's About Time'. 'An uninspired yet competently assembled trifle,' mused The Guardian's two-star review, with critic Benjamin Lee saying the cancer twist will be 'met with a sigh of disappointment' for being so hackneyed. Other viewers agreed, with one saying it was 'pretty pointless' and another that it was 'worse than mediocre'. Noga E described it as 'a painful failure' in comparison to the book while Nina B complained: 'There's no spark, no soul – just two hours of hollow stares and fake chemistry.' 'It's as if A Walk to Remember and Me Before You had a very, very odd cousin that no one wants to hang out with,' added Teresita G. I knew what I was in for when the film mentioned how much it rains in the UK after barely a minute, and Carson began her narration as Anna by quoting poet Henry David Thoreau. Literature references are always the sign of an overly earnest film as you'd never catch a normal human going around quoting poetry, including out loud and at somebody (which also happens later in the film) to make a comparison, even if you were studying it at university (and I did). More Trending That sort of thing is far too intense and emotional, control yourself… which I guess may prove the film's point about British people being repressed and not wanting to talk about their feelings, which is what drives a wedge between Jamie and his father, played by Scott. So I'll give it that, I guess. My Oxford Year is streaming now on Netflix. Got a story? 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