I don’t watch TV shows; I binge on them. A lot of the time, I’m forced to acknowledge that what I consume is froth and sugar, empty calories, but every now and again, I stumble on something such as Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, a healthy, fibrous and filling watch. I am utterly in love.
Where to begin? The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher (played by Essie Davis) is a lady detective in between-the-wars Melbourne. If that conjures up the image of a twinkly old lady, think again: Miss Fisher is not in her dotage and she’s no ingenue. She’s vibrant and sexy and cheeky and worldly. She has travelled the globe and picked up shocking habits (not least wearing trousers): she’s unmarried, and entirely welcoming of male company, carries a gun in her purse and a blade in her garter. She has a quick wit, a warm heart and the sharpest bob since Louise Brooks.
I love the smouldering, sexy, adult chemistry she shares with her police sidekick, Inspector Jack, a mainstay that does not preclude taking lovers as she sees fit (Phryne is the type to say “Take a lover”). I love that she goes unpunished for having these desires, and there are refreshingly few clutched pearls about it. I love her wardrobe, a wonderland of every fanciful ensemble you could ever want to wear. I love the mysteries themselves, which highlight women’s inner lives in believable, intelligent and often unexpected ways.
With the show’s return (series three starts on Alibi on 28 October), now is the perfect time to gorge on the first two seasons on Netflix. Miss Fisher is everything you never even knew you wanted in a period detective. Trust me: it’ll fill you up.
