Craig McLachlan in The Doctor Blake Mysteries (2013)

Craig McLachlan

Nadine Garner

Charlie Cousins

Roger Monk

When Dr Blake investigates the death of one of Mattie&apos;s friends from university at the Eureka Memorial site, he uncovers quite a few political and family tensions.

Fiona Banks

By the Southern Cross

The tensions of politics and family

&apos;The Doctor Blake Mysteries&apos; may not quite be among my favourite shows of all time, but it&apos;s a riveting series that keeps getting better and one of the better detective drama shows in recent years. It is always fascinating to see a mystery series from outside England and America, and &apos;The Doctor Blake Mysteries&apos; is one of the better examples. 

Unfortunately, &apos;The Doctor Blake Mysteries&apos; tends to be buried within daytime television scheduling, both on the BBC when first getting into it three or so years ago and on not as much watched channel (i.e. Alibi). It also tends to be aired at a time where most people will be at school or work, for me it was during sporadic periods when not needing to go into music college. The series deserves much better than that when it has consistently been one of the better shows to be aired in the early afternoon.

All the previous Season 3 episodes are great. So is &quot;By the Southern Cross&quot;. Really like that Charlie&apos;s role is expanded and made more interesting. Wasn&apos;t sure about him initially but the more he grew in personality and character growth the more he grew on me. Thematically, the episode is very interesting and it doesn&apos;t get too heavy-handed.

My only complaint is the new character of Munro, he is a not very interesting and too much of a cold fish character that took a lot of warming up to. Lawson was far more interesting, easier to be engaged by and settled much better, his chemistry with Blake also more believable.

By now, &apos;The Doctor Blake Mysteries&apos; felt like it had found its feet and had established things well by this point. Relationships and characters continue to deepen, the mysteries are even twistier and the pace has more lustre.

 Like the rest of &apos;The Doctor Blake Mysteries&apos;, &quot;By the Southern Cross&quot; is exceptionally well made. The post-war period is beautifully evoked in the sumptuous but also atmospheric settings and scenery and charming costumes and period detail. It is beautifully shot and atmospherically lit, the dark grey-ish tinge being very appropriate and adding much to the overall feel of the episode. It is scored sensitively and the haunting theme tune gets embedded in the brain, while the direction is suitably restrained. 

Writing continues to be very good with the tone established very well. There is great thought-provoking dialogue that always makes the mystery elements interesting but the atmosphere doesn&apos;t ever feel too grim. The story is riveting, suspensefully written and you care about having it solved. The solution is not obvious nor is it too complicated, very neat without being too pat. The characters are well written and more than just stereotypes, Lucien Blake still has it in how fascinating a character he is.

Craig McLachlan is superb in the role as well, quite possibly his best role and certainly the best acting he&apos;s ever done. He seemed an unlikely choice at first, but the character suits him perfectly. All the acting is very good actually, and seldom if ever any less. The relationships between the characters are well worth investing in.

Overall, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' may not quite be among my favourite shows of all time, but it's a riveting series that keeps getting better and one of the better detective drama shows in recent years. It is always fascinating to see a mystery series from outside England and America, and 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' is one of the better examples. 

Unfortunately, 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' tends to be buried within daytime television scheduling, both on the BBC when first getting into it three or so years ago and on not as much watched channel (i.e. Alibi). It also tends to be aired at a time where most people will be at school or work, for me it was during sporadic periods when not needing to go into music college. The series deserves much better than that when it has consistently been one of the better shows to be aired in the early afternoon.

All the previous Season 3 episodes are great. So is "By the Southern Cross". Really like that Charlie's role is expanded and made more interesting. Wasn't sure about him initially but the more he grew in personality and character growth the more he grew on me. Thematically, the episode is very interesting and it doesn't get too heavy-handed.

My only complaint is the new character of Munro, he is a not very interesting and too much of a cold fish character that took a lot of warming up to. Lawson was far more interesting, easier to be engaged by and settled much better, his chemistry with Blake also more believable.

By now, 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries' felt like it had found its feet and had established things well by this point. Relationships and characters continue to deepen, the mysteries are even twistier and the pace has more lustre.

 Like the rest of 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries', "By the Southern Cross" is exceptionally well made. The post-war period is beautifully evoked in the sumptuous but also atmospheric settings and scenery and charming costumes and period detail. It is beautifully shot and atmospherically lit, the dark grey-ish tinge being very appropriate and adding much to the overall feel of the episode. It is scored sensitively and the haunting theme tune gets embedded in the brain, while the direction is suitably restrained. 

Writing continues to be very good with the tone established very well. There is great thought-provoking dialogue that always makes the mystery elements interesting but the atmosphere doesn't ever feel too grim. The story is riveting, suspensefully written and you care about having it solved. The solution is not obvious nor is it too complicated, very neat without being too pat. The characters are well written and more than just stereotypes, Lucien Blake still has it in how fascinating a character he is.

Craig McLachlan is superb in the role as well, quite possibly his best role and certainly the best acting he's ever done. He seemed an unlikely choice at first, but the character suits him perfectly. All the acting is very good actually, and seldom if ever any less. The relationships between the characters are well worth investing in.

Overall, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

When Dr Blake investigates the death of one of Mattie's friends from university at the Eureka Memorial site, he uncovers quite a few political and family tensions.

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By the Southern Cross

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