The Coroner

We are big fans of British serial TV drama. I can never quite put my finger on the differences with American shows, but it seems they are somehow warmer, cozier. I don’t mean just the Miss Marple-type shows, but even shows like this one, which deals much more in the real world than the fussy English tea tales.

This is what I’d call an average example. Jane Kennedy is the coroner in a lovely, medium-sized coastal town in Devon. The corpses she has to deal with can be a bit gruesome, but otherwise it’s not too violent or gross. She has a collegial relationship with a cop, and they form a sort of team to discover whodunit. They’re pretty good. We have enjoyed it.

Have to mention the star, whose name is Claire Goose. I’m sorry, friends, but why do people keep names like that? An example: John Cheese changed his name to Cleese before joining Monty Python. I’m guessing school might have been tough for Ms. Goose. Teasing would be inevitable, and children can be cruel. Her father was Doctor Goose, and you know what her mother would be called, and it ain’t Mother Hubbard. Oh, well, I suppose I should applaud the Gooses (Geese? See how awkward that is?) and all their little goslings for sticking to their gooseness.