Watching the Detectives

Steve Graziano, Programmer

• Published on September 20, 2024 • Last modified on September 17, 2024 • Comments

“The Madam Blanc Mysteries” is a brand-new drama that started this week. It offers intrigue along with the beautiful scenery of the French countryside. In this show, an antiques dealer’s husband unexpectedly dies and leaves her practically bankrupt. She heads to their cottage in France and finds out the rascal has been cheating on her, too. She digs around and things just aren’t quite adding up. Could it be … murder? (Well, it is a TV show, so the odds are pretty good.) If you missed the first episode on Thursday night, we have it again Sunday at 4 PM. Or watch it anytime on Passport.

Speaking of beautiful scenery and crime, “Death in Paradise” is back! Let’s head off to the delightful Caribbean island of Saint Marie with the beach, tourists and a dead body. (I’d hate to be the head of the tourism board there.) Enjoy a drink with a little paper umbrella and watch the team figure out whodunnit when the drama returns this Thursday at 8 PM.

OK, who are the best Sherlocks of them all? Jeremy Brett? Basil Rathbone? Or maybe you prefer Robert Downey Jr. For certain, Benedict Cumberbatch must also be on the list. If I had to choose, put me down for Team Cumberbatch, which is timely because I can now see all his “Sherlock” episodes on PBS Passport. There are 10 in all and I can watch them whenever I want. You can do the same wherever you are, as long as you’ve activated your Passport member benefit. If you don’t have Passport, that likely means you’re not a PBS Western Reserve member. Solve that problem and support great programming by signing up here.

Steve creates the PBS Western Reserve television schedules. Long before finding great programs for you to watch he was a radio DJ. He and his wife are avid travelers, preferring unusual vacation spots such as Cuba and Budapest and sailing across the Atlantic (on an ocean liner, not a sailboat). Tops on his list of famous people he’s met is Fred Rogers. A close second is Mick Jagger or maybe Elton John. His favorite PBS show is “Sherlock Holmes” with Jeremy Brett. Or with Benedict Cumberbatch. It’s a toss-up, he says. Either way, he loves looking for new and interesting programs to share with you.