Rosemary & Thyme (TV Series) Three Legs Good (2006) User Reviews

Canine witness

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 3 July 2018]

Have always adored detective dramas/mystery series. This has been apparent from an early age, half my life even, when getting into Agatha Christie through Joan Hickson's Miss Marple and David Suchet's Poirot and into 'Inspector Morse'.

Whether it's the more complex ones like 'Inspector Morse' (and its prequel series 'Endeavour') and anything Agatha Christie. Whether it's the grittier ones like 'A Touch of Frost' (though that is balanced brilliantly with comedy too) and particularly 'Taggart'. And whether it's the light-hearted ones like 'Murder She Wrote'. 'Rosemary and Thyme' is an example of a light-hearted detective mystery series and always gives me a lot of pleasures and banishes the blues when watching. It is a shame that it didn't last longer because it deserved to.

"Three Legs Good" for me is almost one of my favourite 'Rosemary and Thyme' episodes, really splendid fare. It is slight but at no point does it feel dull, it's full of surprises and is not a case of not being enough suspects. Really liked the Agatha Christie influence as well.

Despite guessing early on the mistaken identity aspect of the story, the ending is handled beautifully and is more than plausible. Did not guess the identity of the killer and the motive was not obvious either.

Visually, "Three Legs Good" looks wonderful, beautifully photographed, vibrant in colour and as always with the show with a stunning setting, have always been envious of the gardens seen on the show. The music has a lot of charm with a main theme tune that is soothingly folksy that matches the whimsy of the setting appropriately.

The writing is engaging and suitably light-hearted without being frothy. Some of the dialogue for Laura and especially Rosemary is very funny. The story is suitably twisty without being too convoluted, and is entertaining and with a relaxing vibe without being simplistic.

Similarly the characters engage, with Rosemary and Laura already being interesting and distinct in personality, and the chemistry between the two sparkles. Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris are simply great, individually and as a sparkling double act, love Kendal's fire and feistiness and Ferris' more restrained and thoughtful approach. The supporting cast are hard to find fault with too with Holly the dog being a scene stealer.

In summary, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Three Legs good

[coltras35 · 8/10 · 10 February 2023]

Rosemary and Laura are re-planting historic Regent's Park, which is hampered when they find plants being stolen shortly after being planted. While trying to determine who is stealing them, they soon find themselves dealing with a murder when an Eastern European doctor is found shot dead, while walking a three-legged dog. It's not long before the pair unearth secrets in the park, and begin suspecting the doctor might not have been the intended victim, when his colleague, the dog's owner, is soon shot himself.

The wrong victim, a group of suspects and a three legged dog contribute to a rousing concoction of mystery - set mainly in the park, the plot is quite arresting and keeps you guessing who the killer is, and what was the motive. There's a neat twist and unpredictable denouement.

Interesting series puts three legged dog in the spotlight...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 12 February 2008]

This particular segment is very much in the vein of Agatha Christie mysteries in that the murdered victim was not intended to be the one killed, but all because someone mistakenly believed him to be the owner of a three-legged dog. This sort of "victim by mistake" theme was found in many a Christie story, but it works beautifully here when the entire plot is revealed--and makes a lot of sense, rather than just a contrivance.

FELICITY KENDAL and PAM FERRIS do their usual fine interpretations of the intrepid gardeners who are as inquisitive about murderous events as any detective. The photography of lush English gardens graces the story's background in the subtle low-key British color so typical of these series.

The revelations at the end give the whole story a satisfying and credible reason for the murderous intentions, which in itself is reason to admire any murder mystery. Well done.