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Sophomore seasons of Brokenwood Mysteries, Last Ship on video
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Fern Sutherland and Neill Rea star in "The Brokenwood Mysteries," a New Zealand rural police procedural. The second season is now on Blu-ray and DVD. - photo by Chris Hicks
A compelling murder-mystery series from New Zealand and a post-apocalyptic show set aboard a naval destroyer lead this weeks new TV programs on Blu-ray and DVD.

The Brokenwood Mysteries: Series 2 (Acorn, 2015, two-disc Blu-ray/four-disc DVD, four episodes, featurette, photo gallery). This excellent rural police procedural with a seasoned, eccentric police detective at its center is sort of a cross between Midsomer Murders and Columbo, with each episode built around cleverly plotted murder mysteries.

Detective Senior Sgt. Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) a country-music fan who still uses a cassette player in his 40-year-old car speaks softly to homicide victims, intuits as many clues as he observes and has a keen eye for things that dont quite fit. And he gets help from his more methodical young partner, Detective Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland). Theres also a lot of welcome humor here.

The mysteries in this second season (or series) involve the ritual killing of a soccer coach, a cast member in a local Hamlet production dropping dead, a severed human hand being picked up in a fishermans net, and a touring musicians suicide, which, naturally, may not be suicide after all.

Note: Some characters accents are quite thick on this show, so it helps to watch with the subtitles activated. (Series three is currently in production.)

The Last Ship: The Complete Second Season (TNT/Warner, 2015, three discs, 13 episodes, featurettes). In season one, a global pandemic took out 80 percent of the worlds population, which left a naval destroyers unaffected crew and a scientist with an understanding of the problem to find a cure while battling power-hungry mercenaries. This season, after returning to the United States and having their ship wrested from them, the crew members attempt to take back control. But, of course, nothing is easy. This is a very good action-filled, end-of-the-world show that is surprisingly bereft of offensive content. Best of all, no zombies. (Season three begins June 12 on TNT.)

Dolly Partons Coat of Many Colors (Warner, 2015, deleted scenes, featurette). This low-key, deliberately old-fashioned tale is about 9-year-old Dolly Parton (Alyvia Alyn Lind) struggling in the midst of family tragedies while dreaming of becoming a professional singer, and how a patchwork coat ultimately becomes a source of inspiration. This TV faith film, which was shown in December on NBC, is a biographical story by Parton, who also narrates. Co-stars include Jennifer Nettles, Ricky Schroder, Gerald McRaney and Stella Parton, Dollys younger sister.

Janis: Little Girl Blue (MVD, 2015, deleted/extended scenes, featurettes). This is a biographical documentary of blues singer Janis Joplin, who died in 1970 at age 27 from a drug overdose. This covers her troubled youth and her rise as a musician and boasts interviews with Dick Cavett, Clive Davis, Melissa Etheridge and Kris Kristofferson, among others, along with archival footage of Cass Elliott, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Otis Redding. But its Joplins music that will move you and perhaps leave you wondering what heights she might have reached had she lived longer.

Pride and Joy: The Story of Alligator Records (MVD, 1992, deleted scenes). Alligator Records is a Chicago blues label founded in 1971, and this Robert Mugge film chronicles the companys 20th Anniversary Tour, which brought together Koko Taylor and her Blues Machine, Elvin Bishop, Katie Webster, the Lonnie Brooks Band and Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials to perform in concerts that lasted more than four hours. Mugge includes familiar documentary elements, but the emphasis is on music. (The deleted scenes are 10 more performances from the tour.)

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (Zag/Shout! Kids, 2015-16, seven episodes, featurettes, singalongs). This French animated series (dubbed in English, of course), which is shown on Nickelodeon, is about teenage superheroes Ladybug and Cat Noir, who team up to protect Paris from the Hawk Moth, a bad guy who turns everyday people into supervillains. Meanwhile, Ladybug and Cat Noir are unaware that in their off-duty secret identities, they are classmates in the ninth grade.

Bob the Builder: Construction Heroes! (Hit/Universal, 2015-16, six episodes, featurette, singalongs). This educational cartoon series shown on PBS teaches conflict resolution and cooperation skills to children as sunny Bob and his team show off their building skills.

Lets Learn: S.T.E.M., Vol. 2 (Paramount/Nickelodeon, 2012-15, seven episodes). This collection of episodes from Blaze and the Monster Machines, Paw Patrol, Dora and Friends and Team Umizoomi teaches kids about science, technology, engineering and math.
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Have You Seen This? Street musician slays with clarinet
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Better than almost every face-melting guitar or drum solo. - photo by Facebook video screenshot

THE BIG EASY — Yeah, yeah, we all know that New Orleans is stuffed to the gills will incredible musicians.

But knowing that fact and then hearing that fact are two different things. You can step into any number of jazz clubs on any given night on Bourbon Street, and you’ll probably be impressed with virtually every act. Or you can sit at home on your comfy couch and watch this featured video.

In the video, you’ll see a woman who is in the groove. She is swinging hard, and wailing on her clarinet with a practiced expertise that makes it sounds so easy.

From note one you’ll be drawn in; your appreciation will grow with every second, and then your face will melt off when you realize how incredible she really is.

If you’ve never played a woodwind or a brass, you may not know everything that comes with a performance like this. Lung capacity and breath control are huge factors in keeping your notes clear and loud, and hitting those high notes is especially difficult.

So when this woman hits that high note and holds it for several seconds, you know you’re dealing with an exceptional musician. It means she has worked hard for years to develop skill on top of her natural talent, and we get to benefit.

It kinda makes you wonder how we let people get away with mumble rap and autotune when talent like this exists in the world.

I wish this video were longer, and I wish I had more information about this woman, but as it is, we’ll just have to appreciate the little flavor of New Orleans jazz posted by the Facebook group Clarinet Life.

Street musician killing it on clarinet

She must have lungs of iron! Its inspiring hearing the upper registers being played so well.

Posted by Clarinet Life on Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Martha Ostergar is a writer who delights in the ridiculous that internet serves up, which means she's more than grateful that she gets to cruise the web for amazing videos to highlight for your viewing pleasure.
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