australian television information archive

The Black Widower

Episode 3.01 (9)
Sun, October 30, 2016
Written by Tim Balme
Directed by Mark Beesley

The Frog and Cheetah's publican, Ray Neilson, has branched into tourism with his 'Lord of the Ringz Tours' tailored to non-English speaking tourists. But when Ray's wife Debbie is discovered dead under a giant foam spider in a supposed film location of Mirklewood things get 'mirky'. Especially when Debbie's cause of death is revealed to be from New Zealand's only native venomous spider — the Katipo. But if it was, how did one spider administer ten times the lethal dose?

Things don't look good for Ray or the nearby arachnologist, Chandra Singh. But then as DSS Mike Shepherd and his team investigate other local tourism operators, they find none of them are particularly sad about Debbie's demise. Her back room deals with the council have seen them banned from the coveted Brokenwood forest. Was her death karma or revenge? Regardless of motive it was definitely murder.

Cast: Neill Rea as Mike, Fern Sutherland as Kristin, Nic Sampson as D.C Breen, Pana Hema-Taylor as Jared, Jason Hoyte as Ray, Cristina Ionda as Gina, Colin Moy as Hughes, Elizabeth Mcrae as Mrs Marlowe, Tracy Lee Gray as Trudy, Emmett Skilton as Dr Byron Cotter, Kalyani Nagarajan as Chandra Singh, Katie Wolfe as Nicole Davis, Phil Brown as Lance Gifford, Julian Wilson as Hans, Geoff Houtman as Nigel Medlock, Dan Veint as Billy, Roy Ward as Rev Lucas Greene, Charles Chan as Chen, Lara MacGregor as Debbie Nielson [uncredited], Shane Cortese as Dennis Buchanan [uncredited]

Over Her Dead Body

Episode 3.02 (10)
Sun, November 06, 2016
Written by Tim Balme
Directed by Murray Keane

Brokenwood is in mourning as beloved local poet Declan O'Grady is being farewelled at St Judas Church after being struck down by cancer. But things go from bad to worse when his coffin accidentally falls from the hearse revealing that the corpse inside is not Declan but a young woman identifiable only by a notable scarlet tattoo. Mike, Kristin and Breen set about unraveling a strange set of circumstances. The last to see Declan's body was the hapless funeral director Warren Bugle who leads them back to Wadsworth Manor where a mysterious role playing game was conducted the night before Declan's death. It turns out the tattooed woman may have been a player in what was to ultimately be her final game.

Cast: Neill Rea as Mike, Fern Sutherland as Kristin, Nic Sampson as D.C Breen, Pana Hema-Taylor as Jared, Mark Mitchison as Declan, Amanda Billing as Brenda, Roy Ward as Rev Lucas Greene, Kip Chapman as Warren, Theresa Healey as Janelle, Cameron Rhodes as Dr Plummer, JJ Fong as Scarlett, Cristina Ionda as Gina, Elizabeth McRae as Mrs Marlowe, Colin Moy as Hughes, Lucinda Hare as Cushla, Ajay Vaisisht as Yanni, Laura Hill as Miranda Temple, Nicola Kawana as Tina Morehu, Ascia Maybury as Dr Carlton, Renee Sheridan as Melody, Ross McKellar as Evan

The Killing Machine

Episode 3.03 (11)
Sun, November 13, 2016
Written by Greg McGee
Directed by Mike Smith

The annual Riverstone Beach Hop is a colorful festival that brings classic car enthusiasts together from far and wide to celebrate everything petrol powered and chrome plated. But on the morning of the event Charlie Baxter, the Chairman of the Classic Car Restoration Society, is found dead next to his beloved El Dorado with a lungful of gasoline. Was this a petrol siphoning accident or something more deliberate? And does it have anything to do with the unidentified dead body found in Charlie's garage the day before?

Then again, the last person to see Charlie alive may have been Jared Morehu's best mate Greg McQueen who has just pulled into town driving a hot rod called — The Killing Machine, with Jared's ex-girlfriend riding shotgun.

Cast: Neill Rea as Mike, Fern Sutherland as Kristin, Nic Sampson as D.C Breen, Pana Hema-Taylor as Jared, Ido Drent as Greg Mcqueen, Chris Hobbs as Charlie Baxter, John Landreth as Keith Balance, David Fane as Olson Siola, Cristina Ionda as Gina, Elizabeth Mcrae as Mrs Marlowe, Ken Blackburn as Edward Alderston, Karl Willets as Frankie (Frodo) Oades, Amber-Rose Henshall as Carly McQueen, Janine Burchett as Val Baxter, Luciane Buchanan as Tai Smith, Laura Hill as Miranda Temple, Zara Cormack as Kimberley, Ascia Maybury as Dr Carlton

A Merry Bloody Christmas

Episode 3.04 (12)
Sun, November 20, 2016
Written by Tim Balme
Directed by Murray Keane

With December approaching Brokenwood is alive and well with Christmas spirit. That is until a gruesome sight confronts Mike and his team; Santa Claus with his throat slit. Or as Mike insists — 'not Santa, but a man dressed in a Santa suit'.

The man is in fact the much-loved local Mayor, Evan Whitestone, who dresses as Santa every year for the Christmas parade. But with local elections looming, attention turns to his four rivals for the mayoral chains. Each of them has an axe to grind with Evan or, in this case — a cut throat razor.

Cast: Neill Rea as Mike, Fern Sutherland as Kristin, Nic Sampson as D.C Breen, Pana Hema-Taylor as Jared, Shara Connolly as Hayley, Ross Mckellar as Evan, Cristina Ionda as Gina, Colin Moy as Hughes, Elizabeth McRae as Mrs Marlowe, Rob Kipa Williams as Jed, Peter Hayden as Pete, Denise Snoad as Maureen, Edward Newborn as Wally, Madeleine Lynch as Victoria, Jason Hoyte as Ray, Phil Peleton as Neil Bloom, Nicola Kawana as Tina Morehu, Shane Cortese as Dennis, Ascia Maybury as Dr Carlton

Note: The Brokenwood Mysteries will return for a fourth season with four new two-hour episodes