Brokenwood (pop c5000) was a fictional town on New Zealand's North Island, only 20 ks from the coast. The show was filmed in Warkworth which doubles as Brokenwood, although many rural towns on the North Island past Auckland were similar. Brokenwood Police Station is a 1911 building that was built as Helensville Post Office.
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L->R: Dr Gina Kadinsky, Detectives Mike Shepherd, Kristin Sims and Sam Breen
womanaroundtown
Brokenwood was in a farming region, with wheat crops and wine, in an area that was home to many people escaping big city bustle. The small town feel was really noticeable. And for me it was helpful that Brokenwood cases tended to involve a victim involved in a specific activity connected to their death eg skydiver, winemaker or honey producer.
Note that the beautiful New Zealand scenery was always gorgeous. The cameras maximised the rural beauty.
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Jared Morehu sharing local knowledge with Detective Sheppard
Brokenwood had a number of regularly recurring supporting characters, witnesses or participants from one episode might be brought back in later episodes. Set in a smallish town, the detectives knew many locals, giving viewers a sense of an ongoing community.
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So why was Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd/Neill Rea sent from big Auckland to tiny Brokenwood? With a possible murder investigation underway that might have linked a victim and a local police officer, Shepherd had to come in and take over the investigation from local officers, to their displeasure. And his singlehanded approach to crime solving affected most of the Brokenwood force badly. The fact that the earlier investigation into the dead man's wife's death was probably botched didn't win him any new friends.
After the investigation, Shepherd reassessed his life and decided to stay on indefinitely, even though it meant a demotion to Detective Senior Sergeant. In this quiet country town Shepherd, with his unconventional approach to police work, was assisted in solving murders by the very bright local Detective Kristin Sims/Fern Sutherland. In time, the working relationship between the two moved from tricky to solid as they began to appreciate each other's talents. As did the third member of the team, DC Sam Breen/Nic Sampson.
After the investigation, Shepherd reassessed his life and decided to stay on indefinitely, even though it meant a demotion to Detective Senior Sergeant. In this quiet country town Shepherd, with his unconventional approach to police work, was assisted in solving murders by the very bright local Detective Kristin Sims/Fern Sutherland. In time, the working relationship between the two moved from tricky to solid as they began to appreciate each other's talents. As did the third member of the team, DC Sam Breen/Nic Sampson.
Brokenwood was in a farming region, with wheat crops and wine, in an area that was home to many people escaping big city bustle. The small town feel was really noticeable. And for me it was helpful that Brokenwood cases tended to involve a victim involved in a specific activity connected to their death eg skydiver, winemaker or honey producer.
Note that the beautiful New Zealand scenery was always gorgeous. The cameras maximised the rural beauty.
Detective Mike Shepherd drives a 1971 Holden Kingswood.
NZHerald
Mike Sheppard always drove a classic car. And he always loved country music, so whenever he was in his car, everyone could hear the country music playing loudly. In fact his love of US country and western music was his clear character issue. The viewer knows that Shepherd had been married and divorced a few times – perhaps his wives hadn’t shared his musical tastes. But over the series, the characters' private lives were not often discussed. The chemistry between the different characters was important, and private information may not have helped.
For years I’ve been a fan of Mid Summer Murders and was keen to see other fans finding a link with Brokenwood, albeit with a different accent. Simply replace the English counties with rural New Zealand towns. Two examples: 1] like Chief Inspector Barnaby, Sheppard didn't have a gun. And 2] Shepherd gave people a break when he could. So this series was set in a country that was familiar and different.
Brokenwood had a number of regularly recurring supporting characters, witnesses or participants from one episode might be brought back in later episodes. Set in a smallish town, the detectives knew many locals, giving viewers a sense of an ongoing community.
And there were very interesting minor characters that kept the local community involved eg Jared Morehu/Pana Hema Taylor, whose good-natured, natural acting helped give the show its warmth. Also the serious but quirky pathologist Dr Gina Kadinsky/Cristina Serban Ionda; she sounded like a slightly sad medical bureaucrat from somewhere in the steppes. Ionda played a smallish role in each episode but it was always funny when she told the others how things were better or different back in Russia. Mike was wrong about all murder suspects and methods, said the Russian, about a man on whom she had romantic dreams.
Brokenwood Police Station
normally the Helensville Post Office
Rural scenes in Riverhead, filmed for Brokenwood Mysteries
Brokenwood Mysteries Filming Locations
Clever scripts full of ironic one-liners and retorts came from the Kiwi actors who delivered them well. While Mike was a solid and reliable character, his two detectives provided self-effacing, slightly irreverent humour. Brokenwood was not a riveting or intense drama with horrific forensic details, nor did it depict sordid tales of police corruption. Thankfully it was a crime series that emphasised small town characters, unique New Zealand lifestyle and Kiwi irony.
So my conclusion? Amongst those things that set Brokenwood apart were the unique New Zealand culture, beautiful landscape, realistic characters, believable plots and dry humour. Yes a small town in a safe country could not have been a venue of such frequent felonies, and the detectives weren't Einstein brilliant. But never mind.
So my conclusion? Amongst those things that set Brokenwood apart were the unique New Zealand culture, beautiful landscape, realistic characters, believable plots and dry humour. Yes a small town in a safe country could not have been a venue of such frequent felonies, and the detectives weren't Einstein brilliant. But never mind.