Death in Paradise is a ruthlessly formulaic English detective show in which a series of misfit English police inspectors are put on the (fictional) Caribbean island of Sainte-Marie, which despite having an estimated population of 10,000 people seems to have a truly unprecedented murder rate—this is probably why people there are so laidback and easy going, since “tomorrow you may die” is basically good sense there. Anyway.1
Our first lead, DI Richard Poole, views his newfound island life with intense antagonism. He wears heavy suits to defy the climate, nobody can make him a decent cup of tea, he’s uptight enough to struggle socially but sensitive enough to be hurt by being left out. His only friend is a lizard. Can his beautiful, funny, witty Detective Sergeant Camille Bordey coax him out of his shell? Since I haven’t been asleep for the past one hundred years, my guess is: yes. (I suppose I should say here that’s there’s “spoilers” for Death in Paradise. A show like this can have spoi…
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