Critic Reviews

The true heart of this show is Humphrey and his relationship with Martha, and focusing on that turns this from a light-hearted crime-of-the-week series into something of a sweet romantic drama, too.

This was an impressive debut for a spin-off which on paper looked gratuitous. Charming, cheerful and just gripping enough, it was the cosy crime treat we didn't know we needed.

This was a throwback to a simpler era of eccentric sleuths in cosy capers. .... A sole complaint was the intrusive folk soundtrack, which felt like it had drifted in from a fiddly-diddly Guinness ad. Otherwise Beyond Paradise had all its ducks in a row.

This is a strong opening episode to a series that, three series in, has fully grown into its own skin.

It’s fun, comforting and fills that Doc Martin-shaped hole in your life.

While this season's mysteries are genuinely enjoyable, even complex at times, Beyond Paradise season 3 truly shines due to its character development. My only real gripe with this outing (and seasons past) is that six episodes doesn't feel like enough.

Beyond Paradise has signs of promise – Bretton is always a pleasingly astringent addition and I liked Martha’s feisty mother Anne (Barbara Flynn). And while the show itself is formulaic, it’s a proven winning formula. Enough with the spin-offs, though.

Will you probably be able to work out whodunnit by simply looking at which of the potential suspects looks the most shifty early on? Almost certainly. Is following Humphrey and co’s investigation enjoyable enough despite this? Also yes. It’s a solid, easy-to-watch Friday night mystery.

Its first episode keeps reaching either for an obvious old joke – Goodman, a tall man, is soon the passenger in a Mini, the front seat of which he struggles to adjust – or giving its lead character lines that aren’t especially funny or strange but provoke comedy frowns from the supporting cast anyway.