2023 Beyond Paradise Christmas Special

As the Beyond Paradise Christmas Special begins, DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) speaks to Martha (Sally Bretton) about their duck as well as their Christmas plans. DS Esther Williams (Zahra Ahmadi) speaks to Zoe (Melina Sinadinou) who complains about her new job which she calls embarrassing. Esther reminds her she agreed to do it until Christmas Eve before she rushes out the door. Humphrey tells Martha and Anne (Barbara Flynn) that they’re going through a review to make sure they’re cost-effective. He admits small station houses aren’t part of the bigger picture anymore. Anne suspects they want to sell the building and turn it into flats or something.

She offers to organize a protest group to save the station. At the police station, Esther finds Margo Martins (Felicity Montagu) and PC Kelby Hartford (Dylan Llewellyn) hanging Christmas decorations. Esther could do with a quiet day since she still has Christmas presents to buy. Margo is buying everyone the same thing and cooking 43 Christmas dinners at the church hall. Kelby will be at home with his mom, dad, and Aunt Lou. Esther learns that Humphrey is at HQ this morning. She receives a call. CS Charlie Woods (Jade Harrison) enters her office to find Humphrey making a mess with the water machine. She turns it off for him, but the damage is already done. Then, they sit down to talk about the review. Charlie explains they’re reviewing outlying station houses to identify an SOPPS ratio.

The algorithm sets performance against cost. Charlie admits he needs to give her a good reason Shipton Abbott shouldn’t close. Margo gets another call before telling Esther that makes four. As for Kelby, he is dealing with a call about a shoplifter. Esther asks Margo to message the inspector and ask him to meet her at the first one, the Owens. Kelby comes in with the young shoplifter who is calling himself Rishi Sunak. Esther puts Margo in charge of him so she says she’ll call Social Services. Kelby admits he paid for the sausage roll because the boy said he was hungry. Humphrey meets Esther and tells her about his meeting. They need to catch as many criminals for the least amount of money. Esther says there have been four break-ins reported overnight and the MO is the same for all of them.

They have a few cloth fibers but nothing else. The first victims are Kai and Hannah Owen. Inside, Hannah finds a lot of money and blames Kai. She quickly puts it up before the police arrive. They quickly learn that the break-in happened sometime between 11 and 6. Hannah checked her doorbell but didn’t find any helpful video. Their alarm system wasn’t on. Hannah admits nothing was stolen. Outside, Humphrey and Esther suspect the thief was disturbed. The next victims are Josh Woods and his fiancée Lucy. Josh Woods (Chris Jenks) tells them what he believes happened. Lucy doesn’t think anything was missing. They’re not sure the person responsible was disturbed.

Humphrey finds it odd that ash is on top of the electric fire. Outside, he says he saw another pile of ash in the other fireplace while the house was spotless. Josh follows them outside to say he didn’t do anything this time. Then, Humphrey and Esther speak to the third victim. She also says nothing was taken. Humphrey finds a gold bracelet on the ground, but the victim says she can’t wear gold. They see another pile of ashes. Margo tells Kelby that Social Services are shorthanded so it’ll be a while before they arrive. Rishi makes sure to annoy him while Kelby tries to find out his real name and address. Esther and Humphrey speak to the last victims. The man tells them why he only has half a mustache. He says his kids have their parcels delivered there because they’re always in.

He has been tripping over a television ever since. Humphrey finds a pile of ashes on the fireplace. When they go outside, Humphrey and Esther talk about the case. He is confident theft wasn’t the motive and wants to focus on the bracelet. At work, Martha and Anne talk about Archie and how he isn’t a partner in the business anymore. Anne thinks it is best to remove temptation although Martha insists she wasn’t tempted at all. Anne admits being a widow doesn’t permanently dull the senses. Kelby arrives to get coffees and a sandwich. He tells them about Rishi Sunak. At the station, Humphrey goes over the questions they still need to answer. He learns about Rishi whose real name is actually Freddie.

Esther gets a call from the lab confirming the ash originated from the same material. The cloth fibers likely came from white cotton gloves. The little boy believes it is Santa who is sneaking into peoples’ houses wearing white gloves. Nothing has come back on the bracelet yet. Kelby returns with food just before Josh Woods calls. He just realized he might’ve lost his gold bracelet. They bring Josh in and ask him how the bracelet ended up in Mrs. Jones’s cottage. He insists he didn’t break into anything. Last night, he was at the Langstone for a birthday party for Paul Harris. In the hallway, Esther tells Humphrey that Josh Woods is usually guilty of something when he is in the picture. Humphrey wants to speak to Lucy since she seems a little more straightforward.

Before they reach her, they decide to stop at the Christmas Market where Zoe is being harassed by a group of children. They run into Anne and Martha. Esther agrees to join them tonight as long as she doesn’t have to sing. Then, Esther learns that things aren’t going well for Zoe. She introduces Zoe to Humphrey. Moments later, Lucy tells them Josh lost the bracelet in June while riding a jet ski in Minorca. He started making a list of all the things they’ve lost or broken in the past year. They warn Lucy that such a claim would be fraudulent, but Josh said he’d get a crime number just in case. Lucy wouldn’t let him do it. She admits she loves him. Martha makes it to the station to see the mystery boy. She agrees to take him back to the café to feed him.

Anne sits with Zoe who tells her about her day so far. Zoe is only doing it because her mom said she wouldn’t give her driving lessons unless she had a job. Anne says her daughter is the same way and has been since she was old enough to have an opinion. If she suggests something Martha would disagree on principle. Anne thinks Zoe should see things from her mom’s point of view because she is trying to teach her to work for what she wants. Anne says it is more fun for them if they complain more. Esther would be mortified if she thought Zoe was enjoying it. Kelby can’t find a link between the houses that were broken into. Margo tells Esther that anything not closed by the Christmas break will be included in the Q1 figures. With those break-ins, they’re likely in trouble.

Humphrey decides to check in on Martha and get some coffee. She finds him feeding Freddie. Humphrey tells him they need to get him home. They try to find out why he left home. Freddie says his mom took his phone off him.

Kelby complains about not finding any connection between the burglarized homes. Margo warns Esther that the break-ins will negatively impact their clear-up rate, pushing it back to minus four. Humphrey meets Martha and Freddie at a nearby café. He suggests they are giving Freddie a false impression of running away, making it look fun. Freddie describes his mum as “annoying”. Martha assures him that his mum cares about him. He says it doesn’t seem that way before claiming she took his phone. Humphrey denies having a phone at his age. Freddie complains about not being able to talk to his friends, and grandfather. Martha tells him that is no excuse from running away from home. She and Humphrey stress the need for him to tell the social worker his home address. Freddie asks why he cannot stay with there. Humphrey explains how it would look for a man in his position when Hannah arrives. After greeting Ryan (Freddie), Hannah tells Humphrey and Martha about working with his family. Ryan says his mum refuses to let him talk to his grandfather. Hannah promises they will discuss it.

Kelby tells Esther that the four burglarized homes were burglarized at the same time 50 years ago.

Hannah tells Humphrey and Martha that Ryan’s father died several years ago. She says after his mum got a boyfriend, Ryan started acting out. Humphrey asks about Ryan’s grandfather. She says he and Ryan have a close relationship before promising to make sure he is okay.

Kelby says the four burglarized homes were burglarized the week of Christmas in 1973. Humphrey questions why the homeowners never mentioned it. Esther tells her that the Owens, Beckers, and Josh Woods moved into the homes later. She adds that Kathleen left her house to the Beckers. Looking through the archives, Kelby informs them of Ernest Buchanan being questioned in the burglaries but DI Foster never charged him because of lack of evidence. Margo tells Humphrey that Frank Becker left him a message regarding a TV that arrived after the his home was burglarized. Esther suggests Santa Claus left the TV. Humphrey says bracelet and TV are not a coincidence.

Humphrey asks Josh and Lucy if they ever found a jar of coins or game console. Josh pulls a new tablet out of a drawer. Humphrey thanks him before confiscating it.

Margot tells Kelby about receiving an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas. Kelby excitedly says he got the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures which prepared him to fight crime.

Hannah tells Humphrey that she deposited the jar of coins, totaling £569, in the bank. Humphrey and Esther rush back to the police station to see what Kelby found on Ernest Buchanan. Kelby says Buchanan never had any further run-ins with law enforcement after the 1973 home burglaries. He adds that Buchanan was a jeweler and now residents in Upper Denbury. Humphrey and Esther immediately think of white gloves.

In a recreation, young Ernest Buchanan enters the Owens’ home and steals a jar of coins totaling £55. The same week, he breaks into Kathleen’s cottage and takes a gold bracelet. He later breaks into a home that now belongs to Josh and steals a game console. He takes a TV from Frank Becker’s mother-n-law. Back to the present, Humphrey suggests Buchanan was trying to make right on a crime that he committed 50 years ago by giving back a similar bracelet, TV, and game console. He believes the £569 in coins is what £55 in coins would be worth today.

Ernest Buchanan claims to have terminal cancer. He tells Humphrey and Esther that Isaiah told King Hezekian to put his house in order because he is going to die. He admits to feeling guilty for stealing from Kathleen, the Beckers, and the Owens. Humphrey asks about the ashes. Buchanan says his father made them burn paper to show remorse when they did wrong. Esther asks about his family. He says his wife and son died. He tells them about getting upset with his daughter-in-law for getting involved with another man just eight months after his son’s death. Buchanan denies telling his daughter-in-law about his cancer diagnosis. Esther urges him to tell her. Later, Humphrey stresses the need to complete the process, even though, Buchanan will not be arrested. They stop by to talk to Jane Buchanan.

Jane and Ryan call Buchanan. She tells him that Humphrey informed her of his illness. Buchanan reads “A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Humphrey, Martha, Esther, and Zoey attend a live music event. Hannah fills Martha in on Ryan, Jane, and Buchanan. Martha tells her that they do not have children. Hannah says they are in need of foster parents. Woods tells Humphrey that she and Sergeant Williams discussed the Buchanan break-ins. She warns that his desire to pursue a caution with Buchanan would put him at a disadvantage regarding his review. She says their figures will be collected in January before walking away. The locals of Shipton Abbott dance to Christmas tunes as the episode ends.

 

2023 Beyond Paradise Christmas Special Review

The story is cliché and very little dedicated to Christmas. The investigation felt rushed while many scenes were dragged out too long. To think of charging someone who is trying to right a wrong from 50 years prior is cold.

Why the writer felt it necessary to touch on the potential closing of the Shipton Abbott Police Station is questionable. It would been more effective to focus on the holiday season.

The Christmas special is far from “special” but still worth a watch. The episode deserves a 5.5 out of the 10.

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