Two interesting television productions come to DVD for your summer viewing.

Broadchurch: The Second Season

When I first heard there was going to be a second season to this intense British murder mystery miniseries, I groaned. What I liked about “Broadchurch” is that it told a complete story and didn’t leave any hanging plot points that could be spun into a new series.

I was wrong, though, and what the creators of the new series did was both logical and satisfying.

“Broadchurch” is set in a small English coastal town of the same name. In the first series, a young boy has been murdered and his body found on the beach. David Tennant plays Alec Hardy, a smart but disgraced police detective now assigned to the town and is in charge of the investigation.

What he finds is a community with many secrets that is torn apart by the murder.

The first series ends with the confession of Joe Miller (Matthew Gravelle), the husband of Tennant’s police partner Ellie Miler (played with great emotion by Olivia Colman).

Where the second series picks up is the trial in which Joe decides to change his plea from guilty to not guilty. The town now faces reliving the investigation all over.

Tennant’s character is retired and is drawn back into the case, as he must testify at the trial. He is working on solving the murder case that led to his downfall and has become increasingly complicated.

Several new characters are introduced in the new series. Acclaimed British actress Charlotte Rampling plays the prosecuting attorney, while Marianne Jean-Baptiste is the defense attorney. The two characters used to work with each other and have their own personal problems that play into the story.

The result is a miniseries with the intensity of the first one and a story that makes sense.

My only hesitation in a full recommendation is that you must watch the first series to truly understand what is going on.  

If a British murder mystery is your thing, check out the second season of “Broadchurch.”

Last Days in Vietnam

This Oscar-nominated documentary details the final days of the American involvement in the Vietnam War and the evacuation of South Vietnamese and Americans as the Communist forces were driving through to the capitol. 

It is, simply, essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand a chapter in American history and a conflict that shaped this country’s politics.

The film details through archival footage and contemporary interviews how the last American ambassador to South Vietnam couldn’t accept how the war was going and refused until the last moment to devise an evacuation plan. We see how President Gerald Ford attempted passing a funding package that might have slowed down or stopped the North Vietnamese advance, but Congress, weary of the war and its political fallout, blocked it.

We also see how individual American personnel took it upon themselves to try to get South Vietnamese out of the country.

This is a tragedy in American history and the interviews with both American and South Vietnamese who went through it are not just informative but very emotional. While some people may see this as history from another generation they see it as part of their lives.

A must view for history buffs, this is also a film that should be seen by anyone with a personal link to the conflict.