It startswitha wideshotofa departmentstore.Lookingatit,
it’shardtotellwhaterawe’rein.ThebuildinghasArtDeco
details,butthepeoplearetoofaraway,toosmallforustouse
fashionasanindicator.Thenthere’sa close-upofa package- intriguinglymadeouttothe‘Adventuresses’Club’– which
we followuntil the camerapulls back, passesthrougha door-
wayandshowsusa grandVictorianmansion.It’sLabassa,
Melbourne’sstoriedhomesteadturnedflats turnedbohemian
hub turnedNationalTrust treasureand popularfilm and wed-
dinglocation.^1 Forourpurposes,however,it isn’tLabassaat
all;it’stheheadquartersoftheAdventuresses’Club,andit
will featurethroughoutall four movie-lengthepisodesof 2019
SevenNetworkseriesMs Fisher’sModernMurderMysteries.
This openingsequenceis a passingof the flame in more
waysthanone.Thepackagewehavefollowedcontainsthe
recoveredbelongingsofMissPhryneFisher(thetitularprota-
gonistofpredecessorseriesMiss Fisher’sMurderMysteries,
playedbyEssieDavis)– whohasgonemissing– andtheir
appearancetellsthosesheleftbehindthattheladydetective
isn’t likely to be returningany time soon. The upbeat1960s
hit‘PleaseMr.Postman’letsusknowtheera,andthataround
fortyyearshavepassedsincewelastvisitedthisworldin the
originalABC series.Then there is the final, more subtletouch –
Labassaitself. Aesthetically,it is a betterfit with the 1920sset-
tingoftheearlierMiss Fisher(which,indeed,featureddifferent
partsofit a fewtimesasdifferentlocations^2 ). Itsinclusionas
a key part of the set in the spin-off feels like a deliberate nod.
Above,fromtop:PeregrinehidingfromBirdieBirnside(CatherineMcClements);PeregrinewithDetectiveJamesSteed(JoelJackson);
Samuel Birnside (Toby Truslove) speaks to PeregrineOpposite, from top:Peregrine with Florence Astor (Libby Tanner); James and Peregrine
40 • Metro Magazine 201 | © ATOM