Lullaby

As a Londoner, I can't help but be biased. It's bad enough having to listen to Gary Sinise - freshly graduated from the Dick Van Dyke School of International Britishness - doing an "alternative" take on a London accent. But when Cherry, the ill-fated prostitute (no spoiler; it happens right at the beginning) is being played by an actual Londoner, why the heck would you write her as being from Liverpool? It just leads to her putting on an even worse accent than Sinise.

It's clear that the makers of the show think that most US viewers don't know the difference between London and Liverpool accents, and they might well be right. But in that case, why just not make Cherry a Londoner so that the actress can use her true accent and not make our ears bleed? Do you guys still hate us that much even after over two centuries?

I do admit, though, that, for years, I'd never had cause to think that Clive Revill (the British Consul) wasn't English. Only from reading some background for this episode did I realise that he's from New Zealand. All credit to Kiwis and Ozzies; they're super skilled at US/UK accents. And they are the best at putting shrimps on the barbie.

Anyway, I'm totally grateful that Cherry only lasts a few minutes. If I'd had to endure both her and Gary Sinise (as well as a few minor others) absolutely massacre English accents for a whole 45 minutes, I might have had to commit seppuku. (British accents, Antipodeans, Japanese ritual suicide... Look at me being all international and ting!)

Absolutely no surprises in this episode's plot, except that you have to be prepared to accept that news of a serial killer murdering 25 prostitutes in the UK over the last five years has not reached the ears of the LAPD before now.