Dead Drunk Detective: Trouble Brewing

This post is about 'Trouble Brewing', the series four premiere of Dead Drunk Detective. You can listen to the episode here.

In the closest we have ever done to a cold open,  it is revealed Johnny's traditional monologue over the theme tune is taking place at a meeting for recovering alcoholics.

This immediately establishes the series four arc: Johnny will try to kick alcohol. It seemed the logical consequence of the series three finale. He got his booze back, but could still be easily taken advantage of if someone someone stops his supply again. Plus, his drunkenness is part of the show's title - him dealing with his predilection for scotch was a story I would inevitably have to tackle eventually.

Betty is played in series four by Nat. She was originally cast as a character in a later episode, but was bumped up when Kate was unavailable to reprise the role. The pair are close friends and so, with the latter's permission, we gave Nat the part for the whole run to maintain continuity.

The ongoing mystery of Betty's surname continues. This time I go as far as ruling out names, thus limiting my options should I ever decide to make one canon. In this episode, Betty confirms it is neither Adams, Smith, or Wilson.

This is the third series opener where the crime is a theft (the first episode of each season has the job of reintroducing the premise for new listeners, so I tend to keep the case being solved relatively clean-cut). However, this is probably the first mystery in the show where the culprit is a character we do not meet.