# Elsbeth, High Potential & Patience **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 4, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509 "2025-07-04T20:23:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/1 "2025-07-04T20:23:57Z")
All three recent TV shows have a woman with a special way of looking at things and solving crimes. Now I have never watch an episode of Elsbeth, but I know her from guest appearances on the Good Wife, etc. Her character annoys me, but she is at least an attorney, so there is a hint of realism there. Also the pop-up promos for her show turned me off. will skip it. I have already gone on a rant about how utterly unrealistic High Potential is, So, unless requested I will skip it. That leaves Patience a Brit mystery with Patience being an autistic woman with interesting and special ways of looking at things. At least here, she is already a employee of the York constabulary, down in the records section, so that is more realistic. Anyway, altho we have typical Brit mystery slow pacing, the show in better than the other two- the lead detective (DI) is also a woman, and the DI solves the cases (I have only watched three episodes so far), but with Patience’s help. > **[Patience (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patience_(TV_series))** > > Patience is a British–Belgian detective drama television series starring Laura Fraser as Detective Inspector Bea Metcalf, and Ella Maisy Purvis as police archivist Patience Evans, who has autism. The series is set in York, England, but most of the filming took place in Belgium. . > It is adapted from the French television series Astrid et Raphaëlle. The series premiered in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 on 8 January 2025. Filming on a second series, with eight episodes, took place in May 2025.... It is interesting to me, that all three special amateur detectives are women, maybe TV’s way of showing up the foolish misogynist male police dept? Of course there was The Mentalist, kinda sorta different, yet similar, altho he wasnt autistic or anything. I enjoyed that show, except for the Red John parts. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/2 "2025-07-04T21:01:47Z")
I’m trying to find if there’s a specific question in your post but without any luck. If you are noting the happy coincidence of three female amateur dicks (as we would once have said), then you can certainly go back to Miss Marple, Agatha Christie’s crime-solving busy-body, who was often a foil to the constabulary, depicted as being particularly thick and unsubtle. If you look at crime-based TV shows ([just British ones here for example](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:British_detective_television_series)), only a small fraction are women-led and many of those are modern police procedurals like Broadchurch, Unforgotten and Line of Duty. I’m not familiar with any of these three shows. Maybe they are more in the cosy mystery vein, which tends to be built differently for male and female audiences? Perhaps you could ask the bus-based question of why do we wait so long and three come along all at once? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/3 "2025-07-04T21:05:46Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > I’m trying to find if there’s a specific question in your post but without any luck. > > If you are noting the happy coincidence of three female amateur dicks (as we would once have said), then you can certainly go back to Miss Marple, There was no solid question, other than what do you think about these kind of shows, etc. From what I remember, Miss Marple - other than being rather smart and sharp- wasnt 'special" like those three are. > [@Banksiaman](#): > > Perhaps you could ask the bus-based question of why do we wait so long and three come along all at once? Good point. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/4 "2025-07-04T21:08:33Z")
What!?? You’re saying Miss Marple wasn’t _special_. Harumph. I disagree. Anyone who finds that many dead bodies is very special. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/5 "2025-07-04T21:08:49Z")
Thanks - I missed the point in your post where it was about peoples’ neurodiversity being on display. I’d be a hopeless amateur detective. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/6 "2025-07-04T21:10:46Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Thanks - I missed the point in your post where it was about peoples’ neurodiversity being on display. Yes, that was my point. Mind you there was Monk, but he was a Detective. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Anyone who finds that many dead bodies is very special. Perhaps she had the abilities of a cadaver sniffing dog?? 😇 ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/7 "2025-07-04T22:26:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have already gone on a rant about how utterly unrealistic High Potential is Reality doesn’t make for good TV shows. I look for shows that are interesting, regardless of how realistic they are. I wouldn’t be able to watch any detective shows or anything remotely sci-fi if I needed a high level of reality. It may not be for you, but Mrs. Geek and I both liked High Potential. It’s definitely not realistic, and for a show about someone with a high IQ I didn’t find it very intellectual either, but we thought it was fun. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/8 "2025-07-04T23:31:30Z")
For another unrealistic one, we’re just a couple of episodes into **Poker Face**. I’m not sure we’re going to be watching it frequently enough to properly call it a “binge,” but it’s entertaining so far, and I don’t mind a dose of Natasha Lyonne every once in a while. So yeah, there’ll probably be more of it at our house. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/9 "2025-07-05T01:34:51Z")
I’ve seen a few episodes, and I rather like _Elsbeth_. She strikes me as a distaff Columbo. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/10 "2025-07-05T10:38:22Z")
These are among my favorites. For me, gender doesn’t matter, but I suppose there are more female leads than male. It can be mystery, legal shows or whatever. It’s the character and story more than the crime. And having unique characters is important. My favorites include: Monk Elsbeth High Potential Agatha Raisin My Life is Murder Columbo Matlock (the current one with Kathy Bates) The Mentalist I haven’t seen Patience. If it’s along the same lines it’s something to check out. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/11 "2025-07-05T13:58:07Z")
If neurodivergent, female detectives are your thing, then there’s also the American version of _The Bridge_. (I didn’t see the original Danish-Swedish show, so I’m not sure if the characters share the same traits. There’s also a British-French adaptation, _The Tunnel_.) Diane Kruger’s character is described in the wiki as having an ’ undisclosed [Asperger syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome) or a similar [autism spectrum disorder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum_disorder).’ ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/12 "2025-07-05T18:16:41Z")
We liked the Elsbeth character on **The Good Wife** so much that we watch **Elsbeth** and enjoy it. The writers aren’t as good, but it’s enjoyable enough for our purposes. We watched one episode of **High Potential** and I said “Nope”. If my wife has watched any more of it, I haven’t seen her do it. We watched and enjoyed the series **Astrid** , the series **Patience** emulates, so we were interested to watch **Patience**. We’ve seen the first few episodes so far and liked them. We have a granddaughter on the spectrum and so know a little about autism and don’t find the character unbelievable. If you’re looking for police procedurals with a good female lead, you should try **Vera** or **Unforgotten**. (The earlier episodes starring Nicola Walker. The new series, sans Walker, is just as good, but the lead is now Sanjeev Bhaskar, who was Walker’s partner earlier.) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/13 "2025-07-05T18:47:26Z")
I won’t watch _Elsbeth_ because I can’t abide the character. My sister was watching it for a while because she enjoyed the guest stars, but she finally noped out, too. We’re watching _Patience,_ but much prefer the original French _Astrid_ (called _Astrid et Raphaelle_ in France). _Patience_ explains too much instead of showing, and it sometimes feels like it’s more of a docudrama on neural divergency than a police procedural. Don’t like the policewoman’s male subordinate – bad actor and annoying. It’s pretty much an English language copy, though. We always know whodunit from the start of each episode since they’re not changing the stories except for minor details. _High Potential_ is a complete fantasy, but fun. I like the cast, and the stories are also fluff, but fun. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/14 "2025-07-05T19:57:01Z")
> [@Bumbazine](#): > > If you’re looking for police procedurals with a good female lead, you should try **Vera** I like Vera, but her schick of calling even the perps "dear’ etc kinda gets old. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/15 "2025-07-05T22:03:02Z")
The OP is looking at it all wrong. Most mystery novels and films, and almost all TV mysteries, are written so the audience knows who the killer is before the detective knows. The entertainment comes from reading/watching how the detective solves the mystery. The quirkier the character, the more entertaining the story. Even in a straight procedural like _Law and Order_, there are formulas you just can’t get around (the first suspect is never the killer, etc.) Might as well have the detective solve the crime by looking at the world cockeyed (in Elspeth’s case, literally titling her head and looking crookedly at a clue.) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/16 "2025-07-14T16:15:34Z")
My wife and I watched high Potential and, as mentioned, it’s pure fantasy but a likeable show. The original French version was on Hulu and I meant to catch at least an episode or two but never got around to it. I recently finished both seasons of Elsbeth, and enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to S.3, which I’m pretty sure there will be. One thing about Elsbeth I particularly enjoyed was that most episodes were not ‘whodunit’ but followed the Columbo ‘howcatchem’ formula-- where the killer is revealed at the start, and the show becomes a cat-and-mouse game between the protagonist and the killer. I’m surprised more ‘murder box’ type shows don’t employ this formula, since it’s fun to watch. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/17 "2025-07-14T19:07:03Z")
> [@solost](#): > > One thing about Elsbeth I particularly enjoyed was that most episodes were not ‘whodunit’ but followed the Columbo ‘howcatchem’ formula-- where the killer is revealed at the start, and the show becomes a cat-and-mouse game between the protagonist and the killer. I’m surprised more ‘murder box’ type shows don’t employ this formula, since it’s fun to watch. Because it postulates a wealthy killer, who is arrogant, but doesnt have a lawyer. Not many of those around. She doesnt catch gang-bangers doing drive bys or any of the more common killers. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/18 "2025-07-15T15:20:45Z")
I am also confused by the OP. Is there a question? > [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@solost](#): > > > > One thing about Elsbeth I particularly enjoyed was that most episodes were not ‘whodunit’ but followed the Columbo ‘howcatchem’ formula-- where the killer is revealed at the start, and the show becomes a cat-and-mouse game between the protagonist and the killer. I’m surprised more ‘murder box’ type shows don’t employ this formula, since it’s fun to watch. > > Because it postulates a wealthy killer, who is arrogant, but doesnt have a lawyer. Not many of those around. She doesnt catch gang-bangers doing drive bys or any of the more common killers. If that’s what you like maybe stick to documentaries? Entertainment shows like to show things that are entertaining. Actual police work isn’t entertaining. It’s mostly a boring slog interspersed with some action. Makes for a bad Tv show. _Elsbeth_ is an entertainment program that showcases interesting crimes along with a lot of big name guest stars. It’s not trying to be realistic. If you don’t like it that’s fine but every cop show on tv is unrealistic in different ways. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/19 "2025-07-15T15:52:43Z")
**Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries** is a great show out of Australia. She’s cool because she’s also a millionaire adventurer. There’s a spin-off, **Miss Fisher’s Modern Mysteries** which takes place in the 60s. It’s not as good but they do keep with the girl power theme. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509/20 "2025-07-15T16:18:56Z")
On the other side of the gender line, we watch the British version of Professor T, a guy with more hangups than a pay phone. The guy is so OCD he could find dust in Monk’s apartment. The trouble with the show is, the newer stories are weak. Sometimes they aren’t even a mystery. Any competent detective could solve it, and there is nothing that requires the unique perspective of a neuro-atypical detective. Plus the whole long-drawn out story arc about his father’s suicide (or…_was_ it?) is boring and pointless. We also like Van Der Valk. But I’m not sure being a silent jerk is really neuro-divergent. There was a good line in an early Airwolf episode, where a character asks the taciturn Hawke, “Do you still expect people to read your silences?” You could use that on Piet Van Der Valk, too. At least he’s a good detective. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509.md?page=2)