I enjoyed the series although I did find it a bit derivative. The weakest point of the show for me was the lack of facial expression of the lead character. While he was not a bad actor, I found that he facially ran the emotional gamut from A to B. Even ONE little smile would have helped. In fact, there was not even much of a change of expression for his one love scene. Pity!
shareI agree, the cast in general were a humourless bunch . The DI spent her scenes either expressionless or looking slightly stricken. I imagine the director wanted it that way but on the whole it was a very dour series.
shareIf you'd like to see the exact opposite in a DI, you should see if you can get (download?) a copy of the Danish series, The Bridge (Bron, Broen), with good subtitles. Yes, it's worth seeing even with subtitles. The DI played by Sofia Helin is also humourless, but the character she plays so incredibly well is so autistic (?) that her lack of understanding of even the most common emotional expression is actually endearing. You could even say it makes her an emotionally arresting character if you're into bad puns.
shareYour suggestion is appreciated but we have waded through both The Bridge of the US-Mexican persuasion and The Tunnel, same story again but England-France. One more version and I may need to fake my own death and hide out in the shed.
On that topic I think Diane Kruger played the role very well in The Bridge and I was very impressed with Demian Bechir.
We watch a lot of police type shows and I suppose we have become very 'picky' over time.
Like you, I am very picky with police/crime dramas and, because of that, I simply do NOT watch American remakes of Scandinavian police stories. In the remaking of them, that Scandinavian "darkness" that is such an integral part of the shows is lost. If you are also into reading police stories, check out Jussi Adler-Olsen's Kvinden i buret (Danish). It was called The Keeper of Lost Causes in the US and Mercy in the UK.
shareThat's a shame. The original was by far the best.
shareI think Bron|Broen is my favourite TV show ever. haha I love it. ;)
shareI've seen of four episodes of this tv-series, the fourth episode airs tonight, and even though I love this tv-series, it wouldn't hurt to see a little bit more facial expression on Harrington. Tonight I think Rhys is not even in the episode, it will be only him then. Very sad, but I will watch. I like all caracters in this, bus a little more facial expressions on Harrington would have made this at the top of the list tv-series, but now it is a good seven.
"Be the change you want to see in the world." M. Ghandi
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Well, it is difficult for some of the dialogue to be translated directly but it could do with some humour - episode 4 was surely crying out for Tom to say "You will have to accompany me to the station" with the chief suspect replying "I am already at the station - Borth railway station!".
The series started so well but rapidly went downhill and the last episode was almost a send up of itself. The constant frowned and pained expressions quickly became very amusing in our house. The stationmaster was a really poor actor. Compare him to the abused girl in the first episode.
If it comes back then please ditch the superintendent and ask for a few smiles from the cast. Also, try to be a little believable with procedures.
This could be great......
I hope they do a bit more to flesh out his backstory and at least clarify why he and the superintendent have such obvious dislike for each. I'm all for mystery in a character but sometimes it goes too far
shareI would recommend not doing what I did in watching 3 episodes back to back. (blame Spiral...can be watched straight through in one sitting with no problem)
After a while, the grim expressions, the miserable or expressionless faces and the long lingering shots for no apparent reason really become firstly monotonous and then slightly absurd. (Mustn't miss out the extended eye contact shots)
Must add,I don't think I've ever seen so much 'You must stare at this for a long time,it is important' in a series.
But I do get the feeling there is a good series hiding in it somewhere but the scenery won in the end in the 'interesting stakes' and it came across as if they tried a little bit,maybe quite a lot too hard to be Nordic noir......just watching the end now....he looks constipated....oh dear...
Mal,they are starting to damage my calm!
Ha ha! That's exactly what I was thinking- Is he constipated?
At first, I thought that the playback kept freezing. Soon I realised it was intentional. It was bizarre and distracting. Hopefully the director learns from the criticism of series one to improve things in the future.
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remember: tv is called PROGRAMMING, items of news are STORIES
Heck, I just thought that was the way they were...the Welsh are a dour people to begin with what with working in the coal mines and all that. Kind of reminds me of my grandma Evans...felt like home watching all those sour pusses. The show is a breath of fresh air for me. I was so glad to find it on Netflix. Of course, I've only watched The Devil's Bridge so far, but we'll see how it holds up. It kind of brings back memories of the first season of Longmire, tho we don't know what the lead's secret is, like we knew Longmire's, eventually. Also reminds me of it because of the prominent role the scenery and local folklore played in the episode (and hopefully the entire series). I'm a total sucker for that kind of backstory.
In episode four we saw a lot of emotion from Matthias. These were all pretty grizzly cases, I am so tired of wise cracks when sincerity and responsibility should be the norm. If I want smiles I'll turn on something sweet. Murder isn't comedy.
shareI couldn't agree more. I am an American and our crime "dramas" are as watered down as our beer. Hinterland and Happy Valley are currently two of my favorite shows. I don't care if Mathias ever cracks a smile. He glum sort of chap with a dark past. If I want to see smiling and wise-cracking crime fighters I will watch NCIS.
I do hate the cliched police chief/superintendent who doesn't get along with his officers. Didn't we get enough of that in every other crime show ever filmed?
The directors used the same flashlight in the cellar routine in one gripping episode of Happy Valley and the scene was already awash in tension. There's a switch on the wall, turn it on!
Great, finally somebody said what I have been saying for thelongest while. It annoys the blip out of me when they put torches on when they could just flick the bloody light switch. As to Herrington I find he is absolutely fabulous. He obviously is a very unhappy man and hasn't much to laugh about. He obviously craves to see his children. He is in the doldrums so why the heck should he be laughing. And yes the doubting police boss gets on my nerves as well.
Hinterland is a gripping series and I can\t wait for the next series. You can keep Broadchurch, totally overrated.
I've watched the first two episodes and while I like the story lines, I find the main character dull as dirt. He is supposed to be that classic troubled, but talented detective, but he comes across as an empty shell. He has history, but it is hard to care about him and his story. I'm sure he is a good actor, but I think he was miscast and/or poorly directed.
I agree with you about the lack of expression. I guess it is suppose to make him more mysterious and interesting, but it makes him inauthentic and as I said before, dull.
Its a shame. I love this kind of show, but this one doesn't work for me.
Agree with OP, though I think I had less patience haha. The combination of this series feelings like every other unmemorable BBC murder mystery and the unremarkable characters had me stopping without finishing the thing. The lead actor doesn't add anything to the series and I forgot about him quickly. But nobody else had much to add either except one of his assistants (Ellis?) with glasses who had some personality. That's about it, though maybe there was a typhoon or characterization at the end of the series that I missed out on.
sharePro or con Richard Harrington?
Pro. Why? He's ideal from what I've seen so far, reserved, focused, determined, a loner, which I admit isn't much, but I've seen him in other movies, series, etc.
What I think could be an issue is the differences between how Americans 'act' and, well, the rest of the world. I'm in the rest of the world camp because no one is truly all that animated in real-life, which makes watching foreign films, and series, all the more interesting because they enjoy the build up, however slow, that engages peoples minds and emotions.
Also so far, we see a bit of interest by him in one 'staff' member. I'll wait this out because of what all the OP had to say, I peeked, so I look forward to that and his own backstory of why he's there.
What I love are visuals of old buildings, empty street, the landscape and especially that bridge and its 'story' along with how we come upon the woman halfway over it talking about her dog. Interesting concept about walking the bridge with the devil to get what you want only to have to pay him back with that which you love the most.
Richard Harrington's character seems "world weary." Whether its from his job or his personal life or a combination of the two is yet to be determined. I have the feeling that there is a lot to be told in this series as yet untold.
As for the "long, lingering shots" its what I like about it. My wife said some of the shots are like looking at paintings.
Another series with a "world weary" cop is Inspector George Gently but that series has a lot of humour in it due mainly to the interactions between Gently and his assistant, Bacchus.
This was a good thread. Central to the show is the humorless pursuit of truth. Limited bonding of "team" characters. Lots of damaged characters for suspects and witnesses. Crime scenes that are like central station. An hour and a half to unfold. The truth is found in a past that characters are complicit in hiding. No gun play, chase scenes, very limited life risk for the principles. I'm definitely pro but these elements are MY preferences.
VERA is similar in depressing tone and past sin suppression. Both shows make some concessions to eye candy but way below the typical. One complaint I don't see addressed here is the use of music. S1ep2 they use music to heighten tension in a very lame fashion and this insecurity is pronounced in all episodes.
For those who want more expressive characters or bigger stories/murders, well you've got more choices than I do. Note on Broen: The detectives are a kind of classic comedy team of contrasts. The Dane is all self effacing smiles and rule breaking guile. Our beautiful Swede is autistic, super scrupulous,single minded obsessive. I dig it but it's structure is one Damn thing after another not this slow reveal past sins thing.
This was a good thread. Central to the show is the humorless pursuit of truth. Limited bonding of "team" characters. Lots of damaged characters for suspects and witnesses. Crime scenes that are like central station. An hour and a half to unfold. The truth is found in a past that characters are complicit in hiding. No gun play, chase scenes, very limited life risk for the principles. I'm definitely pro but these elements are MY preferences.
VERA is similar in depressing tone and past sin suppression. Both shows make some concessions to eye candy but way below the typical. One complaint I don't see addressed here is the use of music. S1ep2 they use music to heighten tension in a very lame fashion and this insecurity is pronounced in all episodes.
For those who want more expressive characters or bigger stories/murders, well you've got more choices than I do. Note on Broen: The detectives are a kind of classic comedy team of contrasts. The Dane is all self effacing smiles and rule breaking guile. Our beautiful Swede is autistic, super scrupulous,single minded obsessive. I dig it but it's structure is one Damn thing after another not this slow reveal past sins thing.