Compulsion

After surviving a tragedy, paramedic Jenny Challoner struggles with PTSD and turns to gambling.

C5 Drama have had more than their fair share of flops lately but this one takes the biscuit. Poor production values all round, heavy-handed direction and an OTT score. A poor cast, Anna Chancellor aside, that didn't gel together. Script wasn't good with lots of clunky dialogue and heavy exposition and an obvious storyline, you can guess the ending already.

Protagonist Jenny seemed to be the only one with a Scouse accent in Liverpool? Failed in all respects, one to skip.

This was a potentially great series it was well acted and you invested in the characters however it was really enjoyable until the last 1/2 of the final episode it was as though the writers just couldn't be bothered

There have been some great mini series from this Channel but sadly this wasn't one of them

It wasn't even cliche'd it was just disappointing, they wrapped up all the episodes in one 15 minute segment

There were lots of twists throughout the story all frustratingly closed off so quickly with no care for the characters or viewers

It just felt lazy and the end was too predictable when you just wanted one final twist or turn.

I watched this for Anna Chancellor and Haley Mills. Both actors get to really chew the scenery. You can tell they're having a fabulous time. Intentional or not, their scenes play as high camp and I enjoyed their collective screentime. I could watch Anna Chancellor read the phone book. And who wouldn't want to see Haley Mills playing the thug heavy? Fabulous casting against type. Other than that, this four-part series, which could have been two, maybe three episodes (they pad for time with flashbacks throughout of things that happened three to four minutes earlier within the same episode), was a waste of time. The tone was all over the place, even in a single scene. The ever present musical score was absolutely histrionic. Plotholes abound. There is seriously poor writing and exposition all over the place in this one. If the screenwriter wants us to sympathize with a main character going through PTSD and suffering from gambling addiction, you have to give them some redeeming value. You have to show us who they were before they went down this path. There was none of this and I found myself rooting against the protagonist, Jenny (Leanne Best). She is written as a pretty irredeemable human being throughout, even in the ludicrous ending. Anyway, if you are able to watch it where you can fast forward 5 to 10 seconds at a time, it's really the only way to watch episodes 3 and 4. Or you can just skip it all together.

A bleak opening with Jenny (Leanne Best) contemplating suicide by train due to gambling-induced financial problems. During a panic attack onboard, recently bereaved Sasha (Anna Chancellor) helps her and they strike up a relationship. Things quickly spiral out of control for Jenny and it is unclear whether Sasha is a guardian angel or a psychotic demon.

After episode one, I am torn on this - it is either a tightly-written well-acted psychological thriller with interesting twists or it is whiny derivative drivel of the type we see frequently now. Best and Chancellor are fabulous actresses so I await episode 2 before passing final judgement.

Addendum: Skim watched to the end and it is poor with the worst ending imaginable - rescored from 6* to 4*

As the title says, it actually wasn't too bad. I'd never seen any advertising or mention of this show until I randomly stumbled across it. The best way to describe it is "okay". I'll admit: there's plot holes and some weirdly unusual scenes where I wonder what a particular character is doing. But, it takes on a unique issue - gambling. Considering that topic isn't widely represented in TV I thought the writers took it on quite well. And, the ending was not the best: it was drawn out and didn't really flow or make sense. Bit of a shame as I thought the ending might redeem the previous episodes. I don't know whether its worth watching - give the first episode a go to see if you like it and go from there.