Insomnia

Insomnia had me hooked from the first episode. I love UK shows and this mystery with a twist had me craving more with each passing minute. As a writer I think I have pretty much worked out where it is going, and had done so by the end of the first episode, but I might be completely wrong. Vicky McClure as Emma Averill is brilliant! My only criticism would be that she doesn't 'really' try to fall asleep before getting out of bed. I have had bouts of insomnia for weeks that have had me in the ER, so I get it. This show is dark, creepy, and brilliant. You can feel that there is something just not right under the surface and you have to figure out what exactly is going on, but it's not as simple as Emma going mad. Definitely give it a shot you will not be disappointed.

I couldn't get through the first episode. I gave up halfway through. The development of the story is painfully slow and uneventful. I can't even really recall what happened. Pointless discussions painting daily family life. Who wants to watch this? Who bothered to write such mind numbing drivel?

If you want to captivate the viewer you must include purposefully thought out intrigue that is well planned and develops in a manner that doesn't give away too much of the story's plot too quickly.

The first episode, barely develops much of anything at all.

This is a hard pass so far, hopefully it gets better, I love a good horror series.

It's a bit of an odd one. It portrays itself as some sort of spooky, supernatural mystery... but then just pivots into family drama and suburban horror.

And I found the family drama and suburban horror interesting and with some nice twists - but not too many to be silly - and I ended up watching all the episodes in one day.

The strangest thing is they almost seemed to forget where the story started and had a bit of a rush at the end to try and then return to that narrative. And I can't say they did it that well.

Those wanting more spooky goings on will be disappointed. It did feel a bit of a bait and switch and that's going to upset some viewers.

But as I said, I really enjoyed it. The cast was good too, and it was nice to see a different range to the lead actress from her time in Line of Duty.

The end of the first episode jumps into a trailer for the next episode that can only be skipped by pausing, fast forwarding, or backing out of the episode and manually selecting the next episode!!! It presents you with immediate spoilers that will pop the bubble of Mystery before you can reach the remote!!! I do not understand why this would be introduced without a "skip spoiler" button!!! This show seems to be a slow-burn, tepid tea storyline which will likely simmer for quite a few episodes before it reaches a light boil. For that reason, an ultra high speed condensed spoiler between episodes clashes loudly! So far the acting seems great, it has a real potential, as the plot thickens - no need to dilute it in such a way!!!

The show concludes with a loose end dragged into the pond and left there with no further mention of it! The purpose of the number sequence really doesn't add up! It certainly does not leave you waiting for season 2.

I was looking forward to this as I'm a big fan of Vicki McClure, but honestly even an actor of her calibre couldn't stop this from sliding into one woeful mess. At first the story seems compelling enough, but after a few episodes the characters start to behave in ways that will have you shouting at your television. The respective sub-plots featuring the teenage daughter's dodgy relationship and the sister's fertility struggles add nothing to the story except to provide the characters with further opportunities to demonstrate poor judgement and engage in cringeworthy conversations where everyone talks in circles. The second to last episode enters the realms of hackneyed, scorned stalker out for revenge who does a bunch of silly things that are completely ludicrous and overblown and ohhhh my, the kid's behaviour in the final scene... I was hoping a meteorite would land on the house and put everyone out their misery. Is it a revenge thriller? Is it a supernatural thriller? Is it a social commentary about adults who try to be their kids' besties instead of parenting? Or a piece about overly ambitious middle class professionals handcuffed by mortgages on gigantic houses in the countryside, burdened by their past relationships with creepy family members? Who knows? Please don't do it again, Vicky, you're so much better than this.