35 Diwrnod

If you're into noir like Hinterland and The Killing, Nordic Noirs, etc., this is a great binge watch for a rainy day. Another reminder that you never know what's going on behind closed doors and all families are a mess.

If you're like most mortals on the planet, you most likely do not have a working command of Cymraeg, the language of both Wales and the film "35 Diwrnod". That would leave you dependent on subtitles. Alas, none of the subtitles in this potentially very interesting series are appropriately adapted to the background colors of the screen you might be watching on: the letters are ALL WHITE. The result of this is simple: white letters against the white walls of the kitchens, the bedrooms, the various cabinets throughout the houses, become impossible to read. It's a bit like the visual version of trying to follow a mobile phone conversation with someone who's traveling through the Swiss Alps - traversing tunnel after tunnel after tunnel. At least a full third of the conversations, if not more, will have been lost completely.

I just finished bingeing all four seasons. The first season is the best. It was a great change from the usual detective story -- by showing the murder victim die to begin with, then working up to it over the previous 35 days. Be ready for almost every character to have a definite dark and deceitful core. Even the "best" of them are revealed as the unpredictable chain of events unwinds. I have never seen a show with so many side plots, yet they don't interfere with the main story. Except in the last season which is a bit helterskelter to say the least. In an effort to add humor, they lost the plot a few times. And the way that it ended was unsatisfactory -- other characters were far more deserving of his fate. Also, Season 4 starts slow and moves at an erratic pace. Seasons 1 and 3 are the most watchable. Although I see reviews complaining about the white subtitles disapppearing against the background? I didn't have that problem at all. I could read everything clearly. You do have to stay glued to the screen, however. It's worth it.

When I ran across this on BritBox I thought I'd give it a try. Last couple miniseries I watched have left me cold. This did not! Once you get into that different stories being told simultaneously it is a great binge! It kept me guessing and after watching season 1 I am looking forward to savouring the next two seasons. The only problem is I of course needed the subtitles as Welsh is not a second language for many, but the subtitles were in white at the bottom and sometimes there was not enough contrast on the screen to read them properly. But I got through it and glad I did!

I watched seasons 1-3 on BritBox. They don't have season 4 right now - in its place was 35 Awr (35 Hours, listed separately on IMDB). I didn't have any trouble reading the subtitles. They are white, with a narrow black outline.

I totally enjoyed seasons one and three. The premise is fun - you know the end right from the start, and subsequent episodes unravel the who and why. Red herrings, unexpected twists, and lots of unreal drama make these seasons a lot of fun to watch. 99% of the characters are terrible people who do awful things, which makes for interesting storytelling but might be a drag if you're not in the mindset for it.

Season two was a mess, IMO. It took several episodes for me to figure out what the heck was going on. There were too many characters and too many overlapping storylines to keep track of and the ending was lousy. The seasons aren't connected in any way so you can easily skip season 2.