Chemistry of Death

Recently the "reboot" of CSI:VEGAS (2021) ran into a tiny spot of trouble. No viewers. To solve the problem, the producers coaxed some of the original stars out of retirement to put in cameos, trying to create a "bridge" between the old show and the new one. And that, in a nutshell, is the key to CHEMISTRY OF DEATH. It is not MORSE. It is not LEWIS. In fact, nothing about the show is done in a way that is intended to appeal to viewers who grew up on the traditional "English" mysteries. The pace is faster. The editing is faster. Voice-overs replace music. Shocking the viewer with jump-cuts and "big reveals" is not only acceptable, but actually encouraged. This is indeed a new generation of mystery show, and its success or failure will most certainly hinge on the charisma of Harry Treadaway. The same actor whose strong performances in MR MERCEDES, and STAR TREK PICARD, mesmerized viewers during his limited screentime. Clearly, the producers here felt that it was time to give Treadaway his own show, stand back, and see what happens. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

I am a huge fan of Simon Beckett and seeing that the books got finally a chance, to be on screen excited me extremely.

Of course, the books will never be topped, the details Simon Beckett put into it is just insanely good and you get a sense of the smell in the air and it seems like you are there with David.

The darkness of David's story is captured well, I do wish tho, that it would have been a bit more. To understand the character better. Through out the series of the books, it gives a better understanding of who he is and how he deals with his demons.

Yes, the accents are missing and it could have been a bit better handled, but through and through I am hoping for a new season.

If you want the whole feeling for the character, you have to start reading the books.

I give it a 7/10 because I was feeling excited through out watching the show even as I have read the books.

I really wanted to like this because I generally like mysteries, and I'm a fan of Amy Manson. But I don't like shows that focus on the brutalisation of women, and still managed to weather through three episodes, and wow... tedious. Unrealistic script, awful directing and cinematography, and it positively plods along half the time. Far too many closeups of the Doc's tortured face. He's in constant pain and it's simply overwrought, with his constantly invasive thoughts on his family. Nearly everything about the show is clichéd, including his narration of "the chemistry of death". I should've known because the title was not a good choice. Still, I'll give it one thing in addition to the actors doing their best: the scenery is stunning, particularly when we get to the islands.

TV shows are made from many different ingredients and in the case of The Chemistry... some are good but unfortunately it's the bad ones that give the flavor. The good ones: main cast is solid, cinematography nice and the overall feel one of a high quality production inspired by shows like True Detective. But the main plot and every second scene just make no sense, so much so that you watch with growing resistance. And it's not just the emotionally incredulous things like having flashbacks of your dead baby girl running happily on a beach while you're in a ruined cottage with a horribly burned and disfigured murder victim or technicalities like having a SWAT team on standby in a small village. It's even mundane things like people wearing rain coats in a storm but never zipped and not putting hoods on, professional police investigators leaving bagged evidence scattered all over the murder scene or knowing a big storm is coming but not securing a body in an already weather damaged shack. I really wanted to love this show. Instead I just grew more and more irritaded with each episode. A shame cause it could've been a really iconic show and Threadway has potential to pull off a complex, disturbed yet charismatic character, the likes of Sherlock Holmes.

Pretty much end of the good news! Sorry.

Hope this guys books aren't this bad. I'm thinking someone grabbed a great story and made a HUGE mess of it.

So much promise with so little fulfilment. The plot has holes in it big enough to drive a truck through. Suggest you don't waste your time. There's so much tv out there it's not worth the effort to watch something this bad.

PS David Heyman is the only saving grace.

Ok first review from me. Now I've got to figure out why there is a character minimum on a review! I'm damn certain I've seen shorter ones than this. Still not enough, guess I'll keep typing unti...