Ellis

I'm surprised over the many negative reviews and comments about the "angry black woman," but I can forgive the reviewers, because this is exactly how I felt when I first watched Vera. She was a grumpy old woman, always yelling at her staff. Now, after many years, I'm addicted. If you like detectives in the style of Vera, Van der Valk, a super grumpy smart detectives with lots of quirks and sly humor, you'll like this show.... it has a lot of similarities. Give it a chance, I think it will grow on us.

Every season I worry that Vera will be canceled. She is in every scene, and given her age this could be challenging. Wish they would look to Slow Horses and give all the very interesting, smart, secondary characters more screen time.

We are used to many police shows but this one is quite different. From the first episode, this series shows how issues in the police force (racism, sexism and bullying etc) plays out. I find it very telling by some of the other reviews but as a POC I believe this series has great potential. Yes it is not overly acted and could need a bit more in terms of drama but I was glued to my screen ( laptop and then finished it off now ). The first episode does have some twists but nothing overly major. People's discomfort with racism in the episode is quite funny because such things whiles they happen regularly, make others uncomfortable. I find it touched many subjects and subsequent episodes will hopefully look at other issues. I'm extremely excited about episode 2 and fingers crossed it gets better.

Its kind of pathetic that people will take a couple of small instances of something they don't appreciate (no handshaking) after one single broadcast episode, and exaggerate and extrapolate that into an entirely false persona. Early reviewers were just cribbing each other's words to beat the drum of "wooden," "wooden," "dull," "dull." So lame! The acting for the Ellis character is just fine, as is much of the other acting in this production, though not all.

The main character is black and middle-aged, is serious, direct and plain-spoken, is practical, asks for exactly what is called for, is very capable, and it seems like maybe the first two characteristics might be the main problem for some individuals... is she supposed to be deferential, congenial, giggly and tap-dancing? She's thoughtful and compassionate in her interviews, jokes around in a very low-key manner with her colleagues, smiles when significant progress is made in the investigation, and expresses gratitude. Is the problem that she's not a total suck-up?

At first, she has an overly needy colleague who is petulant, and a bit desperate for social connection. I don't think the main character is the issue, here. Some people aren't interested in fluffy getting-to-know-you stuff, and it certainly doesn't influence the outcome of an investigation, nor does pointless over-sharing of every thought, as if everything needs to be a collaboration. This relationship evens out to be more functionally cooperative.

The main boss-dude on home turf is overly defensive, territorial, jealous, and he's both sexist and racist, while under-performing at his job. It hardly seems unusual, and looks to be a fairly realistic portrayal. The main character wastes no time at all trying to get him on side, or bothering to aim to correct his wrongheadedness. What would be the point? He's totally shut down and thoroughly unfriendly, and depicted as spending too much of his time being undermining, gossipy, and angry, while taking sloppy shortcuts.

In Ep 2, the out-of-town boss and his toadie are even more off-putting! Much of the episode shines a harsh light on the injustices women suffer both in the workplace and as community members affected by crimes. The investigation is intriguing, if a bit sloppily presented.

In the 2nd Ep, Ellis' tone has somewhat changed, and not for the better. Although, the reasons are pretty clear: being accused of something one isn't guilty of, being treated with smarmy insincerity and false cooperation, being manipulated, lied to, and obstructed. There's no reason to be 'friendly' under the above circumstances.

Still solidly average and watchable.

DCI Ellis is teamed up with DS Harper to investigate failing Police operations, after a frosty introduction, the pair discover a common ground, and prove to be a formidable force.

We all know what Channel Five dramas can be like, from the torture of Anne Boleyn, to the high quality of Dalgliesh, so you can be forgiven for having moderate expectations. This is one of the channel's best offerings.

Will we ever get shows as good as Endeavour, Morse, Vera, Foyle's War etc, the hunt goes on, Ellis isn't on those levels, but it's still a quality drama. I can see this running for some time.

Sharon D Clarke is excellent as the title character, she possesses a lot of presence and charisma, I adore her delivery. Harper grew on me as time went on, the pair work so well together.

Channel Five, just one suggestion, move it to a Sunday night, as this is perfect Sunday evening viewing.

8/10.

This series has the potential to rival my all-time favorite British detective DCI Morse.

Like Morse, DCI Ellis is glum yet somehow likeable, probably because she is dedicated to her work and has sympathy for those whom she encounters during the course of her investigations.

Unlike Morse, Ellis doesn't seem to be snobbish though she is aloof and keeps her personal life separate from her work. At least so far in 3 episodes. I hope they don't change this too soon.

Both Morse and Ellis are aided by a dutiful Detective Sergeant. While we know a lot about DS Lewis, we don't yet know much about DS Harper. And that's ok, since probably his character will continue to be more fleshed out.

While the crimes are not very unique or all that interesting - there's nothing new under the sun - at least I wish the writers would put in more effect to have more interesting cases for the duo to solve.

After all, the conceit here is that DCI Ellis gets sent around the UK to handle difficult cases. So let's see them.