The Couple Next Door

The only reason I don't give this one star is because it's so bad it's almost entertaining.

Slow boring story with terrible acting set in an eternally warm, sunny, tropical location that's apparently in Leeds.

There is one attempt at a Yorkshire accent but Joey Tribiani could do a better job.

It also seemed to be filmed with 80s soap opera effect.

Nothing erotic about it and a very strange time scale, days, weeks and months seem totally interchangeable.

The more I write the more I wonder if this is in fact actually a very clever comedy that I just don't get

Hugh Dennis was the only saving grace but even that was touch and go - non pun intended.

I would watch paint dry if it featured Sam Heughan and I am keen to support any movie or series he stars in. He is a solid actor and nice to look at--a good combination in my books.

Equally, Eleanor Tomlinson is great to watch. She brings a breath of fresh air to any role.

Discovering that these two actors were cast together in The Couple Next Door, I noted the date in my calendar and counted down the days. I was excited.

And really, the anticipation was the best part of this series. To me it just didn't strike the right note and some parts of the storyline just didn't work for me. Sometimes a point was laboured (yes, I got that...move on) and other times the characters just, well, didn't stay in character.

I am disappointed. Hopefully Sam will be cast in a role that matches his talent in the future.

Normally wouldn't watch something with an IMDb rating of less than 7 unless there's a cracking cast as was the case in the couple next door. The acting was excellent, and I didn't even mind Sam Heughan slipping back into his Scottish accent. The thing that absolutely threw me was the location. It's all I could think about. By no stretch of the imagination could you find a housing estate anywhere in the UK that resembles the one in the show purporting to be in Leeds! I mean, who on earth would have awnings in Leeds, no offence, but there's just not the weather - talking of which - did the director not know it's always cold and rains most of the time?

I only finished this show because maybe, maybe it will take a turn for the better. No. It actually takes a turn for the worse. Really bad script, all over the place direction and poor production values. Acting? Not so great either. Eleanor Tomlinson is greatly miscast. Sam Heughan takes his shirt off so I guess he'd done the part he was hired for. Jessica De Gouw and Alfred Enoch are adequate, though not sure why they accepted to be in this.

Instead of airing this atrocity maybe Starz should have bought the original Dutch series Nieuwe Buren. This one is a big fail. Save your time and watch something else.

I notice there are some 10/10 reviews here. Well it's Hardly in the same league as Line Of Duty! It's a totally ridiculous story of a middle class suburban neighbourhood, that starts when a young attractive couple move in to one of the houses. They become friends with a couple across the road and this leads to a an affair and it all starts to kick off, especially when a creepy resident from across the road played nicely by Hugh Dennis starts spying on them through a telescope.

There are several other sub plots along the way including corrupt police, diamond smuggling and a local online paper trying to catch a major criminal.

To be fair they cram hell of a lot in these six episodes and it moves along at such a fast pace you don't stop to think how daft the plot is. 6/10.