The Catch

I'm a big fan of Jason Watkins, he's a very watchable actor in my opinion. He's very safe and dependable with what I would describe as a raw vulnerability. He really carries the weight of this show although the other actors are decent too. Okay it's not the most surprising murder mystery drama I've ever seen but I found myself happy to coast along and watch to the end. A few more twists would have been good and the final episode is perhaps the weakest which is a shame but it's a solid seven out of ten. If you want to pick holes this is going to provide a few but otherwise just go for the ride.

You know that thing where you can't concentrate on what someone is saying because you're struggling to place their accent? This whole thing is like that. I don't just mean the actor's accents (real or imagined). The whole thing lacks a clear sense of place which I suspect will drive a lot of British viewers round the bend, while viewers from other countries might not notice anything strange. It starts off feeling like Cornwall - then you realise that's just your own assumption because it's a popular setting for films, and some of the accents certainly could be Cornish ... or maybe we're in Devon ... or is it Dorset? Ultimately, this made it difficult for me to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the ride.

Moving on - the main character Ed and his wife, daughter and mother in law were all well acted and believable. The boyfriend actor, with his confusingly Welsh accent (wait! Where are we?) not so much. He was seriously wooden and, I felt, poorly directed.

I personally liked the way the film looked and was constructed, with longish scenes (by today's standards) with significant dialogue. That's a win, in my book. The first couple of episodes were a lot of fun, as things got weirder and weirder, but the massive spoiler at the end of episode 2 was disappointing. It turned the final two episodes into a standard "pretty young woman in danger/desperate man falsely accused" piece of schlock, which I've seen enough of in the past twenty years. Can we please have something else? And an ordinance survey map?

I had no choice but to put on the subtitles, as the music background was swamping 50% of the dialogue.

And there was no need for the foul language. Are scriptwriters so lacking in vocabulary that they need to add such contamination?

The scenery and locations added much to the plot, and the general presentation was well above standard. Brenda did well as the dementia-stricken grandmother.

I'd say that the origination of Ryan was rather too obvious, and his story, once revealed as the plot unfolded, was no surprise.

Well done to the production team in concealing the location - carefully not showing any boats' sterns, where the harbour 'home' would have been visible.

This series passes the time, but is full of predictable, and implausible things. The last half hour, in particular, is a ticklist of bad film/TV cliches. It is set in Cornwall but filmed in Ireland, and the makers are careless with background detail and accents that betray that fact. Characterisation is mostly two dimensional, and acting mediocre. Actions taken by several characters are often some combination of stupid, implausible or self-contradictory as to their motives. Channel 5 have commissioned several series like this, and they all suffer from the same faults. For all this, it's watchable if your expectations are not high.

Still grieving for the death of his son, Ed takes an instant dislike to his naughtier Abbie's new boyfriend Ryan. Things are going wrong for Ed, but who is responsible.

I honestly have no idea what the ridiculously low ratings refer to, definitely not this four part series, without any doubt of Channel five's best offerings, and I'd argue one of the better dramas of 2023 so far.

I certainly missed Crompton's writing skills in the recent series of Silent Witness, he was missed, but his skills were out to good use, bringing this four part drama to life. Channel five dramas can be hit and miss, I'd argue this one was definitely a hit.

Four episodes worked well, it allowed it to nice up through the gears quite quickly, it never felt slow or laboured, and whilst the mystery may be a little obvious, the journey is a very good one.

It's a very well produced drama, it looks great, Dublin looking fantastic.

The acting was excellent, Jason Watkins did a great job, I thought Aneurin Barnard was fantastic, I'm so glad he's been cast in the next series of Doctor Who, what a talent.

8/10.