Douglas Is Cancelled

The whole first episodes are a drag, and they are played like a farce. 3/10. I nearly turned it off. And then the last two episodes are great drama and written far better. 9/10. They should have done it as a two or three episode miniseries instead. Some characters are so overdrawn they feel out of place. And for a series that is (in the end) so squarely in women's corner, why write the wife's character basically as a stereotypical nagging jealous wife? It adds nothing to the point the series makes. There are some baffling decisions in this, so it's quite flawed, all in all, but it was a joy to see Gillan being able to show what she's capable of as an actor.

I apologise for my title, I couldn't think of anything world shattering, so moving on ... The performances were superb, lines delivered sharply, dialog flowed naturally, the chemistry between the relevant characters came across as natural.

I don't want to write any spoilers so: E1, sharp and funny, I thought it was setting the tone for all that would follow.

E2, pace and humour fizzled out a little and I started to wonder if all the best bits were in E1.

E3, everything went dark, to say a number of scenes left me feeling very uncomfortable would be the understatement of the year, at one point I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep watching but was hooked by the amazing acting and script.

E4, twists, turns and alternate perspectives and a 10* rated ending.

I can only say that if you feel it's not worth sticking with in E2, keep going, your heading for a roller coaster of emotion.

It starts off slowly and you wonder where it is all going. But I am so glad I stuck with it as it builds to a phenomenal climax.

The cast are fantastic with Hugh Bonneville, Ben Miles and Alex Kingston And really shows off Hugh Bonnevilles's slightly befuddled expressions and Miles being a predatory nightmare.

Karen Gillan is outstanding in a challenging role. You never know how to take her until the very end. A hugely difficult role and perfectly executed.

I absolutely hated her at the beginning and my sympathies were all in the wrong places. And then everything starts to shift and I wound up actually crying. An absolutely stellar performance from all the cast. The writing and direction were excellent.. Douglas and Madeline are brilliant and well worth any awards for their performances.

8/10 Britbox.

This show is a strange animal, but also somewhat entertaining, thanks in no small part to its brevity. The plot moves quickly and mercilessly, similar to the way the public internet court can pass judgement on someone like Douglas. As with everything written by Steven Moffat, the dialogues take center stage: they are snappy and spirited, often relying on quick repartees to drive the narrative.

The lead cast is excellent across the board, and I could listen to Karen Gillan's soft Scottish accent all day long. Where the show slumps however, is when the secondary players get any screen time. It's hard to believe that Moffat is the creator of such pointless characters as Douglas' unbearable daughter, or his clueless manager, or Nick the comedy writer, whose lifeless sense of humor is certainly meant to be ironic in and of itself, but really only ends up being discordant.

All in all, it's an interesting project and it's topical enough to generate discussions worth having in this day and age. I just wish Moffat had been more judicious when choosing his characters and a little braver when detailing the actual cancelling.

Watched this series in one sitting and it's one of the best. The storyline is stylishly crafted and all brought together in the last 10 minutes to a totally satisfying ending which resonates with the strange times we live in.

Because of Hugh Bonneville's presence comparison with 2012 and W1A are inevitable but this is a straight and serious drama with relatively few injections of humour and those that are tend to be caustic.

The casting is superb as is the script and production and Karen Gillan and Ben Miles shine through in particular but in very different ways. We need more productions like this so well done ITV.

I'll definitely watch it again.