Dead and Buried

I endured all episodes of this dire offering from the BBC. One and a half episodes in and I really didn't care what happened to any of the two dimensional characters, by episode three I was skip watching just to get to the end. The flimsy storyline revolves around the lengths to which the female protagonist will go to get revenge on the man who killed her brother many years previously; the whys and wherefores of which are never fully explained. She is a teacher, so supposedly intelligent; but her actions become increasingly ridiculous as she twitters, cries copious amounts of tears into copious amounts of wine and lurches from one unbelievable situation to the next whilst dragging her equally stupid friend along for the ride. By a strange coincidence her husband; also a teacher; teaches the son the man and there seems to be some kind of never goes anywhere subplot involving the two of them. And then we are treated to an ending that is so bad it is laughable. The whole thing is made worse by the poor acting, the dire dialogue and the lack of any resolution or explanation of the subplots. This series falls well short of taut thriller status. If you want a good "revenge stalking" thriller try Red Road instead.

Another one of those UK dramas that starts with a bang and completely messes the non-ending (remember that show with the flood and its dumb murder mystery?). The concept is engrossing: a grieving woman doesn't accept that her brother's killer is building a new happy life after a long time in jail.

The idea that each character is multiple shades of grey is entertaining but problems starts when your plot has just so many coincidences and stupid twists and turns. It's fun until it's not especially when your lead character is psychotic and becomes the most unlikable character of the show.

People always show up at doors at the same time, go to the same location on the same crime night or hear conversations at the perfect time. Our lead lady has a unique talent to befriend anyone despite being a weirdo from day one. It's just bad writing and there are good ideas -like the religious redemption group- that are wasted. Too many plot lines are saved for the second season which is infuriating and somehow lazy. I absolutely hated the final episode that didn't make any sense and tried to fit all the reveals in the most illogical way. I also think a proper flashback about the characters past would have helped creating an emotional link with the present story. Another waste of a good premise.

I have never left a review before but having read the mostly negative reviews I felt compelled to leave one after enjoying this show so much. My partner and I watched this entire series in one night and were on the edge of our seats. I thought the acting was on the whole really good, especially Colin Morgan who never disappoints. I think that slightly left-field plot lines makes a thriller interesting and fun as you try and guess what's going to happen in real time. I had no issue with the born again Christian group and thought it was a clever way to acknowledge this corruption that goes on in the real world. I think the last episode was intended to capture a Shakespearean tragedy and those that complained about it lacking a neat and tidy conclusion would likely have been the same people to complain about it being too predictable if it had one. Would defintely recommend!!

Where do we start? It's always possible that someone could just bump into the guy who killed her brother - as you do, in a supermarket car park - and then that you get more and more obsessed with messing his life up. He's "done his time" but that's not enough for Cathy... She has to ruin the killer's life.

The story-line requires that working people just take time of of work; Cathy just disappears for an hour or two and her husband accepts it; a phone gets stolen, with no induction how. The dialogue doesn't flow, the characters are two-dimensional and uninteresting. The story gets more and more ridiculous and the demands on the poor cast become overwhelming: at times, you can read it in the actors' eyes: "How did I get involved in this?" Fortunately, there are only four episodes to endure, although I suspect they planned for six and decided to cut and run after four.

Another one of those series that doesn't know how to finish, and leaves you wishing you never invested time in it in the beginning. The first episode gets you hooked with an intriguing plot, good filming and score and characters.

But it just goes downhill dramatically and the last episode is a 2/10 at best. So many more intelligent ways to have concluded the series, but they went for a silly option. Not really sure how they could have messed up the end so badly give there was obviously some talent involved in the production overall. Some reviews criticise the acting but I don't fault the actors.