Lynley

I like the new series. But I loved the original. So that's why I'm trying not to compare the 2. For one thing the actors aren't anything like the original. Leo Sutter plays tight lipped and stiffer, unlike Nathaniel Parker who really fit the part. It wasn't forced. And the Havers part is so different it's unrecognizable. New actress doesn't fit the bill. Sharon Small was Havers. And it was their relationship which made the show. Their differences. That isn't portrayed here except for a few snide comments which don't seem proper for a sergeant to say to her DI, especially so early on.

Will continue to look at this as an entirely new series, for however long it lasts.

As a longtime fan of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, I was hoping this new take on DI Thomas Lynley and DS Barbara Havers would capture the same magic. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

The heart of the original series was the natural, believable chemistry between the leads-something that simply can't be manufactured. Here, the dynamic feels forced, and the tension between class and gender reads more staged than authentic. The acting often comes across as stiff and unconvincing, leaving the partnership feeling hollow rather than compelling.

Despite the premise's potential, this version struggles to live up to its predecessor. Chemistry is either there or it isn't-and in this case, it just isn't.

If I hadn't read the books by Elizabeth George, I probably would have liked this new series. Production values are good, acting is mostly very good. BUT the depth, the layers, the complexity of emotions... all left out. So it's a good show, but it could have been great. It's almost laughable that "Simon" and "Helen" show up, but without context. Maybe they'll get to that in the fourth episode, I don't know. Disappointing.

It took 4 episodes for the director to finally figure out just what the relationship should be between the characters but they seem to finally be getting there. The scripts are decent but the acting is sometimes just painful and the dialogue is absolutely painful the majority of the time. The whole series is full of detective drama cliches and predictable scenes so no new or different twists or turns. Thankfully there's only 4 episodes in the first season so hopefully the powers that be can figure out where to go by the time Season 2 begins.

I've seen the original "Inspector Lynley" and thought it bordered on the unbelieveable because Lynley was so preposterously vain and dismissive of Havers. Yet this is what made the show fun and watchable The main characters played so well off of each other. In the new "Lynley" there is none of that chemistry. It is like two characters on opposite ends of a stage, each giving their own soliloquy. Plus Haver's voice in this re-imagining of the original is oddly high-pitched and annoying...and uninteresting. Which makes it very difficult to keep watching.