A light British crime drama with humor.
I'm addicted to British crime dramas, most are very good. Annika apparently is taken from a BBC radio drama that was set in Oslo, Norway. In the TV series, Annika is a newly promoted inspector heading the Marine Homicide Unit of Police Scotland though they call it Scotland Police in the series, covering the River Clyde and the Isles.
I'm a big fan of Nicola Walker who starred in "Unforgotten", "Last Tango in Halifax" and many others. The rest of the core cast are very good, drama school trained. It's lighter than many crime dramas and the characters are more relaxed.
The show has problems with the script, starting with breaking the 4th wall by Annika to discuss literature, Nordic history or her feelings on some topic. It feels like it's a time filler because the writers haven't scripted more complex stories. That technique probably worked well on the radio show, but it doesn't on TV. It seems contrived, not natural and believable. And there is the bum's rush to wrap up each episode.
It's not "Vera" or "Shetland" or "Grantchester" or "Endeavour" ... but I'll watch the last three episodes, Scotland is beautiful and I like the core cast a lot. And hopefully they fix the script for season 2, it needs better writers.
I've seen all 6 episodes, the daughter drama toned down but breaking the 4th wall to talk about Shakespeare's "12th Night" in the last episode was just stupid when viewers are trying to focus on the unfolding plot. Things are bad when what's happening in the background that we see through the glass walls of the police station or on the river, is more interesting than what's happening in the foreground.
Scotland has "Shetland" which is a great series, but all the rest of them like "Vera", "Grantchester", "Endeavour", "Silent Witness" and new ones "Grace" and "Whitstable Pearl" are set in England. Scotland deserves more quality police dramas, hopefully this gets better if it gets a season 2.
I watched season 2 and it's good, but I still haven't adjusted to breaking the 4th wall because it's not necessary. In the series "This is Going to Hurt" breaking the 4th wall works because it's related to events in the story. It doesn't work in Annika except for a few occasions. I do like the dry humor and the banter between Annika and Michael and Annika and Morgan.
I'm a big fan of Nicola Walker who starred in "Unforgotten", "Last Tango in Halifax" and many others. The rest of the core cast are very good, drama school trained. It's lighter than many crime dramas and the characters are more relaxed.
The show has problems with the script, starting with breaking the 4th wall by Annika to discuss literature, Nordic history or her feelings on some topic. It feels like it's a time filler because the writers haven't scripted more complex stories. That technique probably worked well on the radio show, but it doesn't on TV. It seems contrived, not natural and believable. And there is the bum's rush to wrap up each episode.
It's not "Vera" or "Shetland" or "Grantchester" or "Endeavour" ... but I'll watch the last three episodes, Scotland is beautiful and I like the core cast a lot. And hopefully they fix the script for season 2, it needs better writers.
I've seen all 6 episodes, the daughter drama toned down but breaking the 4th wall to talk about Shakespeare's "12th Night" in the last episode was just stupid when viewers are trying to focus on the unfolding plot. Things are bad when what's happening in the background that we see through the glass walls of the police station or on the river, is more interesting than what's happening in the foreground.
Scotland has "Shetland" which is a great series, but all the rest of them like "Vera", "Grantchester", "Endeavour", "Silent Witness" and new ones "Grace" and "Whitstable Pearl" are set in England. Scotland deserves more quality police dramas, hopefully this gets better if it gets a season 2.
I watched season 2 and it's good, but I still haven't adjusted to breaking the 4th wall because it's not necessary. In the series "This is Going to Hurt" breaking the 4th wall works because it's related to events in the story. It doesn't work in Annika except for a few occasions. I do like the dry humor and the banter between Annika and Michael and Annika and Morgan.
- Avidviewer-02847
- Sep 1, 2021