Mayday

i think the only good thing about this series is the peculiar atmosphere. The story shows some promise but they do manage to f it up real soon. I didn't understand why it had to be sooooo slow and why there were so much blabbering. I hoped it would come to good avail, because I like slow films, on the whole. But here, naaah, they were just looking to fill the time and make this a miniseries when it could have been half as long. Seriously. And they weren't much clear on the story as well. This is usually a good thing, obviously, but here it left me feeling like the writer just couldn't decide which version of facts he liked better. Watch this at your own peril of wasting 5 hours of your life.

The premise was quite good (although a girl murdered in the woods is hardly a new story idea) and in the first couple of episodes it was interesting to see how the various males were suspected by their family members. Max Fowler was convincing in his role (which was however seriously undermined by a ridiculous revelation in the last episode).

As is usual with these over-consecutive-nights serials, there was a lot - and I mean a lot - of spinning out to fill the time. For example, the police knock on the door. Then we have a long drawn out scene of the occupant hesitating about opening it - for about two minutes, I'd say. Then she opens it anyway and no one minds about the pointless delay. Was this necessary to the story? Did it add excitement and tension? Nope.

The police involved themselves only minimally in the murder enquiry and as for the media circus that would descend in such cases - it wasn't there at all. Most people lived on a housing estate, but somehow, the minute they stepped out of their houses they were in the woods.

The conclusion, as already indicated, is weak. All those stones - presumably inserted to add a touch of spookiness.

Forget it.

Through the first four episodes of this five-parter, it seemed like any of several characters could have killed the May Queen. That the solution eventually comes through some mystical nonsense throws the previous four hours into the dustbin. What a disappointment.

Fun mystery/whodunit with just a hint of druidic magic. Packed full of great actors all possibly guilty of something if not murder. If you like Brit murder mysteries, you'll love this.

I came here to see if IMDb could suggest something similar to this. It's been about a year since I watched it and I still remember how good it was. I see other ratings range from 1 to 10, so there's obviously quite a difference of opinion. I think it's unfair that some reviewers gave it a low rating because they expected a straight-forward police procedural and got something else. My only quibble was that the teenagers seemed a little older than the story said, and apart from that I thought it was fabulous and unpredictable, and I was satisfied with the ending. I strongly recommend it. Watch with an open mind, and pay attention.