User reviews

I watched all the episodes in one night as it did reel me in, however, there were instances that didn't make sense. For example, the flashbacks made it seem like they were in 80's as opposed to the early 2000's, the whole seance situations with Ember's Mum were weird and not relevant. And the horse scene!! Really unnecessary!

The biggest part of the series that didn't make sense, and I'd consider a big plot hole, is the fact that no one who Ember worked with connected her to Malachy even though they were married and he'd only died the year before! How is that even possible?! Still worth a watch though.

This series started well. Jenna Coleman is a terrific actress. Some of the sub plots were too dark, also slightly confusing. I felt there was no need for some of the scenes as they did not add to the story. There was suspense and good acting and the makings of a good story. There were simply too many side issues going on. I realise they build around the main story however they also distracted from it. When it got to the last episode, it was drawn out way too long. It got to the stage that I was wishing it would get to the chase and just end. I found that, when it finished, I was wondering what the heck did I just watch?

DC Ember Manning investigates a fire at a jetty, an event that causes her to look into a cold case, the disappearance of a girl called Amy. Ember has to face the prospect of her late husband Malachy being involved.

Ember, the central character was billed as the new Vera, that's the reason I tuned in, but let's be honest here, it's not in the same league, she's a Northern Detective, and that's it.

I found this generally disappointing, episode three is pretty good, but the rest is average at best, not as bad as some of the scathing reviews, and those giving this eight and nine star ratings, I'll have a pint of what you're drinking.

I may be slow on the uptake, but it took me ages to work out that two different times were running at that same time. The narrative is absolutely all over the place, it's hard to follow and keep up with, largely because it's so dull in parts.

Visually it's too dark, it's like Jamaica Inn all over again, some nice visuals, especially at the start of the first episode.

The Male characters are all atrocious, as you'd expect from The BBC, Hitch is a man child, Malachy is a drug dealing creep, Russell is a psycho, Needham is a bully, let's face it, not one of them is even half decent.

Coleman is a very talented actress, but she's totally wrong for this part, I didn't think she had any degree of presence, she at no point feels like a Detective.

I'm not sure I see this being recommissioned.

5/10.

So, this isn't as woeful as some have said, nor is it as good as others have, but it DOES suffer from the same pitfalls as all of those ABYSMAL Harlan Coben shows that netflix started commissioning.

It's shot mostly in close-up, a lot of the various b-plot threads are irritating, and it's trying to make the audience NEED to know where all the mysteries lead... Ok, it's not actually Mr Coben's fault that's happened, but it IS the worst trend in TV these days. Focusing more on hooking an audience in with a mystery than actually making the story interesting.

What saves this is some of the performances. Jenna Coleman is very good, as is Tom Glynn-Carney, but even some solid performances don't make it better than fine.

If you like getting frustrated with storytelling and love to be left to figure out what is happening in the plot, then this convoluted mess is for you. Add in a weird time travel element, or parallel universe, that doesn't make sense, then grab yourself a bucket of popcorn because this series makes little sense.

The main character is underdeveloped. In addition to the lack of clear storytelling, is a protagonist who is a police officer who breaks the law, lies about the truth, and acts like her teenage daughter without reason. Also, why is she afraid that her own mother might see her smoking?

The ending is laughable when the truth is revealed. Consider yourself warned.

A pregnant young girl jumps to her death, but lands on DC Manning's car instead. This provokes a flashback to a cold case of a missing girl from 17 years ago.

What kind of person could solve these crimes? A detective constable, of course, with the following:

quirky aged relative, this time her druggie mum who speaks to the dead; quirky car, a rag top Saab, repurposed from a wilder youth; quirky house, a lock-keeper's cottage but without the Monty Python fish-slappers quirky dress sense, an ankle-length overcoat and of course a counsellor.

Which kinda brings me on to the usual male role models:

the chav the wimp the child abuser the stoner the adulterous, absent dad

But even this build up can't prepare you for the climax. We find out how Amy died, who did it and how to keep your job afterwards.

An enjoyable, if slightly unspectacular crime drama, good cast, decent writing but perhaps lacking in a wow factor.

The plot jumps around a little so you need to be paying attention and there's a few plot twists which flirt with the implausible but overall it's well worth a watch.

It's been overhyped in the press with comparisons to Happy Valley and it's certainly not in that league, but not much is so it's more than a little unfair.

Good performance by Jenna Coleman in the lead role plus a decent supporting cast too.

Plus the 80s Saab convertible as the obligatory quirky detective car is a nice touch for viewers of a certain age.

I had read some of the reviews on here and didn't expect much, but my wife and I thought we would give it a try.

However, despite some reviews saying it was hard to follow etc, we didn't feel like it was and it kept us both watching for the duration of the series.

Jenna Coleman played a fantastic part, even though she had stepped in a new direction with playing the role as a detective. But also, because she is nearing 40 and she still radiates beauty from her teens and doesn't seem to age, and because of this, we struggled to see her as a mature woman detective.

But, any doubts on whether she could pull it off, was pushed aside by some great acting by not only Jenna, but the rest of the cast too.

So, all in all this was a very watchable program and we were invested in the series and watched it to its conclusion.

Well acted on a subject that was tactfully done.

This was far better than I expected it to be, and the twist at the end was clever and earned.

After playing one of the most hated characters in UK TV history, Jenna Coleman plays a slightly irritating, fraught, doing-their-best lead in The Jetty.

I appreciate things that obey Chekhov's Law, and don't pile on irrelevancies. They are becoming rare these days, as streaming stations create season after season of sludge to string viewers along and make money.

A 'limited series' with a tight arc is becoming a bit of a gem, even when it's not brilliant. The Jetty isn't ground breaking, but it's a relief.

It's a little slow and probably could have been 3 eps instead of 4, but it's not grindingly so. I didn't reach for the fast-forward button.

When the final reveal came, and the tasty little epilogue, I gave a tiny clap.

This would have been mediocre TV once upon a time, but these days it really stands out.

A fundamental issue in stories with noble intentions is often the writer can't get out of the way of the moral, zeitgeist messaging long enough to tell a gripping, viable story. The by-product of that can lead to ridiculous, convoluted or forced plot points to desperately generate some level of excitement. This suffers from both. But that's not the only problem with The Jetty. At least fifty percent of the scenes here feel inauthentic.

There are so few realistic human interactions throughout with most feeling like the writer was desperate to crowbar in witty and pithy one-liners at the expense of anything credible. The dialogue is clunky at best. Just as an example, at one stage Caitlin's mother delivers the line 'I told Caitlin you lock them in your bottom drawer'. Ember replies 'who?'. What kind of response is that!? 'Them' would clearly suggest an object. Or does Ember actually believe Caitlin locks people in drawers?! This might seem minor, but these clunks in dialogue are peppered throughout with characters jarringly delivering wax-lyrical lines in tense emotional moments in a way no actual human ever would.

That's one of the many issues with the main character. There's such a desperation to establish her as the edgy, hard-nosed cop and laid-back mother that the writer often forces those character traits into the scenes. Whether abusing the man who just had his building burnt down or swearing at a records clerk just doing his job or cracking open a beer for her teenage daughter, it just all feels plastic and forced.

These kind of actions and reactions by the protagonist as well as everyone involved rarely feel like genuine character moments, serving mainly to further the plot, but at the expense of logic. Town inhabitants who have seemingly known each other years, interact like they just moved there, purely to deliver exposition. As an example, the ending to episode 3, both in logistics and believability is derisible, not helped by the heavy-handed use of podcast sermon as a device to sledge-hammer home the message.

And message-wise there is undoubtedly a noble intent to shine a light on the dangers of toxic masculinity and how it can thrive in isolated smaller town settings, but everyone involved in this endeavour lacks the skills to translate that to the screen in a way that doesn't come across heavy-handed, agenda-fuelled or, worse still, preachy.

That said, it's not a complete misfire. There is a solid use of non-linear narrative and flashback device to effectively convey backstory, but the key issue is there's just nothing new to say here. Those few original moments come across more like random attempts at shock value (ever wished for a scene where an underage teenager gives hand relief to a horse. You're in luck!) and the less said about the ludicrous final reveal the better.

The overall problem is everything just feels trite and tired which is especially impressive and seemingly hard to achieve given the messaging itself is so timely.

Whenever I come to IMDB to see user reviews about a show that says important things about the lives of women, I'm always stunned to see the low ratings that show has received.

Every single time.

It's a great production with excellent acting. The story is good. It says things about women's lives that are not comfortable for men to acknowledge. And many women will take issue with it too, because that's what we do to ourselves. But the things it says are things that are obviously true, and in The Jetty, they are well presented in an absorbing story.

To the creators: well done, and sorry this series will never get the rating it deserves. Maybe if you put a superhero into it?

Terrible episode 1... was going to drop it after 30 mins. Then I read so many reviews saying how good it was! By the end of episode 2 I was absolutely hooked. Episode 3 kept it going, but the ending! What a let down. Having someone basically explain the plot because Gemma Coleman's character only has 20 mins left to work it out, and was getting nowhere! And talking of Gemma Coleman's character... I think it was supposed to be on the lines of Sarah Lancashire's character in Happy Valley... strong woman in a man's world! She failed on every count! Thank god I'd seen her in Doctor Who and The Serpent previously, so did not have high expectations!

The one bright spot for me were the great performances from Laura Marcus and Bo Bragason.

This looks like a good drama, but it doesn't sound like one. A combination of mumbling, muddy sound production and overbearing soundtrack make most of the dialogue unintelligible. This is a common complaint but it needs to be made. Otherwise, what's the point? Can't see any comparisons with Happy Valley. They're both in Lancashire, full stop. The flashback sequences were obscure to begin with although this makes for an interesting plot element. Plot and character are ok (I think) but foregrounding issues doesn't work if you can't make out what the characters are saying. Ember is an unconvincing lead and her dialogue is rushed as well as whispered.

The characters in this show are DEEPLY flawed and DEEPLY frustrating - but in that way that real life characters are the same. This is not an "entertainment product" designed to provide a fun mystery and outcome.

It's a horrendous tale of bad people doing bad things. But Jenna Coleman, between this, and "Wilderness" has carved a REAL niche as being INCREDIBLE in shows about the dark side of women.

Make no mistake, there are some AWFUL male characters in this show, who deserve no defending. But, just as in Wilderness, the darkness and badness are made worse, and often perpetrated by the women in the show.

I won't say anything more to avoid spoiler territory, but I will say I am glad there is a season 2 coming because people might have thought because of the pithy "speech" and motivational sounding music at the end of the last episode it's supposed to be some kind of happy ending.

It's a horrific ending, with the darkest possible outcome, and hints of utter misandry (that is, the female equivalent of misogny) and complete evil at the end.

And viewed and understood through that lense, this is quite a potent and fierce work, just like Wilderness.

Jenna Coleman may have had lots of success in the past. But did she even have a voice coach for this role? It's set in Lancashire, whilst no longer a county of miners smoking woodbines and having a long history of unfathomable dialects. It is still in rural areas a place with strong accents. Her character appears to have lived here all of her life and married a local lad. Maybe police college was more like Finishing School? Something has definitely turned this lad into a southern Jessie as my husband would say.

Born in Lancashire I moved away forty years ago and still people can't understand me down here. It was easier to be understood when abroad. Especially in Ireland.

No matter how good an actor is they should not be cast a role that should have a different accent just because they are popular and available. Sara Lancashire does a fantastic job of northern accents on both sides of the Pennines. She is also a lovely person. Unlike Ms Coleman who is said to give short shift to " little people " who play an enormously important job of making her look good on screen. She needs to learn to respect others who are busily working around her. Not ignore them or be disrespectful.

... starting off rather slow looses some viewers... parts two-three-four have more pace and lots more frustration-confusion... Jenna Coleman cast in the lead could be criticized, not that she doesn't perform well, it's just a bit out of character for her physical-persona and character

... in order to reduce much of what's disorderly concerning clearly the overly involved storyline, it's the type of production that would need be watched again, at least one time, probably more.... main deterrence being that it's not a show most would have much desire seeing again... except for her involvement, and that's just not enough this instance

... it could have should have been better, just too much was thrown into all the overlapping storylines, made even more muddled by late introduction of characters essential to the eventual outcome of the story.... an okay mini series overall, but with some-too-much-confusion to make better.

Enjoyed this 4 parter- had no idea about the ending-really liked it- for the underage sex issue should have been resolved too- but enjoyable watch.

Loved Jenna in this role- love her anyway - but felt this was a new type of role- not sure the ending was morally good- really suppose the issue of drugs and driving was a key issue to the plot twist- so felt there should have been truth telling- but sort of summed up the oddness of the eventual plot!

Enjoyed all the acting but "Amy" wax particularly manipulative- hated her- so I guess the actress did an excellent job!

Bit if a twee ending for Kitty- but partially I like a twee ending!

I really like precedural shows, especially ones that take place in a small town. The whole "hidden problems" under the idyllic seeming town usually brings me in and keeps me. This just didn't hit me enough to watch after season one... if it does manage to make it to a second season.

I liked the characters well enough, the lead was good... with a decent potential backstory on her past in the town. The setting was great and the plot was decent enough, but nothing really better then avaerage.

It just didn't stand out well enough to keep watching. Maybe I'll get back to it one day and start season 2... I really doubt it though.

I did give it an 7 out of 10... so it wasn't bad by any means. Definitely good enough to be recommended to fans of the genre. Give it a try... you might like it more than I did.

I don't know why I keep trying again with BBC drama. Whoever commissions all this stuff is going to go down in history alongside an infamous litany of heroic would-be worthiness and artistic worthlessness, albeit that I can't myself discern what is intended to be worthy about it. Certainly not its dramatic value.

This one is just grim, and the guilty include the sound technicians as well as the usual suspects of producers, writers, editors and the rest.

I don't know about the non-linear timeline thing in this one. OK I was fooled by it. Maybe I should take the optimistic view that it was a fresh use of the device that was cleverer than I was expecting, and I should rejoice in the effect. But I'm not left feeling optimistic.

I'm definitely not well-disposed towards yet another bloody cop-centred thing - where the lead cop is flawed, conflicted, emotionally involved, gets suspended halfway through, throws their weight about brainlessly etc, even though we contrive today's version of the plot twist - unless by chance some truly excellent drama results. Not this time I fear.

One little problem was that the focus character just wasn't a convincing policeperson. I doubt if this is Ms Coleman's fault, but perhaps someone else could have used the same material more convincingly: the things she does just aren't cop-like at all. One might take the view that this is because she's a fresh take, away from the old cliches: OK I'm open to that in principle, but this just didn't work for me.

One bit I did like was the big put-down when she tells the the Southern incomer victim of arson that she won't investigate his crime because it's a hopeless case, and she can't be bothered anyway because he's an entitled twirp. Now that's a real glimpse at the sort of policing I'm familiar with.

I'm certain there is mileage in a well-conceived and well-executed plot that exposes the bad young rebel girl versus exploited vulnerable child dimensions, and occasionally this one had a go and approached the mark, but never quite hit it. Why do girls behave like that? Asks one character, and is answered by the one who might know, sadly mumbling the lines, probably because they were so clunky even if true. There is insight to be imparted on this, to be sure, but scarce did we glimpse it, I fear. And the girl spotlighted in this work is not the unloved abandoned child of chaotic upbringing spattered with adverse childhood events, but the sort of poor little rich girl who tends to get featured so repeatedly in BBC scripts: who knows why!

OK let me be fairer. There are a few different women's stories here, from working-class to toff, schoolgirl to geriatric, single mum to housewife to academic, and even one ethnic. None of them seems to have much fun.

As for the abusers. I don't know. They were more a collective pastiche than individual characters. Maybe that's the right approach for a victim-centred view. The supposed serial child abuser at the centre of everything has somehow disappeared. Who and where is he? Do we already know him? The answer is perhaps intended to be the most interesting aspect of the whole story, but how the whole case could have gone cold is anyone's guess. And, clunk of clunks, when we finally find the witness who could perhaps cast light on the case she just happens to be delivering a lecture about Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith Beheading Holofernes." I do think, dear production team that, if you want to weave in these kind of referential touches, you do need to be a master craftsman. Else, just keep it to the contemporary industrial TV that it is.

And that just about sums the thing up. It's not so much a fine blend of herbes de Provence as a pot pourri of half-formed styles, threads, and techniques that doesn't result in a great tasting compote. Loved the setting: great country, lovely vernacular stonework inside and out, fine with the principles: bad stuff and humdrum lurking beneath the idyll, female-centred lens - hence the comparisons with Happy Valley - but overall it's still a messy miss I fear, the plot twists and sub-plots might even be original but are not that absorbing, and the drama ultimately just isn't very dramatic, leading to a weak and unconvincing denouement. At least the top and tail flames seemed real, so some credit to the BBC's budget.

The opening drone shot across the lake is just gorgeous and sets up this 4-parter as being set in a postcard-like place with lots of dark things actually happening there.

There's a missing girl cold case, there is a possible underage pregnancy, there's a guy who likes hanging around younger girls and plenty of the local guys who hang at the bar are just plain creepy.

Jenna Coleman (Ember) is great and has some great comic lines in scenes with Archie Renaux (Hitch), as her sidekick, with Ruby Stokes (Hannah), her daughter and Amelia Bulmore (Sylvia), as her mum. These were the bits I liked best because they gave a bit of light relief from the darkness that much of the story was based on. Nevertheless, while there were lots of plot twists and some very surprising reveals, there was a lot going on and it took a lot to follow the show at times. I did though and was glad I made it to the end because that last twist - WOW!

Thanks Hulu for adding this great show to the streamer. I really enjoyed the black humour that was subtle at times or hit-you-in-the-face-with-a-sledgehammer direct at others. Ember (played by Jenna Coleman) has the best of these cutting lines and delivers them with better comic timing than I would have expected. This is a really good role for her and shows a different side to her acting talents than we've seen before (The Sandman, Dr Who, Victoria). Jenna Coleman may have stumbled into cult status with The Jetty.

As she delves into the mystery of the missing Amy Knightly (played by the brilliant Bo Bragason) and her closeted sidekick Kitty (played by Laura Marcus), the show takes a darker turn into the questionable relationships that young girls have with older men in this pretty lakeside town. It's particularly relevant with the current UK press and X talking about historic cases of grooming and it feels like it could be happening all too easily in this case.

Topical, heavy but important stories being told here. Stream it all in one night but strap in for the ride.

Ember has the presence and gravitas of a lollipop person. It was impossible to believe she's supposed to be police. Her colleagues had no ematico or relationship with her, like she'd just arrived in the area. A overly convoluted storyline. Horrible sound staging too especially In the early episodes. It's a miracle I made it thru 4 episodes. The story line of the underage pregnancy which kept cropping up just petered out until a throwaway 2 mins at the end. And the jump between timelines was often unclear and caused confusion, although maybe that was just me. Ignore this nonsense and enjoy the time you've saved.

This series and its writing is as surprising as it is compelling; a dark tale of misogyny and abuse told through flawed characters with humour and wrapped in a thriller package. It's a complex, brave approach that was probably always going to polarise its viewers. But interestingly, those who cite Jenna Coleman as unconvincing because she's too young and pretty, or too flawed, only serve to underscore the point this series is making.

Misogyny is built into the fabric of our culture - so much so that many viewers cannot stomach a TV drama featuring a gritty, flawed, feisty female lead. I imagine the team knew this when they produced the series, but still they made this because the message is so important.

This is top-notch drama told with heart and grit and humour. DC Manning is a compelling if sometimes frustrating character - as are all of the characters featured in the series. There are no out and out heroes, but the villains are nuanced too. This lack of polarity - the greying of the moral lines that we pretend exist in black and white - is real and honest. And yes, uncomfortable to watch at times. But that's the point.

Bravo to the writer and team behind the show. 🙌