The Singapore Grip

I'll admit that I only managed two episodes it was so dreary. It should have been brilliant... Some seasoned and some up and coming actors but I can't decide if it was the acting or the storyline that was at fault. Shame.

The book was satire. This interpretation gets it at times, but misses by a mile at others. This inconsistency exacerbates the overall enjoyment by frustrating the viewer. Could have been a great series, but isn't.

I gave up on this series after two episodes, simply because there was nothing in it to keep my interest or attention. The characters are uniformly unlikeable - apart from the one played by Charles Dance, and he doesn't hang around long enough to be of much use to the story. Many of the other characters are either two-dimensional cardboard cutout villains to be booed and hissed, or bumbling morons to be mocked and ridiculed. All in all, an opportunity to tell the story of one of the biggest turning points in British and Southeast Asian history is reduced to little more than a predictable soap opera.

Sumptuous settings. Faithfully re-created period and place.

But the storyline is not that interesting. The acting is wooden. No chemistry between the characters. Nothing to make you warm to or feel strongly about any of them.

Reminds me of "Indian Summers" - great potential but a disappointment and, in the end, rather dull and uninspiring. Style over substance and talent.

Compare this to classics like Tenko!

Very poorly set and awfully directed and the scenes are pathetic casting not the best. Read the book very much better entertainment