I rate this story a 10, not because everything about it is perfect but because the combination of its own qualities and those of the series as a whole overcome any individual faults and I enjoyed it as a major part of re-watching the whole series.
I agree with the criticisms of other reviewers about the disappointingly limited role played by Dalgliesh in this story and about some of the less than plausible characterizations and some plot lines but there is a lot going on in the story with plenty of characters to make the murder mystery a challenge (unlike some of the stories where there are far too few suspects), high-quality acting, and delightful Norfolk/Suffolk coastal scenery to outweigh them.
It is some years since I read the book but I think the adaptation is fairly faithful to it (as are most of these dramatizations as far as I can remember the books but I won't stake my life on that ).
The one major failing in terms of rendition is that a fundamental theme of the book is a dark, sinister atmosphere that stems from and characterizes the relationship between the coast, the headland, the sea, and the power station. The headland is almost a country or a world on its own and its people, native or visitor, are all affected by these elements of it. The adaptation sadly fails to recreate this feeling so that some of their reactions and thoughts don't have as much dramatic impact as they do in the book. This might be an easy criticism to make since conjuring an atmosphere on TV isn't easy but filming in mid-summer was a colossal mistake in this respect. The north Norfolk coast is at its best in winter and the sea and light of February would have greatly helped the overall feel of the story.
That said, with the lovely Gemma Jones and Susannah York plus a largely competent supporting cast (this was, after all, the old days when TV still had some standards) I enjoyed re-watching this as much as any of the other entries in the series.
I agree with the criticisms of other reviewers about the disappointingly limited role played by Dalgliesh in this story and about some of the less than plausible characterizations and some plot lines but there is a lot going on in the story with plenty of characters to make the murder mystery a challenge (unlike some of the stories where there are far too few suspects), high-quality acting, and delightful Norfolk/Suffolk coastal scenery to outweigh them.
It is some years since I read the book but I think the adaptation is fairly faithful to it (as are most of these dramatizations as far as I can remember the books but I won't stake my life on that ).
The one major failing in terms of rendition is that a fundamental theme of the book is a dark, sinister atmosphere that stems from and characterizes the relationship between the coast, the headland, the sea, and the power station. The headland is almost a country or a world on its own and its people, native or visitor, are all affected by these elements of it. The adaptation sadly fails to recreate this feeling so that some of their reactions and thoughts don't have as much dramatic impact as they do in the book. This might be an easy criticism to make since conjuring an atmosphere on TV isn't easy but filming in mid-summer was a colossal mistake in this respect. The north Norfolk coast is at its best in winter and the sea and light of February would have greatly helped the overall feel of the story.
That said, with the lovely Gemma Jones and Susannah York plus a largely competent supporting cast (this was, after all, the old days when TV still had some standards) I enjoyed re-watching this as much as any of the other entries in the series.