As others have noted, this has a Twin Peaks vibe, which is a good thing, but it also has big script problems. After taking four hours to build up the story and cast suspicion on everyone, the final hour wraps things up by introducing at least two major plot points that came rather unfairly out of the blue (the villains's motive and a supernatural bent in the finale). Had the story played fairer with the viewer, I would have liked this more. There are virtually no likable characters, and even the ones who might seem to be moral centers are not, and spending five hours with people you don't really care about is a real test of the viewer's constitution. Decent acting, certainly, and a nice mood is set throughout, but overall not satisfying.
30 Reviews
I loved it!
kuhn11175 February 2020
I just across this series on Amazon Prime and I have to say that if you keep in mind it's described as a fantasy, mystery then all these other negative comments are just touch over-thinking! Don't analyze it just enjoy it! Contrary to a lot of the other posts I loved the ending!!
No Mystery Why This Attracted a Solid Cast
willard1210 December 2019
Slow moving, but visually great.
Sleepin_Dragon21 June 2022
On the day that she's meant to be crowned May Queen, Hattie Sutton vanishes without a trace, all manner of village secrets are forced out into the open.
It's a decent five part series, it jumped on The Broadchurch bandwagon, where that succeeds on every level, this one falters, for two reasons, pacing and characters.
It's very slow, it seems to take an age for anything to happen, and when it does, your concentration may have dipped somewhat. The characters are too overdone, everyone is suspicious, sinister, and seems to have a motive, none of them are plain old fashioned nice either, you wait five hours for one singular act of kindness.
It's a gorgeous looking series, very well presented, beautifully shot, they make full use of the idyllic location too.
I've read a few reviews, where people have commented that the ending spoils it, for me it's perhaps saved by the ending, the first three episodes are quite slow, the last two, ridiculously fat fetched, but at least there's some entertainment.
It's worth seeing, but it's not as good as I remembered it being. 6/10.
It's a decent five part series, it jumped on The Broadchurch bandwagon, where that succeeds on every level, this one falters, for two reasons, pacing and characters.
It's very slow, it seems to take an age for anything to happen, and when it does, your concentration may have dipped somewhat. The characters are too overdone, everyone is suspicious, sinister, and seems to have a motive, none of them are plain old fashioned nice either, you wait five hours for one singular act of kindness.
It's a gorgeous looking series, very well presented, beautifully shot, they make full use of the idyllic location too.
I've read a few reviews, where people have commented that the ending spoils it, for me it's perhaps saved by the ending, the first three episodes are quite slow, the last two, ridiculously fat fetched, but at least there's some entertainment.
It's worth seeing, but it's not as good as I remembered it being. 6/10.
Really liked but
Headturner115 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The ending. I really liked how weird this was. The acting, direction mostly good. The weird vibe. It did have a supernatural thing going on but that is never for certain. Up to the last episode it worked then all of a sudden it seemed like things were rushed( we find our killer) after it could have been all of them they all act , look so guilty and why? Some kind of curse? Supernatural? And the ending , ridiculous! The looks on their faces. Gd! and I don't remember her name ( the wife if the cop) I just saw her in something else and I couldn't stand the way she acted. Painful to watch like she was so timid and scared of everything or looked like she was hiding something. I don't know how she was ever a police officer. Good up until like the last 45 min.
Mayday = Sheer Excellence
Evil-Lee-6664 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
BBC has built its reputation on providing excellent Drama over the years & Mayday is no exception. The story surrounds a missing girl & it seems that everyone who knew her could be responsible for her disappearance. This Drama twists & turns and all the characters seem to be watching each other and doubt is at the forefront of everyone's mind. The BBC has excelled itself this time with a familiar cast of seasoned actors & a few new faces. I found this series to have an almost sinister edge with the music adding to the atmosphere, very well directed & the leafy calm of Surrey was the perfect place in which to film it.
Caitlin's Hair
barbbday9 September 2021
I had a very difficult time getting past the fact that Caitlin's hair kept on changing from black to dark brown to black and dark brown, sometimes during the same scene, but at different camera angles. Someone should have really kept track of that!
Faith restoring British drama
dan-421-1056217 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The disappearance of the May Queen in an idyllic English village shatters the veneer that's masked years of intrigue.
Like beetles crawling out from under freshly cracked bark - historic issues swarm to the surface, each one a motivation for a resident to want her out of the way for good. What happened to Hattie? Did she run away? Is she really dead as people assume?
This is a production that Kudos & BBC can be proud of. One where the casting worked and the characters were utterly believable. The script was solid and the story gripping without reaching for gimmicks. I enjoyed how it subtly touched on the old English mysteries without the need to drench them in exposition - and the misdirection kept me wondering who was responsible right up until the final moments. Yet it never felt laboured or contrived, delivering a steady flow of well crafted storytelling up to the last second.
Watching this was time well spent.
Like beetles crawling out from under freshly cracked bark - historic issues swarm to the surface, each one a motivation for a resident to want her out of the way for good. What happened to Hattie? Did she run away? Is she really dead as people assume?
This is a production that Kudos & BBC can be proud of. One where the casting worked and the characters were utterly believable. The script was solid and the story gripping without reaching for gimmicks. I enjoyed how it subtly touched on the old English mysteries without the need to drench them in exposition - and the misdirection kept me wondering who was responsible right up until the final moments. Yet it never felt laboured or contrived, delivering a steady flow of well crafted storytelling up to the last second.
Watching this was time well spent.
Started well, then...
pawebster12 March 2013
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.
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.
Watch it with an open mind
Minicarmen9 June 2016
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.
Great cast, fine production thrown away by ridiculous ending.
dedawson-8256117 February 2019
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.
Mostly Different
chaoticprime24 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Mayday was something else. The world that surrounds the characters, its diegesis, is absolutely everything. Its a murder mystery at heart, probably, but its not one that the viewer is meant to solve. Most similar stories progressively paint guilt on a guilty party as they progress. Mayday's narrative does mostly different--it paints everyone guilty and then peels it off the innocent a little at a time. The final episode explained more than just "who did it," but also the intentions behind many other scenes from throughout previous episodes, though for the latter, not by way of a flashback--pay attention.
The "who" does not nearly matter so much as the "why." What Mayday was, was not a show about action. It was a show about reactions, specifically the wrong kinds that come from bad information. Watch for that. They were all reactions to things that happened before the show began, also. You must essentially reverse-engineer what you see. Had the show's producers omitted the incriminating flashback from the final episode, there would still have been more than enough explanation--its use is also my only criticism.
If nothing else, you can afford to spend five hours of your TV time with Mayday. Even if you end up not liking it, it was still pretty short.
The "who" does not nearly matter so much as the "why." What Mayday was, was not a show about action. It was a show about reactions, specifically the wrong kinds that come from bad information. Watch for that. They were all reactions to things that happened before the show began, also. You must essentially reverse-engineer what you see. Had the show's producers omitted the incriminating flashback from the final episode, there would still have been more than enough explanation--its use is also my only criticism.
If nothing else, you can afford to spend five hours of your TV time with Mayday. Even if you end up not liking it, it was still pretty short.
A drama disguised as a mystery
fleroux-9695014 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
If you miss an episode, you probably will miss the ending. There is only one spiritual or supernatural thing in the series, and that is the mini crown being turned into a rock. The cop's wife tries to frame the teenage dude's father, but the sister of the victim (played by the same actress) figures out that the cop did it. After losing her mind she dresses as her sister and points to the cop and his family accusing him of the murder. The loss of three stars was for the quick ending, I added one back because of all of the negative reviews.
In 2013 (around 2010 to 2015) everybody was mad at amazon, netflixs and the other channels for not finishing stories. Maybe that had something to do with it. Would have been much better if it had two seasons.
In 2013 (around 2010 to 2015) everybody was mad at amazon, netflixs and the other channels for not finishing stories. Maybe that had something to do with it. Would have been much better if it had two seasons.
slow and uninteresting
villysmagicworld525 June 2017
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.
Ultimately disappointing
nancyldraper21 August 2022
This is not a police procedural or even a mystery the audience can solve. Its genre bending messes with the logic of the film. A great cast giving great performances. Lots of red herrings but ultimately I was disappointed with the resolve. I give this 5 part series a 6 (fair) out of 10. {Drama Mystery Fantasy}
Sinister style over dramatic substance
outtahr345 December 2015
My eyes were crossing by the third episode and I knew that there was no way to save this script. Self-indulgent acting by otherwise good actors, a script that dies quite soon after Hattie did and direction that pulled out every bit of scariness -- fish eye lenses, ultra closeups, trees waving mysteriously in the wind, scary music -- enough!! BBC is usually quite good about taking a spare three to five episodes and making for a satisfying story that would take most American series 26 episodes to complete. No more episodes would save this turkey. By the last episode, I wondered who killed the script, not who killed Hattie.
Episode 1
pwetterstrand3 October 2015
I was astonished by the reviews here. I love all the small stories that are painted up. Families, couples and individuals. The acting is great with some exemptions. I have just watched episode 1 and I like it.
There are parts that smells excellence, but some errors in the script make good scenes turn out to be stupid. I think that the first episode would have earned in a extra round of external reading. "Does this work?" "Does this make sense?"
The photo is good. The actors are good. The script is some times good some times awful. Good work on the details. Several of the characters are believable. But I can stand some errors. I can. I wonder where this will lead to. Where to go after episode 1?
There are parts that smells excellence, but some errors in the script make good scenes turn out to be stupid. I think that the first episode would have earned in a extra round of external reading. "Does this work?" "Does this make sense?"
The photo is good. The actors are good. The script is some times good some times awful. Good work on the details. Several of the characters are believable. But I can stand some errors. I can. I wonder where this will lead to. Where to go after episode 1?
Started good, but ended Incomplete and Inconsistent
kempe-2508618 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Started watching it expecting it to be a classic bbc crime series. As such it started out good, classic girl in the woods murder, and everybody having a motive for murdering her. The lack of a central view "inspector" was refreshing, following the story from multiple angles, even though that did make the viewer know more than the people in play.
But not giving a satisfactory ending, leaving to many questions unanswered however is unforgivable, largely because I don't buy into the paranormal theme, as in other bbc series, it is supposed to be treated as lunacy, even though hints of it working may be allowed.
*who stole the evidence bag, and why? *How did hatty's sister knew who did it? *Will the REAL killer ever be arrested? *Will his criminal wife be arrested too? *Is seth dead or alive? *will seth's brother find seth back at all? *will the eventual killer of seth be arrested or killed himself, either by the police or by somebody else? *what was the crime linus's dad did that made the black woman frame him?
and thats just the tip of the iceberg.
Also didn't quite liked how they made the black sheep black. She had to be black, timid, soft voice, strange hair, and glasses, a little to much of imprinting ugly = criminal, pretty = hero.
On top of that no-go-error, She was not even a well developed character. Starting as genuine afraid of her husband being the murderer, only doing an investigation out of denial, to a full blown criminal herself, who is willing to knowingly cover up her husbands crime, get rid of all evidence and planting it on a different person, all for the sake of keeping their family together, having no problem destroying the only person Linus has. Thats not a believable character shift at all.
So thats why it gets only 3 stars, it does not has the quality of a proper bbc crime series at all.
But not giving a satisfactory ending, leaving to many questions unanswered however is unforgivable, largely because I don't buy into the paranormal theme, as in other bbc series, it is supposed to be treated as lunacy, even though hints of it working may be allowed.
*who stole the evidence bag, and why? *How did hatty's sister knew who did it? *Will the REAL killer ever be arrested? *Will his criminal wife be arrested too? *Is seth dead or alive? *will seth's brother find seth back at all? *will the eventual killer of seth be arrested or killed himself, either by the police or by somebody else? *what was the crime linus's dad did that made the black woman frame him?
and thats just the tip of the iceberg.
Also didn't quite liked how they made the black sheep black. She had to be black, timid, soft voice, strange hair, and glasses, a little to much of imprinting ugly = criminal, pretty = hero.
On top of that no-go-error, She was not even a well developed character. Starting as genuine afraid of her husband being the murderer, only doing an investigation out of denial, to a full blown criminal herself, who is willing to knowingly cover up her husbands crime, get rid of all evidence and planting it on a different person, all for the sake of keeping their family together, having no problem destroying the only person Linus has. Thats not a believable character shift at all.
So thats why it gets only 3 stars, it does not has the quality of a proper bbc crime series at all.
Very disappointing
gwinegarden-2406627 January 2021
Something that could have been very good deteriorated into a farce.
It seems that the scriptwriters had no idea where to go and decided to throw in a, totally unnecessary, supernatural element. And, just to aggravate the viewer, even more, they left many, many questions unanswered. At the end, we sat there saying "what the hell just happened?".
It seems that the scriptwriters had no idea where to go and decided to throw in a, totally unnecessary, supernatural element. And, just to aggravate the viewer, even more, they left many, many questions unanswered. At the end, we sat there saying "what the hell just happened?".
Murder to watch
Lejink12 March 2013
The BBC has lately produced two excellent hyper-realistic crime dramas in "Line Of Duty" & "Inside Men" and is currently bigging up its crime drama season this winter but this interminable 5 hour long mess was a disaster from start to finish. The story of a missing May Queen teenager in a small English country village and the dirty secrets this brings up from the depths of its inhabitants suggests an unlikely combination of the spooky weirdness of "Twin Peaks" (ironically, or perhaps not, the young victim bears a striking resemblance to the US series' Laura Palmer), with its coterie of strange, damaged characters each with more baggage than a hotel bell-boy and clumsy attempts at constructing a scary atmosphere, with the labyrinthine plotting of say, "Inspector Morse" where almost every adult male character has the whiff of red herring about them. It just didn't work on any level for me and ended up more like a wildly out of control "Midsomer Murders" instead.
Myriad stories are mixed into the plot, focusing primarily on a young rebellious teenage schoolboy Linus and his seemingly unrequited love for the dead girl's twin sister, literally the girl next door, but who himself has an unsavoury relationship with the local peeping Tom, a building manager, who himself comes to a sticky end, indirectly as a result of his run-in with the dead girl, who we are led to believe, at the age of 16, is the community eco-warrior thorn in his side, upsetting his construction plans. Takes breath...throw in the boy's own fractious relationship with his devil-may-care father, stemming from the mysterious death of his mother and that's just the CV for one of the characters, there are similar ramifications and reverberations amongst the other main characters too.
At no time did the action seem natural or real, the plot had more holes than Rab C Nesbitt's string vest (just what was the murderer's motive, why and how did he drag the body up a tree in the oh-so-mysterious forest and what were the stones that kept falling on the twin sister meant to signify? If I thought hard enough, I could probably come up with answers, but I honestly can't be bothered.
The acting was poor right across the board, not one relationship between any of the parties seeming real, with equally poor dialogue and narrative construction too not forgetting a feeble "supernatural" ending tagged on for good measure. Were the writers trying to ironically send up the "village murder" template in a post-modern "League Of Gentleman" way, I don't know, but I do know that this was really poor fare and the proverbial five hours of my life I'm never going to get back.
Myriad stories are mixed into the plot, focusing primarily on a young rebellious teenage schoolboy Linus and his seemingly unrequited love for the dead girl's twin sister, literally the girl next door, but who himself has an unsavoury relationship with the local peeping Tom, a building manager, who himself comes to a sticky end, indirectly as a result of his run-in with the dead girl, who we are led to believe, at the age of 16, is the community eco-warrior thorn in his side, upsetting his construction plans. Takes breath...throw in the boy's own fractious relationship with his devil-may-care father, stemming from the mysterious death of his mother and that's just the CV for one of the characters, there are similar ramifications and reverberations amongst the other main characters too.
At no time did the action seem natural or real, the plot had more holes than Rab C Nesbitt's string vest (just what was the murderer's motive, why and how did he drag the body up a tree in the oh-so-mysterious forest and what were the stones that kept falling on the twin sister meant to signify? If I thought hard enough, I could probably come up with answers, but I honestly can't be bothered.
The acting was poor right across the board, not one relationship between any of the parties seeming real, with equally poor dialogue and narrative construction too not forgetting a feeble "supernatural" ending tagged on for good measure. Were the writers trying to ironically send up the "village murder" template in a post-modern "League Of Gentleman" way, I don't know, but I do know that this was really poor fare and the proverbial five hours of my life I'm never going to get back.
A disappearance on Mayday
Prismark109 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This is obviously a drama inspired by Twin Peaks and then those slew of Scandinavian dramas where things happen slowly after a murder.
It also has to be noted that Kudos the production company also made Broadchurch that touches on similar themes.
It's May Day and a small community waits excitedly for the parade to begin. Local teenager Linus Newcombe (Max Fowler), watches woefully as the love of his life, Caitlin Sutton (Leila Mimmack), kisses a rival. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Caitlin's twin and the beautiful May Queen, Hattie Sutton (also Leila Mimmack) travels on her journey to appear as the town's symbol of new life. However she fails to appear and the town is spinning with suspicion that she has been taken. Her twin sister thinks she has been murdered.
So you have small town by the woods, people with dark secrets and a person who goes missing, maybe dead and the same actress playing the relative. So far so David Lynch!
The premise is intriguing with some new age sentiments. We have a cast of characters led by Peter Firth, Aiden Gillan, Lesley Manville, Sophie Okonedo who all look like that they have something to hide and the male members in the drama all look that they are likely to be in the frame and there some downright vile people living in this town especially Okonedo's policeman husband.
It just feels too slow moving. I can understand that these types of dramas need room to breath but here its just filler for its five part nightly slot and it was several episodes in before a body is found. There was too much just marking time, setting up pointless stuff which then goes nowhere. It might be bad writing thankfully the tempo picks up a bit after episode three.
The conclusion might leave some people underwhelmed as it veers more to the supernatural as it builds up slightly in its spookier themes. This drama was no great shakes, it had far too many over long shots of the male characters furrowing their brows and looking worried as if to emphasise them as suspects. A little bit too clunky and clichéd outside its new age aura.
It also has to be noted that Kudos the production company also made Broadchurch that touches on similar themes.
It's May Day and a small community waits excitedly for the parade to begin. Local teenager Linus Newcombe (Max Fowler), watches woefully as the love of his life, Caitlin Sutton (Leila Mimmack), kisses a rival. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Caitlin's twin and the beautiful May Queen, Hattie Sutton (also Leila Mimmack) travels on her journey to appear as the town's symbol of new life. However she fails to appear and the town is spinning with suspicion that she has been taken. Her twin sister thinks she has been murdered.
So you have small town by the woods, people with dark secrets and a person who goes missing, maybe dead and the same actress playing the relative. So far so David Lynch!
The premise is intriguing with some new age sentiments. We have a cast of characters led by Peter Firth, Aiden Gillan, Lesley Manville, Sophie Okonedo who all look like that they have something to hide and the male members in the drama all look that they are likely to be in the frame and there some downright vile people living in this town especially Okonedo's policeman husband.
It just feels too slow moving. I can understand that these types of dramas need room to breath but here its just filler for its five part nightly slot and it was several episodes in before a body is found. There was too much just marking time, setting up pointless stuff which then goes nowhere. It might be bad writing thankfully the tempo picks up a bit after episode three.
The conclusion might leave some people underwhelmed as it veers more to the supernatural as it builds up slightly in its spookier themes. This drama was no great shakes, it had far too many over long shots of the male characters furrowing their brows and looking worried as if to emphasise them as suspects. A little bit too clunky and clichéd outside its new age aura.
There's Something About Hattie . . .
untilnow9924 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Okay. Desperate for something intriguing to watch and really REALLY itching to immerse myself in a thrilling, well-acted Brit murder mystery, I honed in on "MayDay." Looks good, I thought. A lot of familiar all-star type Brit actors. (Who doesn't miss Littlefinger of GoT and Harry Pearce of Spooks?) Plus, it looks like there will be a bit of hocus pocus thrown in, to spice things up. Let's go.
Sadly, watching this production was like someone took a piece of silk and sort of lightly ran it across my irritable, inflammed desire to satisfy that itch for masterfully done Brit theatre. Uh . . . Where was the drama and gasp-worthy twists and turns I yearned for? Where was that wonderfully satisfying ending?
Not here.
This thing dragged on. And for some reason, Sophie Okonedo absolutely annoyed the crap out of me in every single episode. And she gets plenty of screen time, too.
I don't know what it is about her. I know I've seen her in other series and thought she was okay. But in this series? She was SO BAD. Her over-acting had me talking to the screen. I kept urging her to knock it off with the cringey bad posture and mournful looks and chewing up of the scenery. Everything about her performance was so unpalatably awful, it actually gave me indigestion.
The other actors were fine. Even bordering on excellent. The scenery wasn't bad, although it seemed an inordinate amount of time was spent staring up at some 1/2 blurry forest canopy swaying in the breeze while we were supposed to feel spooked by the "whisperings" of the woods (or whatever).
Toward the end, I thought I had it all figured out. I decided SPOILER ALERT (sort of) that the dark-haired Goth wannabe twin had actually done away with her prettier, more popular fairies in the forest blonde-haired sister. Yep. That was my "plot twist." Goth girl kills Glinda the Good Witch twin and then takes her place. But can't hack it. Wouldn't that have been a helluva surprise to everyone?
But then I couldn't explain why she would want to change places (other than blondes have more fun) or how wimpy little Goth chick had hauled her sis up into a tree nor could I figure out where all those mysterious pebbles were coming from. Disclaimer: I never said I was a writer of mysteries. (Just overblown reviews.)
Anyway. You can watch this if you want. Maybe Okonedo won't make you want to slap her upside the head every time she's on screen. If you do watch this, please tell us all what Littlefinger did to Fiona/Okonedo in his drunken stupor. Did he date rape her and she's just now, 20 years later, confronting him?
And why didn't Malcolm/Firth stop Fiona's hubby from killing Hattie? And who honestly believes that Everett/Gillen was in a hetero relationship?
Sadly, watching this production was like someone took a piece of silk and sort of lightly ran it across my irritable, inflammed desire to satisfy that itch for masterfully done Brit theatre. Uh . . . Where was the drama and gasp-worthy twists and turns I yearned for? Where was that wonderfully satisfying ending?
Not here.
This thing dragged on. And for some reason, Sophie Okonedo absolutely annoyed the crap out of me in every single episode. And she gets plenty of screen time, too.
I don't know what it is about her. I know I've seen her in other series and thought she was okay. But in this series? She was SO BAD. Her over-acting had me talking to the screen. I kept urging her to knock it off with the cringey bad posture and mournful looks and chewing up of the scenery. Everything about her performance was so unpalatably awful, it actually gave me indigestion.
The other actors were fine. Even bordering on excellent. The scenery wasn't bad, although it seemed an inordinate amount of time was spent staring up at some 1/2 blurry forest canopy swaying in the breeze while we were supposed to feel spooked by the "whisperings" of the woods (or whatever).
Toward the end, I thought I had it all figured out. I decided SPOILER ALERT (sort of) that the dark-haired Goth wannabe twin had actually done away with her prettier, more popular fairies in the forest blonde-haired sister. Yep. That was my "plot twist." Goth girl kills Glinda the Good Witch twin and then takes her place. But can't hack it. Wouldn't that have been a helluva surprise to everyone?
But then I couldn't explain why she would want to change places (other than blondes have more fun) or how wimpy little Goth chick had hauled her sis up into a tree nor could I figure out where all those mysterious pebbles were coming from. Disclaimer: I never said I was a writer of mysteries. (Just overblown reviews.)
Anyway. You can watch this if you want. Maybe Okonedo won't make you want to slap her upside the head every time she's on screen. If you do watch this, please tell us all what Littlefinger did to Fiona/Okonedo in his drunken stupor. Did he date rape her and she's just now, 20 years later, confronting him?
And why didn't Malcolm/Firth stop Fiona's hubby from killing Hattie? And who honestly believes that Everett/Gillen was in a hetero relationship?
3 Episodes Too Long...
chriskimmurphy-171994 July 2016
Slow, boring & sleep inducing, waste of time, could have been done in 2 episodes instead stretched out dullness over 5 episodes. Stuck with it because I thought something must happen soon, it couldn't go on, but it did, on & on & on.......... Couldn't see the point. Much better condensed to 2 episodes. Between episodes 2 & 4 nothing really happened. Shame as BBC dramas are usually so good - generally keen to watch. Though it was going to be a bit like murder on the orient express, they were all in on it, Sadly not so exciting. Started out with hope & ended with thank goodness for that - who fancies a cup of tea. Don't bother. IMO
started strong ended weak--major spoilers
onetogrowon13 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Mayday had promise, but fell flat. It is a British series which, to me, made it unique and refreshing, but it portrayed its citizenry as immature, government coddled, children. Having spent time in Europe, such was not my experience and if currently a British citizen, I would take issue.
Examples of my assertions: Working was a novelty, to those residing in the small town where Mayday takes place and this provides plenty of time for everyone to muck about in everyone's affairs. I couldn't help wondering during the show "Who is paying for the pints?", "Who is paying for rent, heat, food, petrol, etc. and from where is this money magically appearing?" But wait, some did have jobs: Malcolm, the failed developer, who can't face his wife and spends large amounts of money (again, if he is a failed developer where is all this money coming from?) paying to watch teenagers fornicate.(He was of such weak character he didn't even bother to report the murder?) Steve, the failed father, who lacks the spine to make hard decisions regarding his mentally ill brother and must have committed some terrible atrocity to be stripped of all his parental rights. (Steve should have been the killer. It is universal truth "There aren't good and bad people in the world, only good and bad haircuts." (Sam Malone) Alan, police officer and murderer, enough said.
Of the major characters, the vast majority working were evil, while the vast majority supported by those working were just misunderstood--What a charming message.
Aside from glorifying sucking off the public tit, either from poor editing, lack of time, lack of funds or writer laziness, a great number of items were brought up in the story only to be dropped. While the foolish might find this "mysterious" to those who value their time (see "jobs" above) this is a colossal waste.
Examples that come readily to mind: Where did the rocks come from that repeatedly hit the sister in the face? To those who assert some mystic rationale, what was the purpose? Before answering, take a moment and see how far out in speculation land you have traveled, good story telling leaves speculation to a minimum. Again with mysticism, an explanation of the occasional, blurry off center frame filming (which usually denotes the supernatural, drug use, or insanity) would have been helpful Additionally, if speculation was the intended reaction from the Mayday creators, it appeared very plausible that Linus made extra cash doing cam to cam shows with gay men on the computer and that Malcolm was paying not to watch teens have sex, but to watch Linus have sex.
More speculation, of course Everett was having sex with Hattie, that seemed obvious.
I don't remember getting a concrete answer on how Hattie got up into the tree, perhaps we are meant to speculate.
Alan, the police officer....just up and snapped, I guess. Fiona, the nosy and mistrusting wife, didn't see it coming? No buildup? No series of instigating events? Alan's just one of those people with jobs, bound to snap.
Maybe, I'm right, maybe I'm wrong, maybe you agree, maybe you don't and during the show, such speculation was fun and prompted discussion but, having the show end with so many loose ends, again feels lazy and wasted my time.
To end on a positive, Gail (Lesley Manville) provided a brilliant performance.
Examples of my assertions: Working was a novelty, to those residing in the small town where Mayday takes place and this provides plenty of time for everyone to muck about in everyone's affairs. I couldn't help wondering during the show "Who is paying for the pints?", "Who is paying for rent, heat, food, petrol, etc. and from where is this money magically appearing?" But wait, some did have jobs: Malcolm, the failed developer, who can't face his wife and spends large amounts of money (again, if he is a failed developer where is all this money coming from?) paying to watch teenagers fornicate.(He was of such weak character he didn't even bother to report the murder?) Steve, the failed father, who lacks the spine to make hard decisions regarding his mentally ill brother and must have committed some terrible atrocity to be stripped of all his parental rights. (Steve should have been the killer. It is universal truth "There aren't good and bad people in the world, only good and bad haircuts." (Sam Malone) Alan, police officer and murderer, enough said.
Of the major characters, the vast majority working were evil, while the vast majority supported by those working were just misunderstood--What a charming message.
Aside from glorifying sucking off the public tit, either from poor editing, lack of time, lack of funds or writer laziness, a great number of items were brought up in the story only to be dropped. While the foolish might find this "mysterious" to those who value their time (see "jobs" above) this is a colossal waste.
Examples that come readily to mind: Where did the rocks come from that repeatedly hit the sister in the face? To those who assert some mystic rationale, what was the purpose? Before answering, take a moment and see how far out in speculation land you have traveled, good story telling leaves speculation to a minimum. Again with mysticism, an explanation of the occasional, blurry off center frame filming (which usually denotes the supernatural, drug use, or insanity) would have been helpful Additionally, if speculation was the intended reaction from the Mayday creators, it appeared very plausible that Linus made extra cash doing cam to cam shows with gay men on the computer and that Malcolm was paying not to watch teens have sex, but to watch Linus have sex.
More speculation, of course Everett was having sex with Hattie, that seemed obvious.
I don't remember getting a concrete answer on how Hattie got up into the tree, perhaps we are meant to speculate.
Alan, the police officer....just up and snapped, I guess. Fiona, the nosy and mistrusting wife, didn't see it coming? No buildup? No series of instigating events? Alan's just one of those people with jobs, bound to snap.
Maybe, I'm right, maybe I'm wrong, maybe you agree, maybe you don't and during the show, such speculation was fun and prompted discussion but, having the show end with so many loose ends, again feels lazy and wasted my time.
To end on a positive, Gail (Lesley Manville) provided a brilliant performance.
Too long, moved at the pace of molasses in January
sasha9911 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Skip it--not worth the time.
**Contains massive and explicit spoilers below**
**You have been warned**
This is one of the grimmest stories I've ever watched. Normally I like BBC productions and they're usually pretty good, but this one dragged on and on. This was a village of twisted little freaks. Anyone and everyone could have done it.
Another reviewer called the black ex-cop a heroine, and all I can say is WTF? She framed someone who wasn't the killer in order to save her husband! Yikes.
And an unanswered question: what happened to the body? Confession: I skipped the second-to-last episode because I was bored, but still curious. If the body was found in that episode, I apologize.
**Contains massive and explicit spoilers below**
**You have been warned**
This is one of the grimmest stories I've ever watched. Normally I like BBC productions and they're usually pretty good, but this one dragged on and on. This was a village of twisted little freaks. Anyone and everyone could have done it.
Another reviewer called the black ex-cop a heroine, and all I can say is WTF? She framed someone who wasn't the killer in order to save her husband! Yikes.
And an unanswered question: what happened to the body? Confession: I skipped the second-to-last episode because I was bored, but still curious. If the body was found in that episode, I apologize.
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