Not to my liking, for several reasons.
A few criticisms: Technically, just too flat. Made as if to be dubbed & sold abroad. Uninspiring. And parts of the plot are even left out. It lacked development and feels badly finished, as a production.
Yes, Bertie Carvel as the lead is great to look at. WHAT an elegant physiognomy, & beautiful nose. And you feel he would be a great calm in a storm. I can see him playing Austen's 'Mr Darcy', to great effect - Regency high collars and all! ,-) But the characterisation here lacks what could simply be called 'oomph'. We need a bit of edge in a detective series, not just moody looks by the lead, & lingering camera shots. Yes, 'Dalgliesh' is a quiet, clever, poet of a man; but something is missing in the way of dynamism in the series . . . I have to blame the way the drama has been put together.
It's a while since I watched the Marsden 'Dalgliesh'. And it's even longer since I read the P. D. James novels - which I devoured as a reader, many years ago. I'd dread rereading them now, in case this adaptation of the 2020s proves to be what I fear it might be: a complete diatribe. :-(
So I shall rewatch the Roy Marsden version of these detective stories: the 1980s' scoping of the novels. At least that rendition had more episodes per adaptation. Which gave the storyline & characterisations more time to be fleshed out. In the meantime, let's hope that if this 2020s' production continues onto a second series, it gives the characters the depth they lacked in series one. Some comprehension of what makes the characters the way they are is badly needed . . .
A few criticisms: Technically, just too flat. Made as if to be dubbed & sold abroad. Uninspiring. And parts of the plot are even left out. It lacked development and feels badly finished, as a production.
Yes, Bertie Carvel as the lead is great to look at. WHAT an elegant physiognomy, & beautiful nose. And you feel he would be a great calm in a storm. I can see him playing Austen's 'Mr Darcy', to great effect - Regency high collars and all! ,-) But the characterisation here lacks what could simply be called 'oomph'. We need a bit of edge in a detective series, not just moody looks by the lead, & lingering camera shots. Yes, 'Dalgliesh' is a quiet, clever, poet of a man; but something is missing in the way of dynamism in the series . . . I have to blame the way the drama has been put together.
It's a while since I watched the Marsden 'Dalgliesh'. And it's even longer since I read the P. D. James novels - which I devoured as a reader, many years ago. I'd dread rereading them now, in case this adaptation of the 2020s proves to be what I fear it might be: a complete diatribe. :-(
So I shall rewatch the Roy Marsden version of these detective stories: the 1980s' scoping of the novels. At least that rendition had more episodes per adaptation. Which gave the storyline & characterisations more time to be fleshed out. In the meantime, let's hope that if this 2020s' production continues onto a second series, it gives the characters the depth they lacked in series one. Some comprehension of what makes the characters the way they are is badly needed . . .