I also don't understand the negative reviews. I love this series, having binge watched it over 2 days. It's a feel good, family drama that has the ambience of other BBC dramas, such as The Good Karma Hospital and Death in Paradise, All creatures Great and Small etc. The characters are quirky and you invest in them from the outset, the scenery is beautiful and it has an understated, rural charm. I've now put Northern Ireland on my places to visit list. I really hope there are more series!
Reviews
4 Reviews
The Bay
(2019– )
Season 3 is better, in terms of casting, script and performances...
20 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I nearly didn't watch season 3, having thoroughly enjoyed season 1 & 2, due to the negative reviews. A friend recommended I watch it and I realised where all the vitriol was coming from. The writers have replaced the white lead character with a mixed heritage character and and her integration into a closed and inward-facing community. The new actress is more relatable and believeable than the previous actress.
The plot focuses on the death of a Muslim character and the impact on his family. Obviously, if you like your TV all white and wish to live in the mid-19th century, when communities didn't mix, you probably won't appreciate these changes. However, if what you want is strong acting and scriptwriting, excellent casting and performances with moody settings, that reflects the world today, this is even stronger on all counts than the previous series. Go into it with an open mind and you'll see where the negative reviews are coming from.
The plot focuses on the death of a Muslim character and the impact on his family. Obviously, if you like your TV all white and wish to live in the mid-19th century, when communities didn't mix, you probably won't appreciate these changes. However, if what you want is strong acting and scriptwriting, excellent casting and performances with moody settings, that reflects the world today, this is even stronger on all counts than the previous series. Go into it with an open mind and you'll see where the negative reviews are coming from.
In the Dark
(2017)
I didn't realise it had ended!
14 August 2017
I loved this programme but, without giving anything away, I was expecting a few more episodes, as there are a lot of unanswered questions and unresolved plot-lines. It just kind of finished without warning, which is a shame because the rest of it was so beautifully written. Perhaps they're angling to see if it's picked up and want to turn it into a series; I hope so because, as it is, it was a big let-down, after a brilliant beginning.
I started by giving the series 10 stars; I have now revised this to 6 because it just fizzled out and left me feeling cheated.
I started by giving the series 10 stars; I have now revised this to 6 because it just fizzled out and left me feeling cheated.
Midnight, Texas
(2017–2018)
Get over yourselves!
29 July 2017
For those who just want to whinge about how this series isn't like the book, get over yourselves. So, you read some popular fiction books and expected a facsimile in the TV show; that hardly makes you a literary or film critic. How little you understand theatrical interpretation! Even Shakespeare undergoes radical changes in setting, characterisation and plot, when it is performed and filmed; this author is hardly as elevated as Shakespeare, so stop being so precious and attempting to be pretentious.
It's a good pilot. The characters are engaging and intriguing; you want to know more. The setting is well chosen and the atmosphere is building. I hated True Blood for the first half of the first series but, by series 2, I loved it. You cannot judge anything on the basis of a pilot and you cannot watch a series expecting it to be exactly like the book.
As for the reference to Supernatural... I loved that show for 3 series and then it lost me. There's only so much of the same formula a brain can take. I'm hoping that this series will be less formulaic.
I enjoyed this pilot. I seldom write reviews but I had to respond to the typical 'this character should be more like this...' whining. The whole point of transferring a book to screen is that everything about it evolves in the transition; you take the essence of the book but not micro-detail because there would be no creativity involved, otherwise.
It's a good pilot. The characters are engaging and intriguing; you want to know more. The setting is well chosen and the atmosphere is building. I hated True Blood for the first half of the first series but, by series 2, I loved it. You cannot judge anything on the basis of a pilot and you cannot watch a series expecting it to be exactly like the book.
As for the reference to Supernatural... I loved that show for 3 series and then it lost me. There's only so much of the same formula a brain can take. I'm hoping that this series will be less formulaic.
I enjoyed this pilot. I seldom write reviews but I had to respond to the typical 'this character should be more like this...' whining. The whole point of transferring a book to screen is that everything about it evolves in the transition; you take the essence of the book but not micro-detail because there would be no creativity involved, otherwise.
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