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Reviews
Father Brown: The Serpent Within (2023)
Unfunny, dark, heavy episode - violated a working formula
For some reason, the writer(s) changed the working formula of their usual, lighthearted, fun-to-watch episodes into a heavy, dark episode that was not fun to watch.
Whether it was a different set of writers or just to try to gain viewership, I can't tell, but this isn't the Father Brown I have enjoyed for 9.9 seasons.
Bad writing, giant plot holes, asinine and needlessly vitriolic characters all made for an unenjoyable episode. Where in previous episodes, Father Brown plays a major role, with a lighthearted, intelligent acumen, in this episode, he's been given a smaller, almost useless role.
I hope this isn't going to be the norm in season 11... otherwise this is another series I'll have to jettison.
Father Brown: The Jackdaw's Revenge (2018)
Not the usual light-hearted, quirky episode, badly written
My wife and I watch Father Brown for its light-hearted, funny, sunny, quirky and intelligent writing, stories and acting.
This episode is badly written - dark, implausible and nearly stopped us from watching more episodes. It's as if there was a new writer or a sloppy writer who ran out of fresh ideas, and threw a miserable, horrid character back into the mix, just to fill airtime.
It starts by leaving a bad taste in your mouth, and as it progresses, showing more and more evil, stupidity and pigheadedness, it devolves into bitter awfulness. This isn't the kind of light-watching Father Brown episode that we've known to love.
Death in Paradise: Murder Most Animal (2019)
What happened to the casting, directing and acting?
Whatever happened to the originally great casting, acting and directing? How did DiP go from the likes of Ben Miller, Kris Marshall, Danny John Jules and Sara Martins, to the character that Shyko Amos plays (awfully)?
Did the writers and director change from season to season, to the point where season 8, especially episode 2 looks like it was written and directed by rank amateurs (or high school kids) trying to copy Naked Gun or Police Academy?
This episode could possibly have the worst rating of all the seasons and episodes. Are the marketers, writers, directors, producers and even Robert Thorogood paying attention to the depths to which this formerly wonderful series is plumbing?
Where the original seasons focused on locale, and combined it with brilliant acting and subtle comic relief, this episode looks like a boring, crude remake of the Scooby Doo team.
Death in Paradise: Murder from Above (2018)
Ardal is still wooden, brings out a lack of emotion from other cast members too
When season 6 ended, I noticed that Ardal's acting seemed wooden, strained and forced - unnatural. While Ben Miller and Kris Marshall both brought in enormous energies and exaggerated quirks of character, Ardal seems to be missing both - and that lack of energy seems to "osmosize" into the other characters like Florence, Dwayne and JP. In most of his lines, Ardal seems to miss... inflection - he's flat. The physical facet of his acting seems to be poor too - for example, in the scene where he's supposed to limbo, he falls/fails like a sophomoric, school boy-actor.
The story and screenplay have been the standard formats that have been this series' signatures, perhaps with a little less "beach" and more "people" this time. Danny John-Jules is close to brilliant as usual, but he can't carry the series by himself. I'm afraid that if subsequent episodes are like this, this may well be the last season in this series.
Death in Paradise: In the Footsteps of a Killer (2017)
Ardal O'Hanlon seems to have no real character
Both Ben Miller and Kris Marshall brought their own character quirks to the role of DI in Death in Paradise. Ben Miller made his character a slightly curmudgeonly, sun-and-beach-and-sand-hating genius who rarely smiled, yet sometimes showed a sensitive side. Kris Marshall, in my opinion, was the best of the three, with his priceless take on the detective - a bumbling, dopey, introverted, hopeless romantic.
Ardal O'Hanlon seems to have brought nothing special (as yet) to the role. Watching him reminds me of watching... boring porridge. So far, nothing in his character has been endearing, nothing leaped off the screen, nothing made it memorable.
I'll give it time, and a few more episodes - perhaps he needs a couple of episodes to "get a feel" of the character and its quirks, and make it his own. After all, Sara Martins said of Kris Marshall, "Luckily with Kris, he's a locomotive himself!".. perhaps Ardal will eventually make the role his own, and the show won't have to be killed off because the lead was as interesting as a plain, white bed sheet.