I won't reiterate what many others have praised about Season 1. Great acting, good cinematography, good direction, great sense of atmosphere. I enjoyed Season 1...except for a sense afterwards that I had been swindled. -SPOILER ALERT - That sense comes from the fact that the mystery is solved NOT by the detectives, but by the murderer giving himself up - practically out of frustration at not having been caught yet. All that intensity with the two main investigators, and aside from coming up with gossip and small town melodrama (who's cheating with who?), no results from their efforts.
Nevertheless...the positive aspects were enough for me to be mostly satisfied with Season 1.
I entered Season 2 looking forward to more. I WANTED to like this. And indeed, the great acting continues, as does the cinematography, etc. Tension is built right from the start of the first episode. Unfortunately, the show sabotages itself with so many things that would never occur in reality, that the suspension of disbelief became impossible for me.
-SPOILER ALERT - We have: -A retired Crown attorney who apparently can choose to come out of retirement and take a case whenever she feels like it. She also gets to choose which case she takes. Must be nice.
-Witnesses present in the courtroom listening to the testimony of other witnesses ( a HUGE no-no).
-Experienced police investigators completely taken by surprise that the beating of a suspect by them would be brought up by defence counsel - even after the Crown had told them it would be an issue (as if they needed the Crown to tell them that).
-The lead investigator having a temper tantrum about "this is why the system is screwed up" when the most obvious questions are asked by defence - acting like a total rookie. The system may be screwed up, but 1) not because of the obvious defence questions, and 2) a seasoned officer would have realized the system was screwed within the first several years on the job.
-The complete lack of preparation of the witnesses by the super experienced Crown prosecutor.
-A judge excluding a confession because of a beating when the assault occurred AFTER the confession.
-The detective running his own secret witness protection program.
-The detective working his case by wandering fields in moments of solitary angst.
-A uniformed patrol officer forcing a homicide investigator with rank to apologize to someone who had filed a complaint against said investigator.
Obviously, nobody expects absolute realism in a drama - but some acknowledgement of how things actually work, some nod to real procedures, are not too much to ask for. The Wire excelled at this, even if it wasn't 100% accurate. By the time we get to the third episode of the Second Season of Broadchurch, we may as well have had pigs with wings flying around in the background and melting watches dripping off of tree branches. I couldn't go on with the show.
Such a shame...so much potential, all thrown away by a script so divorced from reality that it may as well have been written by a kid in elementary school.
Nevertheless...the positive aspects were enough for me to be mostly satisfied with Season 1.
I entered Season 2 looking forward to more. I WANTED to like this. And indeed, the great acting continues, as does the cinematography, etc. Tension is built right from the start of the first episode. Unfortunately, the show sabotages itself with so many things that would never occur in reality, that the suspension of disbelief became impossible for me.
-SPOILER ALERT - We have: -A retired Crown attorney who apparently can choose to come out of retirement and take a case whenever she feels like it. She also gets to choose which case she takes. Must be nice.
-Witnesses present in the courtroom listening to the testimony of other witnesses ( a HUGE no-no).
-Experienced police investigators completely taken by surprise that the beating of a suspect by them would be brought up by defence counsel - even after the Crown had told them it would be an issue (as if they needed the Crown to tell them that).
-The lead investigator having a temper tantrum about "this is why the system is screwed up" when the most obvious questions are asked by defence - acting like a total rookie. The system may be screwed up, but 1) not because of the obvious defence questions, and 2) a seasoned officer would have realized the system was screwed within the first several years on the job.
-The complete lack of preparation of the witnesses by the super experienced Crown prosecutor.
-A judge excluding a confession because of a beating when the assault occurred AFTER the confession.
-The detective running his own secret witness protection program.
-The detective working his case by wandering fields in moments of solitary angst.
-A uniformed patrol officer forcing a homicide investigator with rank to apologize to someone who had filed a complaint against said investigator.
Obviously, nobody expects absolute realism in a drama - but some acknowledgement of how things actually work, some nod to real procedures, are not too much to ask for. The Wire excelled at this, even if it wasn't 100% accurate. By the time we get to the third episode of the Second Season of Broadchurch, we may as well have had pigs with wings flying around in the background and melting watches dripping off of tree branches. I couldn't go on with the show.
Such a shame...so much potential, all thrown away by a script so divorced from reality that it may as well have been written by a kid in elementary school.