ndasny Reviews

Prime Suspect (2011–2012)

would have more appeal if storylines were updated for the times

[6/10 · 19 March 2024]

I loved the original British version. The city setting is great for the tough female lead. However, I find myself being annoyed by all male cast of wise cracks. They are not funny and the all male crew is neither realistic or appealing. The first scenes of a brutally murdered female body -- is that really necessary expect as a fuzzy background? I'm not into the casual gore anymore. With the prevalence of cop shows, the shock value of the bloody female body is just artless. Overall, the wisecracks and toughness seem to mask a lack of depth of character. There's too many other shows to catch up on.

Midsomer Murders (1997– )

less murders please

[9/10 · 19 December 2023]

I'm glad they are back with season 24. But I'm swearing off serial killers shows and tho they don't advertise it as such, there are serial killings in every show. This is easily my favorite cozy mystery show but i hope they can cut down the killings and amp up the village characters.

To list all that works in no particularly order: scenery, the even pace of the investigations, the level headedness of the investigators, the dialogue and the villagers.

At some point, very late in the seasons (of season 24), they started including Black and Brown characters which earlier on would have been unthinkable. Fortunately, the english village quality did not change. I hope they are able to make a similar shift with the extravagant number of murders. At least make a few that involves only one murder!

The Twilight Zone (2019–2020)

not like the old, also good

[9/10 · 4 December 2022]

I loved the original series after starting to watch it decades ago. While not the same - I don't know how it can be - I'm into the new series also. The old was spooky and supernatural. The new one is unsettling but fortunately so far no furry monsters on the wings.

I expected the politicized perspective in the new one because that's where the world is now. And it's a good thing. I didn't feel it was preachy or social justice driven. It's simply a twist on all aspects of life, including "political". It's still the twilight zone. Meaning it transports to a different dimension, sometimes with clarity and sometimes not.

Grantchester (2014–2025)

mostly excellent

[9/10 · 14 August 2022]

I appreciate the integration of theology, church, via sermons and parish life in the show-even when the vicars changes their mind later about what they said. It makes the episodes more meaningful.

The Leonard storyline as a gay curate was developed with skill and captured a healthy amount of complexity, especially the relations between Leonard and Mrs C. And loved the incorporation of Cathy's work life.

I didn't want to like the new vicar but I love him, except for the continuation of the tortured souls re women and the drinking and smoking. Really, less is more in this case. It would help to have a wise elder character in the parish as Will feels too young.

Many reviewers mentioned the political theme. It's a draw for me to see how these characters would interact with political issues. Some people must have dealt with such matters as they didn't just pop out of the blue. It's nice to have imagined allies (mostly) in the past as it is to imagine a vicar who is a lead detective in the 1950s solving murders in a very little town every week. :)

Falls Around Her (2018)

appropriate pace

[10/10 · 14 August 2022]

I had put off seeing this because it looked slow. And it is. I watched it when ready. It's set at the pace of nature and reservation life or felt like it. The shots where nothing happening but life drew me in to Mary's quest to return to the land.

Bang (2017– )

Everything great but storyline

[6/10 · 23 June 2022]

The setting, the actors, relationships between characters were all great. But the weird distracting side storyline - domestic violence with another violent staff, the amateur portrait of the killer dancing in face paint -- ruined it for me. I hope they do a third season but ditch the implausible side stories as the other elements can hold up on well their own.

Profilage (2009–2020)

nice combination of procedural and personal

[8/10 · 16 December 2021]

I'm a fan of procedural so initially I wasn't into the substantial focus on the team's personal dramas. The lead Chloe was unbelievable, annoying and distracting but they play down her flakeyness and she's more mature by season 3. All the actors, including the actor playing Chloe, do an excellent job. The setting is lovely. It's engaging without being gripping (which is good if you're not looking for gripping). The setting is beautiful urban france.

Outlier (2020– )

beautiful setting, uneven everything else

[6/10 · 23 November 2021]

I'm easily satisfied with Norwegian noir but I had a hard time with this one. Right from the beginning, it was annoying when the main character kept explaining "soft target" - who in the world doesn't know that serial killers will pick vulnerable targets? The ending was also contrary to everything known about such predators. In the context of too many unbelievable and uneven characters, it made the whole experience really disappointing.

The actors and characters of Elle and her father were the most interesting. It humanized an otherwise stilted set of characters.