Very unimpressed with this episode, which is the worst of the three so far. No where near the standard of Morse.
The dialogue for all the characters was awful. None of the characters seemed real - they say the oddest things for no apparent reason. Its almost impossible to know what the characters are thinking or feeling, or what their motivations are, so I felt disconnected almost all the time. Its as if someone had snipped the various characters out of previous Morse shows, and hoped they would somehow gel. This is an example of the case where the whole is much less than the sum of the parts. The La Plassiter character especially looked like a Morse cut and paste. Someone seems to have said "hey, if we put in a crusty Oxford academic, like so many of the Morse shows had, then well have a winner", but the character just looks like he's in the wrong episode. Even Lewis himself has trouble justifying why he should take any notice of this character, who is initially at least seemingly unconnected to the case.
And the plot - as bad as the characters are the plot is much worse. None of it is in the least bit plausible, and its full of annoying idiotic plot devices to explain why Lewis is unable to solve a very obvious crime. I wouldn't be surprised if the author was high on something when they wrote this. The Stoker character is obviously the result of a desperate attempt by the writer to justify the inclusion of Le Plassiter, and to explain why he does not provide the information which if he did would have solved the case in five minutes. Worst of all is the way Lewis performs a very half-hearted investigation, hardly asking any useful questions, and cutting interviews short in order to keep the shaky plot from coming to a complete halt. Then there is the childishly obvious plot device of the substitute pathologist, who just happens to be incompetent, and once again allows the fragile plot to limp along for an extra hour.
The relationship between Lewis and the next door neighbour is really badly handled, and never seems believable either to myself as the viewer nor even to some of the characters.
One of the fundamental aspects of the plot, the wife swap, is completely ridiculous. Its simply a plot device, not a real situation, and the script fails to explain why it took so long for Lewis and co to find out that the two couples were not really married. Is it really that easy to forge documents? Could Rachel Hayward become Rachel Mallory that easily? Once again once Lewis learned about the marriage swap, then he came much closer to solving the case, and this had to be delayed.
The Lewis character seemed really strained and shallow in this episode. There is less to like about him in each subsequent episode. The character has too few likable qualities, and whilst I think very highly of Kevin Whately as an actor, I think the Lewis character needs some work to develop more positive character traits. Sarcasm and complaining get old very quickly.
If this serious does not improve dramatically I think it likely I will stop watching it altogether.
Thanks goodness we still have Morse (with Lewis).
The Almost every single aspect of the plot if far fetched.
The dialogue for all the characters was awful. None of the characters seemed real - they say the oddest things for no apparent reason. Its almost impossible to know what the characters are thinking or feeling, or what their motivations are, so I felt disconnected almost all the time. Its as if someone had snipped the various characters out of previous Morse shows, and hoped they would somehow gel. This is an example of the case where the whole is much less than the sum of the parts. The La Plassiter character especially looked like a Morse cut and paste. Someone seems to have said "hey, if we put in a crusty Oxford academic, like so many of the Morse shows had, then well have a winner", but the character just looks like he's in the wrong episode. Even Lewis himself has trouble justifying why he should take any notice of this character, who is initially at least seemingly unconnected to the case.
And the plot - as bad as the characters are the plot is much worse. None of it is in the least bit plausible, and its full of annoying idiotic plot devices to explain why Lewis is unable to solve a very obvious crime. I wouldn't be surprised if the author was high on something when they wrote this. The Stoker character is obviously the result of a desperate attempt by the writer to justify the inclusion of Le Plassiter, and to explain why he does not provide the information which if he did would have solved the case in five minutes. Worst of all is the way Lewis performs a very half-hearted investigation, hardly asking any useful questions, and cutting interviews short in order to keep the shaky plot from coming to a complete halt. Then there is the childishly obvious plot device of the substitute pathologist, who just happens to be incompetent, and once again allows the fragile plot to limp along for an extra hour.
The relationship between Lewis and the next door neighbour is really badly handled, and never seems believable either to myself as the viewer nor even to some of the characters.
One of the fundamental aspects of the plot, the wife swap, is completely ridiculous. Its simply a plot device, not a real situation, and the script fails to explain why it took so long for Lewis and co to find out that the two couples were not really married. Is it really that easy to forge documents? Could Rachel Hayward become Rachel Mallory that easily? Once again once Lewis learned about the marriage swap, then he came much closer to solving the case, and this had to be delayed.
The Lewis character seemed really strained and shallow in this episode. There is less to like about him in each subsequent episode. The character has too few likable qualities, and whilst I think very highly of Kevin Whately as an actor, I think the Lewis character needs some work to develop more positive character traits. Sarcasm and complaining get old very quickly.
If this serious does not improve dramatically I think it likely I will stop watching it altogether.
Thanks goodness we still have Morse (with Lewis).
The Almost every single aspect of the plot if far fetched.