It was by pure accident I watched this and was delighted it was Scottish. I had no idea when I chose it.
It has a SHETLAND feel about it with everything underplayed and realistic in places. But that's the problem for me. It's patchy. Some of the acting is great, some of the writing is great, some of the tension, suspense and twists are great, some cinematography is great and the vistas of Scotland are great without being a travelog. But, equally, others are very poorly done.
The female lead was annoying and an unrealistic character. The police boss was a very poor actress and totally unbelievable as the head of the department. Even she seemed uncertain of why she'd been cast in the role.
The were lots of boring bits and embarrassingly stagey action. There were characters who weren't developed (the daughter, the journalist, the criminal real father, the dead body from the river etc) but perhaps there was a plan to develop them in a second series. Certainly the ending leaves us to wonder.
It seemed a little insensitive that no one was concerned about him having to investigate a missing girl, especially after identifying a dead girl who may have been his 'daughter' who was also missing. However, it was gratifying that they didn't follow the stereotypical presentation of missing teenage girls in procedural dramas and thrillers. No one seemed very concerned about Olivia or Annabel. Annabel was a a well-written character and the actress pulled her off extremely well. Just the right amount of fear, tenacity, vulnerability and logical thinking.
The "heavies", on the other hand, were laudably stereotypical and the fact they were outsmarted at every turn was hilarious. Although I suspect this has more to do with Glasgow humour than bad scripting or casting.
I'm from Glasgow so I have an obvious bias and wonder how much I'd have enjoyed it otherwise.
It has a SHETLAND feel about it with everything underplayed and realistic in places. But that's the problem for me. It's patchy. Some of the acting is great, some of the writing is great, some of the tension, suspense and twists are great, some cinematography is great and the vistas of Scotland are great without being a travelog. But, equally, others are very poorly done.
The female lead was annoying and an unrealistic character. The police boss was a very poor actress and totally unbelievable as the head of the department. Even she seemed uncertain of why she'd been cast in the role.
The were lots of boring bits and embarrassingly stagey action. There were characters who weren't developed (the daughter, the journalist, the criminal real father, the dead body from the river etc) but perhaps there was a plan to develop them in a second series. Certainly the ending leaves us to wonder.
It seemed a little insensitive that no one was concerned about him having to investigate a missing girl, especially after identifying a dead girl who may have been his 'daughter' who was also missing. However, it was gratifying that they didn't follow the stereotypical presentation of missing teenage girls in procedural dramas and thrillers. No one seemed very concerned about Olivia or Annabel. Annabel was a a well-written character and the actress pulled her off extremely well. Just the right amount of fear, tenacity, vulnerability and logical thinking.
The "heavies", on the other hand, were laudably stereotypical and the fact they were outsmarted at every turn was hilarious. Although I suspect this has more to do with Glasgow humour than bad scripting or casting.
I'm from Glasgow so I have an obvious bias and wonder how much I'd have enjoyed it otherwise.