frieda-92366

After getting hooked on great British crime shows like Broadchurch, Vera and Sherwood, this was a disappointment. Chelsea Detective hits all the low-lights and few of the high-lights. It contains way too many characters for one thing. They would do better to completely eliminate at least half the suspects. It is not even good filler, it is just junk. Plus all of Scarborough's domestic problems like plumbing going wonky and the dead coffee machine -- who cares? And what's with the facial emoting -- with Sonita Henry drawing back and frowning at her partner and he doing the same toward her, and once again it does not make for progress of the story.. Too much of a mix of boring home life that never gets really interesting, and the actual murder cases that never really go further than the front door. A snore/bore. I'd rather watch Sherwood for the 5th time.

All of the characters were thoroughly unbelievable. Like the ex-husband who was a cop tough-guy and didn't look or act the part. All of his outraged bursts of temper were thoroughly choreographed and rehearsed, to the point it looked more like a demonstration of how NOT to play the part. Lots of distant and close-up shots of his face trying to portray anger: none were convincing. Then the defendant on trial never showed a drop of self-confidence. Every time he entered the courtroom he had his head hanging, looking sweaty and uncomfortable and guilty. None of the relationships worked either. Not the accused and his wife. Not his best friend and wife. Not the barrister and his pupil. And the woman who played Valerie was a total waste of space. Totally unbelievable, whether she was the ice queen, the temptress, or the sisterly rescuer. They seemed to be unable to decide whether it was an unfunny comedy or serious drama. But the very worst part was the ending. Because everyone's character on the law team switched from relentless and self-centered to suddenly supportive and celebratory. This never happens in real life. Plus all the recalled-memory sequences were a real drag on the story.

On the whole, I think this is an excellent series. But I only want to see one season every other year. Because every episode is exactly the same format, the same look and feel, the same questions (like "And how did you feel when they told you your sister had died?"), and after 3-4 episodes you begin to realize this is all there is to it. Murder, tell family, wrong guy is the chief suspect, years pass, and suddenly a clue leads to the discovery and prosecution of the real murderer. It is horribly predictable that the horror of the killing of a human being is reduced to such a pat formula. And as for Paula Zahn, I don't know her in real life. But on these shows I never see an ounce of emotion or even the slightest change in expression or tone of voice as she reels off the next question. In fact, they could have taped her asking 10 basic questions and just used those over and over. Because they don't actually show her on-set with the people who are answering the questions. Like a robotic news correspondent.