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Broadchurch; Seasons 1 & 2
Topic Started: Aug 8 2013, 09:21 PM (2,992 Views)
KMInfinity
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Not sure if this will need a thread but since I really liked it...

The first series achieved overwhelming ratings for ITV in England, with critical acclaim and huge publicity around the "whodunit" mystery. It's been renewed by ITV.

The story in the premiere was a bit predictable since we need the setup and the intro to so many characters. But I gotta say, compared to The Killing, I was totally invested in the poor kid Danny's death, the family, the community, the police. I even teared up TWICE. The emotional punches from several scenes were strong, and felt earned even despite that 'early premiere episode' mode.

I always adore David Tennant, so I may have lost objectivity. :P He was more stoic, more 'haunted' and reserved as DI Alec Hardy than in Dr. Who. As The Doctor I am used to his mobile, expressive face, his nearly-over-the-top exuberance, he vitality. Here he is definitely subdued, with a dark past, a bit of a mystery concerning whatever happened in Sandbrook.

I really liked the characters, especially DS Miller, just returned from maternity leave, and Danny's parents. I LOVED Arthur Darvill as Rory in #11's Whoverse and expect I will like seeing him as the Vicar.

Lots of brief intros of folks around the community, which already feels very 'real' to me.
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Dax
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Getting a re-air tonight.

I've also decided to (while I have Netflix) run through the two seasons/six shows of Sherlock, because I know I missed out on that...

And I'll watch my dvds of Luther 1 & 2 before 3 airs on BBC-A on four nights in a row in early September...

Fox is fast-tracking an American remake of Broadchurch already... unlike so many of these others (Homeland, The Killing, The Bridge, House of Cards, Low Winter Sun), here's one where I could say I HAVE seen 'the original', first.
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bilki
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Just finished watching tonight's re-airing. While there was a sense of been-there-done-that (The Killing, Top of the Lake), I enjoyed it quite a bit. Surprised by how strongly some of the emotional scenes resonated with me. The mother was heart-breaking, and seeing the female detective crying through many of the early scenes tugged at me, too. Really enjoyed Olivia Colman! Don't think I've seen her before.

Cool to see David Bradley (Walder Frey) and Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams).

Intrigued by the reporter angle. Oliver, the ambitious, young reporter trying to make a name for himself. And, the lady reporter who comes to town to see what she can dig up. People are using this boy's death to their own advantage.

This is going to be one of those shows where I'm gonna be tempted to snoop around and see if I can find anything out, since it's already aired in the UK.
Edited by bilki, Aug 9 2013, 11:45 PM.
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KMInfinity
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I haven't seen Colman before either but she has a great reputation and fans in England.

And obviously, Walder is the killer. lol

I skimmed the TWoP thread that was active when Broadchurch was airing in England (very carefully avoiding spoilers) and people say the first episode was slow but then the series overall was excellent. Consensus that it was better than The killing, which it was compared to a lot.
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Dax
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Sepinwall for KMI, A- review... >> "You don't understand," Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller insists as she stares at a murdered child on the beach of the sleepy town she calls home. "I know that boy!"

Miller is one of the two heroes of "Broadchurch," a British crime series making its BBC America debut tonight at 10 p.m. Played by Olivia Colman, she's a Broadchurch lifer. She knows everyone in town, and assumes she knows everything around them; it's not possible that any of her friends or neighbors could be a killer. And yet as her partner and boss, new transplant Alec Hardy (David Tennant) keeps reminding her, anyone can become a killer, and the sandy corpse of young Danny Latimer is proof of that.

It's a simple conflict, and "Broadchurch" for the most part is a simple series. Over the course of eight episodes, we follow the Latimer case from its terrible beginning to its complicated ending, as Hardy teaches Miller about all the secrets her friends and neighbors have been keeping. The writing by Chris Chibnall is lean and spare, and the directing (most of it by James Strong) takes advantage of the seaside vistas without calling attention to itself. Other than an interesting minor subplot about a phone company technician who claims to be a psychic, this is as straightforward a mystery series as you can imagine.

It's also about as devastating as you can imagine, precisely because of that simplicity.

Chibnall (who's written for "Doctor Who," "Torchwood" and "Law & Order: UK," among others) sets up an elegant conflict between the sweet, optimistic Miller and the damaged, misanthropic Hardy that transcends cliche because each of them feels like a specific person beyond their respective philosophies. Similarly, Danny's parents Beth (Jodie Whittaker) and Mark (Andrew Buchan) aren't just collateral damage, but complicated adults with problems that the tragedy either exacerbates or puts into perspective.

The case proceeds in a linear fashion, with one significant suspect at a time, but unlike "The Killing" (even in its much-improved third season), Chibnall doesn't expect either the cops or his audience to automatically believe this latest suspect must be the killer. People have many reasons for lying to the police, and Hardy and Miller seem to spend as much time trying to prove that someone couldn't have killed Danny as they do finding evidence that they did it.

The no-frills approach at times threatens to make "Broadchurch" seem generic in its early going. I watched the series after several of my colleagues, and when I told them I found it unremarkable after the first few hours, they told me, "Just wait. You'll see it." They were right. Chibnall, Strong and company are doing a very deliberate, gradual build to something here, and the plain approach makes the moments of discovery all the more painful.

"Broadchurch" is a police procedural, and an effective one, but what renders it special is the way it tracks the ways that physical and emotional violence haunts everyone in the town. Several of the citizens, it turns out, moved to Broadchurch to escape a dark past that the investigation unfortunately digs up. Beth Latimer is so consumed with grief that she reaches out to a mother who's been through a similar ordeal, hoping against hope that this woman will say the magic words that will make her pain go away.

The performances are excellent throughout, with the two cops and the two parents deserving every moment spent on them. Tennant has the flashier part, spitting his words out in a thick Scottish burr and seeming on the verge of collapse in every scene. Colman's role is trickier, and ultimately more powerful, because Miller is still naive and innocent when the case begins, and something very different when it ends and she's learned all there is to know about her hometown. Both of them, and Whittaker and Buchan — and David Bradley, known in the States as nasty Walder Frey on "Game of Thrones," and here plays an elderly news vendor — do work that I'd slot comfortably beside the top American performances of the moment.

One of the case's many suspects declares, "Death; once it's got its claws into you, it never lets go." This is a fact that slowly and painfully dawns on the people of Broadchurch, and this is a miniseries that will have you in its grip long after it's done.

---

NOTE: Same spoiler rule as usual applies to a foreign import: if it hasn't aired yet in America, it's a spoiler. So for those of you who've seen the whole series, don't give away whodunnit, how, why or anything else. I'll be doing another post when the series concludes in eight weeks so we can all discuss that together.

http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/review-bbc-americas-broadchurch-a-simple-devastating-mystery#iJfjuoTVRsqHEjrl.99
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KMInfinity
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Well that sounds positively great! thanks Dax. Fits very well with what I've gleaned. I liked that it was eight episodes, lean and focused.

I do wonder how it will work as a second series if it is specific to Broadchurch. Hardy and Miller assigned to a new town? Can't peek because the Brit news would prolly include spoilers.
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Dax
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Watched the first one. I like it. Sad. Very sad.

They're skipping a week between #s 4 & 5 on 9/4 (for Luther)... Kinda fun that it's on Wednesday nights, as is The Bridge (and Big Brother, continuing the alliteration..), and both of the mystery series will conclude on 10/2. EDIT - Good, doesn't look like they're skipping a week any more... 9/25 conclusion, then.

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KMInfinity
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Yeah the emotional impact made up for the cliche beginning. Effectively made the point that any cliche situation isn't, when it's YOU.
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Dax
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We have seen that set-up many, many times now. Execution still matters. This was good.

Going back to Twin Peaks... Sarah on the phone, the sounds she makes... the empty seat in the classroom (which The Killing later lifted, almost exactly)...
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KMInfinity
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I liked the second episode even better. Lots of threads spun, with lots of various possibilities opening up. I especially like the tension Miller is under as she tries to be good-neighbor community lover and also an effective 'tec. Tennant is excellent as Hardy, despite portraying a role very much against his strength. I really liked Darvill as the minister, and the way it's developing. I hope they look at issues of faith and church a little more sympathetically and complexly than usual lately. (Which means I already hope he isn't the killer.)

There were a lot of subtle, powerful scenes. My favorites included the hotel owner, the minister, and the older businessman and their discussion; and also the scene on the beach with the daughter and her boyfriend, who played that with just the right touch of frustration.

The show is giving a lot of people on TWoP a chance to dis on the Killing all over again. lol
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bilki
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Good episode. I think I liked the pilot a little better, though. It was more explosive. Now the dust is settling.

My favorite scene was probably when the mother was walking through the grocery store and couldn't help but be aware of the stares and reactions around her. The music make it all the more powerful.

Enjoyed the back-and-forth between Miller and Hardy. Didn't he botch his last big case? And he's there telling her how to do her job. HA! Typical real life bullshit. Was Tennant's hair lighter in this episode? It was bugging me a bit.

Got a chuckle out of the psychic giving Hardy the message about the pendant. Danny was moved up the coast from the murder site, probably in a boat.

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Dax
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Tennant's hair did seem lighter (not based on memory, but the bits in the recap at the beginning), but I don't know why that would be... our American shows, sure, the pilot is usually shot 4-6 months before #2, but I would doubt that was the case here...

I liked the 'Oh, look, it's Danny's skateboard' moment...


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KMInfinity
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I do agree the music overall has been great - atmospheric but not intrusive. The best part of the grocery scene for me was when the townsman came up and, I think, sincerely tried to offer some kind words and she was too overwhelmed (and angry? now that denial has passed) to accept kindness. Been there, and hate that I react like that.

I am pissed to have learned BBCA is/maybe is cutting a few scenes here and there to accommodate American commercial needs. Now I feel obligated to investigate what scenes were cut, but fear spoilers.

>>Enjoyed the back-and-forth between Miller and Hardy. Didn't he botch his last big case?
That's still a mystery. SOMEthing happened, but not sure if he is at fault. The media think so, but his boss seemed kinder about it. I think some killer 'got off' due to a mistake the media attribute to him?
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Dax
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Very annoying if there have been edits for time (then schedule the show for 65-70 minutes then, whatever). I wouldn't think they would do that, though, since it's such an every-scene-matters kind of thing... I did notice a couple unnatural breaks-to-commercial (and one skipped instance where it looks like it WAS a break-to-commercial).

I am happy that I'll only be watching the original cuts, not PBS, of Downton Abbey, when I get around to it...
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KMInfinity
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PBS doesn't do it, so Downton is 'pure' I think.... Grrrrr
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Dax
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I always heard Downton was trimmed here, even from a couple can't-wait friends that would see the UK airings streamed somehow, and then watch again a few months later, and bitch about the scenes their American friends were missing... (Edit - Maybe that didn't continue so much in Seasons 2 & 3, but I do think one friend's complaints continued - maybe she was misremembering/making-things-up... the wikipedia entry only discusses the Season 1 'minimal editing' to turn the first series of seven into four 90 minute shows... similar to Top of the Lake's six parts becoming seven here...)

The dvds are always marked 'Original UK Edition', indicating there's something else (but not available on disc, no)...

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blosslover
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Downton was trimmed on PBS also for the first season. I don't understand why Broadchurch on BBC America is trimmed via on demand as the timing for that doesn't matter.
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KMInfinity
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Stupid commercials. What was PBS's reason? You would think NONCOMMERCIAL TV wouldn't do that.
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bilki
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I read someone saying there were 3 scenes cut from the first episode of Broadchurch. He/she went on to describe the 3 scenes, saying at least one could be important to character development. I thought they said you could watch the episode for free on iTunes. Not sure if that is the case for each episode after they air on BBCA, or not.
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bilki
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Did anyone understand what the creepy lady whispered in the ear of the lady who runs the local paper when she showed up there late at night? I get lost in the accents at times. And if I have closed captioning, I don't know how to get it to work.

The music here is great. Haunting and emotional, but not manipulative.

The revolving door of suspects does feel so been-there-done-that but I like how this is from the perspective of life in a small town. A place where things like this don't happen, but people are people and secrets are now being pushed to the surface. And I still like how the reporters are exploiting the story for their own good....and how Hardy needs to solve this case for his own redemption.

Loved Hardy's "false intimacy" explanation for why he didn't need to use first names.

A nice move by Beth telling Mark she knows about Becca just as they're walking in to the press conference.
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Dax
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Creepy lady's threat was 'I know men who would rape you.'

Good musical score, I agree. Funny dramatic cue when Walder Frey showed up at the Latimer house...

Yeah, perfect timing, that Beth 'I know' to Mark...
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KMInfinity
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Loving this a lot. The scenes with Hardy and Miller at dinner were excellent. There are so many nice little moments too.

I was thinking the revolving door of suspects actually had an it's-so-old-it's-new feel. I think what Dax said above, about execution, is so relevant. I want to know MORE about these people, I want to visit with them, I want to understand them and their hopes and fears and worries. Most stories and mysteries such ass this, I am observing in a pretty detached way.
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blosslover
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How many of us are still watching this? The last episode they showed in the US was so tragic...

I didn't realize that the pastor was Rory...then again I only saw that part of that series of Dr. Who earlier this week.
Edited by blosslover, Sep 5 2013, 11:13 PM.
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Dax
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I expect we four all still are...

I watched last night's a little bit ago. Sad. Bradley's performance was terrific.

I liked the Mark/Beth fight about the infidelity a lot, and her going off on Becca was really good.

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KMInfinity
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Still watching and really enjoying. There are always so many poignant moments and lines. The best, imo, was the stuff with Mark and Beth, and scene with Mark and Jack and him explaining how much he misses his son.

I have a bad feeling about Olly.....
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bilki
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Poor Jack. They really did let him down. Appreciated Reverend Paul saying so at the funeral.

Great scene when Beth meeting the mother of the Sandbrook case. Quite tragic. Also loved the scene with Reverend Paul when DI Hardy was taking his DNA sample. So much good stuff with this show!

It was nice to see the family laughing and having fun there at the arcade.

Happy to see Susan's dog in the previews for next week. Hated the thought of Nigel shooting him with his crossbow. Such a cool dog!

I've known the identity of Danny's killer for a couple weeks now. Interesting to see how they're dealing with that character. This show is so good I don't even mind that I was spoiled.
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Dax
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Were you spoiled on purpose or accidentally?...

Susan was super-creepy with Tom and does not appear to be a very kind-hearted person, but of course, when she's being taken for questioning, I felt for her not knowing where her dog was...
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KMInfinity
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Still loving this. No hints Bilki!

I hope it plays out the way I expect. There are a lot of characters who have had such emotionally satisfying moments I would hate for those to have been misdirection. Every episode has at least one stellar scene.
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bilki
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Dax
Sep 15 2013, 11:22 AM
Were you spoiled on purpose or accidentally?...
Accidentally on purpose, lol. I had read the recap for the final episode when the series first started on BBCA, and it didn't reveal the killer's identity. I went back and read it again a couple weeks later and it had been changed to reveal the killer. I went back with the small hope that it had been changed, but wouldn't have pursued it further if it hadn't.


Does anyone have any strong feelings about identity of Danny's killer?
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Dax
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I don't.

(But KMI's 'have a bad feeling about Olly' is something I might second... not because he looks particularly suspicious, but because he DOESN'T, and you know, 'expect the unexpected'...)

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