Undercover

Undercover offers an interesting premise, that is let down by an implausible story.

Without giving too much away, the notion that Undercover is built upon is interesting but its taken to such implausible extremes as to render the whole proposition unbelievable. Worse still and perhaps not surprisingly, the story simply doesn't hold together all that well as a tale of crime, politics and espionage (of a kind) gradually unfolds.The rather flat, abrupt ending, does not help matters either.

Its a shame too, as there is some genuine acting talent on offer, who hand in really excellent performances. Sophie Okonedo, in particular, is to be commended on her heartfelt, passionate performance, as criminal attorney, Maya Corbina.

In short, Undercover is a series I want to like. It has good production values and a quality cast. That said, its story is simply too weak to carry it. Five out of ten from me.

Having read the variety of opinions in the reviews I still found this worth a try. Very glad I did. Yes, perhaps it was difficult to follow in places with multiple flashbacks but the central character Maya Corbina played by Sophie Okonedo was for me absolutely mesmerizing. What an incredible talent! The rollercoaster of emotions she portrays draws you into her world and as Maya Corbina, you feel every moment of love, anger, determination,betrayal,loss, confusion, sadness,.......All I can say further is don't be put off by the poor reviews, give this show a chance and if nothing else enjoy her talent.

This is a comment on "Undercover", rather than a full-blown review. Sophie Okonedo is a very expressive actress and the range of emotions she displays as Maya are believable. She makes her real and at times extremely irritating with her relentless right-on, goody two-shoes behaviour. She loves her husband, she loves her kids, she is dedicated to her job, she has time for everyone and never snaps that she just wants to loll in the bath reading a book for some peace and quiet.

Every trendy box is ticked here - high-achieving black family, social conscience, human rights, epileptic heroine, autistic son, women's lib, house husband, fighting to save death row inmates - it's a full-frontal assault that dares us to disapprove or even have a fleeting selfish thought, because by golly Maya never does.

All this places a rather brittle and fake veneer on a storyline that does have its dark moments and dirty underbelly. The moral dilemmas are real and imaginable but what a shame the lead character is so upright and certain of her path that these dilemmas are not wrestled with in a realistic way. Nothing in life is clearly black and white, but that world view is not something Maya subscribes to. It must be nice to be so certain of everything.

For a long time now on television we have had flawed cops, private eyes, detectives, reluctant mediums, lead characters "battling their demons", all with messy private lives that are supposed to make them interesting as they react in unpredictable ways to all the various plot twists they are put through. In "Undercover" we have a lead character that acts in a totally predictable way to everything, apparently suffers no doubts or misgivings, and is firmly waving her righteous sword, never losing sight of the moral high ground or how to stay there.

This is a story of deceit and the sheer mountain of lies that can be constructed over a period of 20 years. What a pity it had to be wrapped in a politically correct blanket that suffocates any real exploration of the plausible grey areas in life. If it's not right then it's obviously wrong, and that's that.

Where to even begin, episodes are either brilliant, or terrible, there is no happy medium, one thing that is certain, this should have been a four part series, at six, it's better padded than a Dreams mattress.

The story is up and down, implausible, nonsensical, but actually pretty enjoyable. You will be baffled by the actions of some of the main characters, particularly when you consider the positions they hold.

It's woke, Yep, it's great to see a principally black cast, it does make a nice change, but on a few occasions, they drop in a few lines that make you want to cringe, the Oxford jibe, not true.

The best aspect, the acting, the two leads, two people I'm a huge fan of, Okonedo and Lester, the acting from the pair, is first rate, two of Britain's best.

I can't really score it higher than a six, Parts 2 and 5 are terrific, parts 3 and 4 are a snore fest.

Overall, it's good, but know what you're getting. 6/10.

Good acting but the storyline is pants - I simply don't believe this particular story, even though I know undercover agents have married or partnered-up with many women during their 'spying' years. The unalloyed 'goodness' of the principals in this series is cloying and unbelievable. I can't believe they scripted the Waltons in an story about deceit, scorn and cold-blooded treachery. The clunky dialogue just gives it away, badly.

Yes, let's have a seriously deceitful partner, who's spent years undercover with a loving partner, But making that partner Nelson Mandela in drag is a silly and wrong-headed plot device. You gotta get more subtlety and mischief in there for this to work properly. And don't start me on the kids...

All in all it's shame. And a huge opportunity gone sadly to waste. Should have got Jed Mercurio to write this one...