Bergerac

Kate Wakefield is killed inside her home, DCI Jim Bergerac is off on the sick following the death of his wife and a problem with alcohol. Bergerac pleases with his boss to be allowed to operate as a special advisor.

I'm struggling to associate this show with some of the negative reviews I've read, this was a very good first series, very watchable, very consistent, a cut above most things I've seen recently.

I really liked the mystery, I liked the pacing, the characters and the production, the location work was terrific, I couldn't reply find a lot to criticise, even at six episodes long it worked.

I thought Damien Molony was very well cast as Bergerac, I definitely got the impression of a troubled man, trying his best, but failing. I grew up watching John Nettles, but I'm more than happy with Molony.

Very good performances from the likes of Pippa Haywood, Stephen Wight and Philip Glenister, I thought Aidan McArdle was terrific.

More please.

8/10.

Like many here, I'd been looking forward to this series having loved the John Nettles Bergerac so many decades ago.

But this?

We nearly gave up after 3 episodes. But we decided to continue despite our doubts. After all, all series have the odd disappointing episode so no doubt it would get better.

It didn't.

After episode 4, we both wished we'd given up after the 3rd episode. It was even worse that the previous episodes. What the hell. We've come this far, we may as well finish. Only two episodes to go.

After the 5th. Only 1 to go. That's the best I could say.

You get the idea.

I think it was mid-way through perhaps the 3rd episode when we realized just how bad this was getting and how absurd some of what was going on that I turned jokingly to my wife during one scene and said "They did it", referring to the least likely character in the entire series and probably the only one that any reasonable person would have excluded from the start because the idea was ridiculous. No way they could have been the murder? It was an absurd concept.

Of course it turned out to be them.

An attempt at a plausible explanation was given in the closing scenes of the final episode but it just didn't work. Even the actors didn't seem to believe it at this stage. The writers just decided that they'd go all out, choose the character it couldn't possibly have been, and try to construct a totally unconvincing motive for the murder.

Even during the inevitable confession screen when being interviewed by Bergerac, the actor portaying the guilty party seemed to be saying to themselves, "Me? It was me? That's ridiculous. Why am I saying these lines? Nobody is going to believe me. Is it to late to get out of my contract? Is Coronation Street looking for cast members because anything must be better than this nonsense."

I don't blame the actor; I blame whoever wrote the plot. If the actor doesn't even believe the lines, then why do the writers think the audience will?

What rubbish.

Every episode had numerous incidents where characters would do or say something leaving us shaking our heads saying to each other that it simply wasn't credible. Nobody would act that way.

Well, maybe in Jersey they do.

They didn't in the original Bergerac but maybe things have changed.

I'm old enough to remember watching the original Bergerac and always enjoyed it. A lot of time has passed since then and the people I watched it with have long since passed away. As a bit of a detective buff I wondered what was that I enjoyed about the original series so I watched a few d episodes ahead of watching the new one. I'm glad I did because there it was straight from the opening credits, the sheer beauty of Jersey itself! The new series could literally have been filmed anywhere and is all the weaker for it. Unfortunately the more I watch the more I realise that Bergerac 2025 is inferior in virtually every aspect. Damien Moloney is a decent actor but lacks the charm of John Nettles, the support cast are all lesser versions of the originals and Zoe Wanamaker is completely wasted here.

The long form story could have been an upgrade but 2 three part episodes or even 3 two parters would have been preferable as the story was fairly basic and stretching it over 6 episodes made for dull viewing at many stages which made the lack of use of the beautiful surroundings even more difficult to understand.

Mention must be made of the excellent Phillip Glenister who stands head and shoulders above all others involved and left me wondering if he wouldn't have been better suited to the titular lead role.

All in all not terrible and probably better for those who have never seen the original but it could have been so much better.

If it was announced that Prime Suspect was to be brought back, and the first series had Dawn French as DCI Tennison investigating the village gossip's murder by trebuchet, all the while chucking in funny asides and double entendres, there would rightly be an outcry from fans of the original series. This, of course, will never happen, but when it comes to hugely popular 'cosy' series, which producers and directors obviously look down on, anything goes. Thus we get a 'brought up to date' Bergerac, which of course means lots of troubled souls, dark lighting, mumbled lines, convoluted plots, and last but not least a damaged lead. It's almost impossible to like this Jim Bergerac, an awesomely irritating individual who spends half his time contemplating his navel, the other half ignoring his superiors, work colleagues, and of course his daughter. Why did it have to be a remake? Call it Dubois, and set it on Guernsey, just leave the originals alone. Blimey, what a load of boring old twaddle.

With Phillip Glenister as one of the main characters, who is a brilliant actor may I add. His dialogue, his scripting and his acting in this has been totally wooden. Did he just not feel the script and saw it as a payday?!

The 6 episodes, are dire, slow and to be honestly totally mind numbing.

One murder and an abduction attempt. Every episode has just ended with a can I be bothered to find out who did this?!

This is supposed to be a murder mystery, so where is the suspense?! The intrigue?! No where.

Characters who I can't give a s*** about, they are ignorant, condescending, quiet and whispering at times. A DI who makes me wince.

Give me the John Nettles version over this!