Auckland Detectives - Tödliche Bucht

This series has everything going for it but blows it in the fourth episode which disintegrates into angst and soap opera theatrics. There's not much to the script from now on; it's mostly just treading water. It doesn't help that the lead character, played at times almost comically by a tiny woman with a 50's Elvis pompadour, is a pill-popping neurotic prone to self flagellation and fits of woe. To add to this toxic mix, the editing is wonky, jarring at times and causes confusion throughout.

But Kate Elliott has the grossest hair cut I have ever seen. Please give her a better hair cut. Tis no longer the 80's and I know the hair dresser can do better.

I like the format of this quite a bit. Tandem episodes that resolve a particular case, but a narrative through line runs through all of them with a mystery component with the lead. She's been in an accident of which she's the lone survivor, her husband dead. And this has given her some selective, short term memory loss that is being resolved as she goes back to work.

I think it actually works quite well. The writing is better than expected overall, with a couple rough patches. Probably because they go through a lot of murders. It's like watching a BBC crime show, but much tighter. Sometimes it's more contrived but it's also not meandering in the least. It's a trade off.

Performance wise, all 'round competent. I _think_ the lead is cast as at LEAST odd, but I think also neurodivergent-perhaps trying to evoke the popular detective from Bron/Broen. It's never explicit though, so it's hard to say. But she is a bit standoffish and takes a bit getting used to, but when you do I actually like her quite a bit. And everyone else is just as fine. No truly excellent people, though.

The through line really brings together the plot in a satisfying way. It has a plot arc and character arc in-built, plus it's way more interesting than it initially seems. Relationships are fairly complex and dynamic. Characters are well realized. Gorgeous NZ scenes and shot compositions. Definetly deserving of a solid rating, in my mind. And I have watched an unhealthy amount of procedurals, Scandinavian noir, and peripheral shows from all around the world, for what it's worth.

Having watched episodes, I thought it good enough to look forward to further episodes. I suspect most kiwi's aren't used to drama that isn't zipping along speedily and with an inane plot and in-your-face ham acting. I loved the scenery in our beautiful harbour. Sure, it isn't 'the Killing' , but there are not that many truly exceptional tv series. I think it is under-rated on iMDB. I liked it.

PLEASE can we have a detective with no baggage, just good at the job?