Granite Harbour

Contrary to some of the later reviews, this is a decent mystery. Yes, we have a rookie whose instincts put him at odds with his superiors but he actually has 10 years experience in the Royal Military Police. Yes, he has Daddy issues but they don't paralyze him. It may not be absolutely unique, or groundbreaking, and I cannot judge just how regionally accurate the accents are (apparently nobody from elsewhere moves to Aberdeen), but the mystery is good and there are plenty of red herrings. The lead is appealing and the police, while not ready to follow his instincts, are not shown to be evil or incompetent. Enjoy!

Like many Scots I had high hopes of Granite Harbour, only to have my expectations dashed within the first few minutes. To say the script is creaky is an understatement - it is a prime example of how a lack of continuous re-writing at the pre-production stage results in a disaster. This is certainly not helped by a narrative which is wholly unoriginal, and a bunch of lead actors who are clearly out of their depth. It takes an old pro like Dawn Steel (Monarch of the Glen) to show that you can indeed polish the odd t**d if you are experienced enough. Most of the cast here are not, and therefore cannot wring any conviction out of dud dialogue. It was like watching painting by numbers. On the plus side it was pleasant enough to see Aberdeen, shot both on the ground and from the air. But good technicals are not going to save this car crash. In rating it 4 out of 10 I'm being generous; it could have been so much better.

I enjoyed reading the other reviews, I watch most shows alone so it's great to see how people reacted. Many Scottish people were very turned off, I see. (I'm American. I watch mostly UK shows.) On the whole I'm going to vote yes. It must be because of what a few other people highlighted, it manages to go without the grotesque, the hateful or heavy violence. If something will keep my interest well enough, and not be repugnant, I'm game. I could see where people say this is more afternoon TV than evening. But the older I get the less I can take what seems to be ever-increasing action, violence and intrigue. I finished series 1 and haven't started series 2 yet. Overall, I was decently entertained. The acting is a bit spotty. :)

Fairly contrived and sadly indicative off the "inclusive" BBC of recent times but there is enough to watch if you get past the box ticking casting etc.

Tha acting on the whole is pretty pedestrian and the lead character is more contrived than necessary. A better development of his back story would have made the story stronger but as this looks for all the world like a work in progress there is plenty of time for that in series 2?!

If, like me you are a fan of detective/ police series it's watchable but far from great. A couple of the actors make it a hard watch at some points but I think there is potential if the BBC up the budget and look at the cast for any further series.

Give it a go if there's nothing else to watch if only for the Scottish scenery. OK.

Another reviewer likened this program to a paint-by-numbers version of art. That is just how I experience it. There is some potential for the lead character and his cultural and family issues to become interesting, but they don't. There is no real tension or depth...to anything. No life in any of the secondary characters; all are predictable types, and mostly poor acting. Then there are the central crime plots: unoriginal, drawn out, and uninteresting to solve. Predictable dialogue and scenarios. No feel for the city either, an underused element of an overall dull series. Wondering if it's written by AI.