The Stolen Girl

This mini-series is well-paced at 5 episodes, with a decent, well-written storyline.

Multiple twists and developments keep it engaging, with interesting emotional shifts as the series progresses.

The production seems to have been appropriately budgeted for with decent cast, brilliant scenary and good diversity of locations throughout.

Mod plays the role of the tenacious journalist really well, while I found some of Grainger's more dramatic scenes less than convincing. Gough's performance was brilliant throughout and she was able to showcase a good degree of range in this title.

I think this will age pretty well, and is definitely worth a watch in my view.

The first episode had me hooked. Although not typically a fan of disjointed storytelling, I liked the way the show unfolded, which makes the final episode and the conclusion of the story that much more irritating. After the final episode, I kept checking back for another episode not believing that was the actual ending of the story.

The acting was good, particularly the leads. I found the detectives role in the story pretty terrible, I also didn't think the reporter editor interactions with him.

Overall, I liked the story, and the twists that unraveled through the disjointed storytelling. However, I just can't support the ending.

The resolution of the story is an absolute let-down and utter disappointment. Millennial do-goodism afflicts the choices of how the characters behave and of how the climax unravels. I felt cheated. But that's usually the case with contemporary defanged narratives. Pity, the acting is top notch, and much deserving of a better and much ballsier and darker script writing. The first couple of episodes are great, unfortunately it quickly becomes a morality tale of atonement that is a tad too predictable for my liking. The revelations do not land with a gut punch but with a fizzle. Once I realised where it was heading I kept hoping it would re-adjust course. It never did.

I'm actually a bit lost for words on this one. It is so badly written, the story is ridiculous with characters doing things no real person would do, ever and the acting by the lead is so bad that it's hard to understand how this actress got the job. The whole production feels cheap and lacking any quality. How can this be on Disney? How did it get made? Who hired this writer who doesn't seem to have the most basic grasp of storytelling and cannot write dialogue that even vaguely approximates real life. One of the reviews says it's from the same team as those Harlen Coben dramas on Netflix and that makes sense as they are equally rubbish with unbelievable female characters and storylines, poor production values and terrible actors. 1/10 is generous.

The main plot of the show is really good, and the production is paced well. It has that problem that most 'streaming binge' drama has in that it is constantly explaining the obvious, treating the audience as if they are either a) on their phone or b) really stupid. So the script feels a little on the wonky side from the get go.

The major drawback, and this stops it getting a higher score for me is just how howlingly bad some of the acting. Everything line comes at you with a sigh, every line has a sharp intake of breath and a really laboured way of delivering 'plot' which makes it feel less classy than a show of this budget should.

It's okay and passes a few hours of telly wallpaper but with a plotline that's as potentially good as this it could have been much much better.