The Loch

I totally get some of the complaints about this being a bit far-fetched and cliched but having missioned the entire series in one day I absolutely loved it! Was completely gripping and every time we thought we'd figured it out something new happened and we were back to square one! Yes it's quite formulaic but the script is excellent, the acting is fab and the scenery is stunning. If you want an easy going edge-of-your-seat thriller box set give this a go!

C'mon! How many boxes did they tick covering every stereotype possible.

Taking care not to add spoilers: Out of town cops v in-town cops= friction. Kids that don't obey, and lie.

Requisite minorities included, bad guy shrinks. Husband feeling neglected because wife has a life- (but isn't particularly honorable to her) Stopping here, before spoilers, I just wanted to say that the "Paint-by-numbers" plots these shows have are getting awfully tedious. Four episodes in, and if I spend a minute, I bet I can solve this by figuring out what box isn't yet ticked off! Aren't there any original writers out there? With new ideas? GREAT SCENERY!!!

The scenery and the cinematography of it - no complaints there!

The actors - reasonably good. They're often interesting to watch, even if at times what the writers had them do was terribly stupid.

The story - starts off well enough. A dark Scandinavian crime-type show, rooted perhaps in Italian gialli films. Some gory crimes with sordid backstories. Red herrings galore.

It starts unraveling at the end, though. The solution to the crimes is terribly contrived. Odds that any viewer will be annoyed: probably pretty high.

At least it's a short series? If it were to have a second season with writers that have more respect for the material, the cast, and the audience, I'd probably watch.

I will disagree with some of the other reviews on here, and say I quite enjoyed the first part, which had set a tone for a Scottish Broadchurch, sadly the episodes that have followed have felt a little hollow.

The positives, the location, camera work and atmosphere are totally on point, it's a very attractive show, looks wonderfully vibrant, you will marvel at the scenery, they couldn't fail with that location. The lead, Siobhan Finneran is great, a strong actress with charisma and presence.

On the downside, I find Finneran so good, that she's making some of the rest feel like non entities, some of the characters are so forgettable, they're not making enough impression. Hopefully that will change, Alastair Mackenzie is a fine actor, he's just been underused so far. At times I find it a bit slow, tedious almost, they could have condensed it down to four parts, and removed some of the padding. It doesn't have the hook to retain your interest that Broadchurch managed to gain.

Overall it's watchable enough, and has some tense moments, it just feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity. 6/10

I use IMDb to give me a steer on whats hot and whats not. Having read a poor review on The Loch, I felt compelled to level the field.

I'm a big fan of Broadchurch and similar crime dramas. This one is no pup. Its developing characters and a complex story-line to compete with the best.

All of the characters are interesting and there are many plot lines and angles on this web of a story.

My only complaint is that its a series and I have to wait a week for the next episode.