Durham County

The plot of Durham County is one of those that will leave you scratching your head in confusion and frustration at times. It has a very quirky, off beat sense to it and it's hard to compare against a benchmark. At times it feels as though the writers of Twin Peaks got together on a lazy Sunday afternoon, put their heads together and came up with the plot for Durham County.

One thing about the series is that it's weird and puzzling and you can see that right from the first minute. Thankfully there are only 6 episodes because by the end of the last episode I was ready to punch my sofa cushion in frustration.

There are ups and downs to the series and it leans slightly more towards the downside a little. The upside is that it is short and for the most part does not succumb to anything typical. That makes it unique. There are no good guys here- just bad, badder and worse. The writers blur the lines neatly between the heroes and the villains, leaving it up to the viewer to decide if the character is good or bad. Acting is quite good by all the principal characters, helping to bring out a variety of emotions from the viewer's point. The downside is that the ending is not satisfying enough and leaves you wondering if it was worth watching in the first place. The plot does stumble around a bit and could have used some tightening.

All in all it starts out well but starts to lag in the third episode onwards leading to a disappointing finish.

Durham County is a fantastic show. I can't wait for it each week to find out what's going to happen to Ray, Mike and the rest of the characters. The cinematography is brilliant, acting phenomenal, and directing amazing.

Right from the black and white with splashes of red opening shots, through each episode and to the final credits, I'm riveted by this show. It rivals some of the best TV dramatic series out there: Six Feet Under, the Sopranos, etc.

Kudos to the producers for getting this top-notch show on the air. Looking forward to the next season.

Marianne

I agree with your first reviewer who says that lines get blurred between good and evil characters. But that is what makes season 1 so interesting to me. The cop is a hot head and so is the real villain played by Louis. Season 2 picks up where season 1 leaves off, but since a different production company was involved, they chose to turn the series from an R-rated adult crime drama to a family-oriented G-rated soap opera complete with G-rated language. In fact, season 2 is mostly talk. I had to bale out of this one. Don't even know if they used the same actor for the part of "Ray". Way to screw up a captivating storyline. I give season 1 an 8 but had to downgrade overall since season 2 screwed it up so badly.

I'm a guy who loves his creepy dramas and this is by far my favorite so far. It has so many elements working on so many different levels, but it's all presented so simply. It reminds me a lot of the show Dexter but more story driven and a little simpler intellectually. After watching thousands of episodes of CSI, I would have thought I was more than desensitized to anything T.V. could throw at me, but the entire first episode gave me chills. It's a bit grotesque and bloody but it's not unnecessarily so like most horror movies and crime dramas. It's a great back and forth chess match of a show, and you'll feel guilty for having such a good time with it.

And it's not just the violence itself. The characters set up the scenes easily and they develop themselves beautifully, the scenery and environments are great and they set up the atmosphere of impending doom, the effects cut the monotony and still makes you feel crazy. So great! Hurray! We can finally be shocked by murder again!

I started watching this TV show on Netflix two nights ago and I'm hooked! I'm almost done watching all three seasons. The people in the show feel authentic and real. Laurence Leboeuf is also one of my favorite actresses. The first couple of episodes are so dark and sinister I almost couldn't stomach it, but I'm glad that I did. The family has its problems like any other does. Watching them deal with their issues, though, is really interesting. Some of the characters are broken and scarred, but I think that's what makes this show so real. People hurt, you know? Durham county shows you what people can do to other people and the after effects.You should definitely watch this show. After a couple episodes you'll almost have to keep watching. I wish they'd make a fourth season!