Annika

The first couple of episodes were a little shaky but certainly by episodes 3 onward it was as good as any similar type of police drama. Perhaps the negative reviews were written by some who only watched the first episode and made their judgement. I hope it comes back for another series.

Quirky, breaking the 4th wall murder mystery. Living in the US Rocky Mtns, I am fascinated by and enjoy this ocean-centered police procedural, and there is no shortage here. This show sits nicely between the silly type shows (Midsomer Murders) and dreary scary murder mysteries (like Walker's own Previous show).

Funny scenes, and I love to see Walker smile... it reveals the lovely woman that she is. Love watching her deal with her quirky team and the relationship with daughter which seems positive despite Annika being very much a parachute parent.

Con: Depending on mood or episodes I love and hate this show. The breaking of the fourth wall is interesting and description of the hx and literature of Scotland that parallels the theme of the episode is educational, but sometimes can be boring. Another issue is that Annika and others can often be so deadpan I can't tell if they are funny, sarcastic and/or deadpan even with closed captions. I have a friend that's sarcastic all the time, after a while it isn't cute...just super annoying.

Thank goodness for daughter, sweet, smart, and funny, not annoyingly disrupting parent' police work....as well as a few other supporting characters. However the psychologist boyfriend is super deadpan as well. One scene between the two (season two), after they get back together, is suppose to be cute and funny but it is excruciating. My brother was stationed in Scotland and I spent a month there. Scots are funny with beautiful lilting musical voices. My brother belonged to a fishing group and said they were funny as all heck. I don't see that here.

It took me an episode to get into this series. The draw was always Nicola Walker but the writer has her breaking the 4th wall (which is stage speak for talking directly to the audience) which I found off-putting at first, and the tone of the series is rather stripped down and sterile. But, the humour, the disarming frankness of our heroine, the relationship between mom and daughter, the episodic crimes and, of course, the brilliant work of Nicola, soon won me round. Inevitably, I found myself chuckling at the final one liners her character addresses to the camera as the episode ends. I give this series a 7 (good) out of 10. {Crime Dramedy}

I don't know why there are so many bad reviews. Sure, it's not Unforgotten, but why remake something that was that good? This was different and amusing. I don't mind that she talks to the camera - I found it funny. It was as though I was listening to her thoughts, and could hear the things she's like to say but didn't because it would be impolitic. Nicola Walker is fantastic, as always, and I'll definitely watch the next episode.

Sometimes you don't need Big, Serious Drama. Sometimes you just need some police work with a large side of family dynamics and humour.

Di Annika Strandhed arrives in Scotland to take charge of a team at the MHU, The Marine Homicide Unit.

It's very quirky, she talks to the camera, and has a Norwegian accent that seems to have come all the way from London.

Annika is a really enjoyable series, it benefits from the presence of Nicola Walker, who is absolutely marvellous as the central character. Paul McGann also impresses. The acting is generally very good, but it's the stories that make it so watchable.

Episode quality does vary, some of the early ones are a little average, the first, and last however are excellent I thought.

A massive success story for Alibi, I hope we're treated to more next year, all in all, a good watch, 7/10.