Gracepoint

Just watch the original. this is just a sad knock off. why can't americans watch british television? can't believer he took the exact same role as the detective. silly all around.

Godawful remake of the British series "Broadchurch" with David Tennant repeating his role as the lead investigating cop and Anna Gunn replacing Olivia Colman as Miller. The only other "names" in the cast are Jacki Weaver as Susan and Nick Nolte as Jack. The rest of the cast is lousy and act as if they're in a daytime soap.

The series tries to be a scene-for-scene remake of the British series and makes one ask, "What's the point?"

Tennant is a real oddity, trading in his normal Scottish accent for some sort of flat American one that seems forced. Gunn is a decade too old for the part of Miller.

The actress playing Beth is too strident and the actors playing Mark and the priest are way too creepy to gain any sympathy.

Stick to the original and don't waste your time of this muck.

I get why they wanted to make an American remake of the fantastic Broadchurch. I really do. But they were so concerned with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

Inferior in every possible way, Gracepoint lacks all the charm, character and brooding of the original. On paper, the cast is fantastic - Michael Peña, Anna Gunn, Nick Nolte, and a returning David Tennant. But the performances are so flat compared to the stirring emotional turns from Broadchurch. I think Anna Gunn has it worst of all. She's a great actor and I've loved her in Breaking Bad and Deadwood. But she's no Olivia Colman, and her Ellie Miller falls so flat and feels so two-dimensional. Maybe if I hadn't seen Broadchurch first, I'd have thought differently. But Olivia Colman's Miller was so raw and biting and wonderfully flawed that Gunn's performance seems a mere shadow in comparison.

David Tennant returning in the same role (albeit, with a different name) was surprising. It was jarring to hear much-loved lines from Broadchurch delivered with a (not always great) American accent. He is still amazing in the role, but it just didn't ring as true in Gracepoint as it did in Broadchurch.

If you haven't seen Broadchurch, give this one a go. If you have, maybe skip this as it pales significantly in comparison.

As a standalone show it was pretty good but here's the problem - it was pretty much lifted from the original Broadchurch - shot for shot and identical dialogue so writing the screenplay would have been a virtual copy and paste. So obviously you have to rate this a little lower. Tennant was excellent as always but the accent did slip a few times. The female lead is not a patch on Olivia Colman (but who is?). The big advantages were the lovely Alisen Down (I just want to give her a hug every time I see her) and obviously the absence of Lenny Henry is a massive plus. It was a shame that everyone who has seen Broadchurch would be dismissing all the red herrings straight away and - maybe if they changed the killer from the original would have got it a 9 rating.

Firstly, if I had not watched Broad Church (the BBC Original of this screenplay), I would have given this series a 10 out of 10. The casting of Grace Point is great, the cast is strong, the site selection is excellent (usually I can recognize locations across the US and Canada - I actually did not with this series - Yeah!). However, I did watch Broad Church. I loved Broad Church. Unfortunately, the screen play was altered between the two productions. I can not decide if Grace Point was changed to simplify or dumb down the complex issues the characters are forced to face on this journey or if it is to not address some issues in favour of other issues or maybe to please the puritanical sensibilities of the censors. Sadly, regardless of why huge aspects have been minimized or excluded, it greatly lessens the viewers experience. My advice is watch Grace Point, than watch Broad Church and prepare to explore more and larger concepts in a far greater depth. Possibly, a great parenting tool to start conversations with others ( but be very prepared first). If you are only going to watch one - Watch Broad Church. The second time I watched Broad Church I did it on the treadmill and it made the workout awesome. Tons of things to think about! Yeah for a cerebral but personal journey through tragedy.