Flesh and Blood

What better way to warm you up on a cold winters night than a murder mystery set on the Sussex coast in the height of summer. Francesca Annis is a recently widowed mother of a dysfunctional family who seem more worried about there inheritance when the mother meets and falls in love with retired surgeon played by Stephen Rea. All the children have relationship problems of there own, and throw in to the pot a nosey neighbour from hell played superbly by Imelda Staunton and we have a delicious mix of mystery and mayhem spread over four nights. 8/10

Thankfully, the producers knew what they were doing with the length of this... it is only 4 episodes long, and the story is fully told, with a nice flow.

Imelda S is gripping in her role. In fact, the entire ensemble was convincing.

Mr. Rea (always committed) was good, but he missed the mark a bit. In certain roles, his face does some silly overreaching (grimacing, awkwardness), and for me, it becomes too much.

The music was effectively subtle, and the production design was lovely and understated. Editing was fairly tight. The somewhat pensive tone throughout was punctuated by a few dark humorous moments.

If you enjoy contemporary British dramas with a mysterious overtone, you'll probably like this.

Very watchable, well written and well acted. I binge watched all four episodes in one evening and loved every minute. The ending I had guessed from episode one, but there are still many loose ends to be tied up. This leaves it wide open for a second season. Cant wait.

If you are a sucker for British tv-series like me, "Flesh and Blood" is highly recommendable. It has all the right ingredients: Interesting and psychological complex characters, an intriguing plot, and last but not least great acting.

The plot centers on Vivien, a recently widowed mother of three adult children,. Vivien longs for love and affection, and she is ready for new adventures.. When Mark, a retired surgeon and widower, comes along, she decides to marry him. Her children are not happy about it, and when Vivien also plans to sell their childhood home, a lovely house by the sea, the siblings decide to investigate Mark's past life. Was his first wife's death really an act of suicide, and what if their new stepfather only is after their mother's money?

In contrast to Vivien's sudden happiness the three siblings are going through a bad patch. The oldest sister has neglected her marriage for her new job as a hospital manager, and her husband has left her. Jake, the brother, is deep in debt due to gambling problems, and is fighting hard to get his family back. The youngest sister has a long term affair with her boss, who has promised to leave his wife, and marry her, but will he ever do that?

The main character of the drama, however, is not a member of the family. It is Mary, the loveable, but prying next door neighbour, played by the excellent Imelda Staunton. She is an old friend of Vivien, and perhaps her feelings for Vivien are more than just friendly? Anyway, Mary is not happy to lose her old friend either. Will things work out in the end? My lips are sealed.

This really kept us wanting to watch more. Very classy actors. Imelda Staunton's character should get her own spin off show. I wanted her on screen all the time.