Hidden

It's hard to watch all these talented actors with nothing to do.

The premise of this sounded great, and since it is a limited series, I figured, "What the heck?" I have to say that on the whole I was impressed with the show - pacing, intricate plotting, etc. Were all first-rate. However, there are two major issues I have with it:

1 - For the most part, it is very difficult to empathize with many of the characters in this story. In particular, the main character, Harry Venn, is rather coarse and unlikeable. I've not seen Philip Glenister in anything else, so from this one show alone, I have no idea if the man is capable of smiling or not. And almost all of the other characters are equally unlikeable at the very least. Smarmy politicians and sociopathic killers predominate.

2 - There is at least one (if not several) major plot line that is never fully explained. I won't risk a spoiler here by describing it in detail, but trust me, you will feel just as irritated as I did when the show finishes and you're left with a mammoth "Huh?"

All that said, though, it's still a viscerally exciting run of a few hours. I just think they might have invested perhaps one more episode to tie up some of the loose ends.

At least as Gene Hunt, Philip Glenister had some charisma. As Harry Venn, he as none. Neither are the rest of the characters very interesting. Add to that an incoherent and wildly implausible plot, and the best things about this miniseries are the street scenes in London & Paris. Why as high as 4*s? It's like the SAT exams. You get 200 points for remembering your name. (That's an urban legend, btw.)

This is a great show which is why I take IMDb reviews of British, Scandinavian, Aussie shoes with a grain of salt. Too bad there aren't more episodes.

"Hidden" is a four-part British thriller starring Philip Glenister and Thekla Reuten.

The story is wild, one of those government corruption tales. Government corruption is feasible, and in real life there were riots in Britain and resignations of officials. But there were other elements of this plot that put it on the fanciful side.

Glenister is Harry Ven, a solicitor, is asked by attorney Gina Hawkes (Reuten) to find a alibi witness for her client. This witness also has information about Ven's late brother Mark 20 years earlier.

The plot takes off from there into a political conspiracy. This includes a plan to take over the government by a billionaire. He has an assassination bureau that gets rid of anyone in their way.

David Suchet plays Sir Nigel Fountain, a relative of Hawkes', and he's amazing. At first I didn't recognize him.

The end is a downer because it really doesn't end. There's ambiguous and there's nothing - this was nothing.

The acting was good, with Philip Glenister attractive in a disheveled kind of way and totally believable.

Okay.