Protection

I am writing this after series 1. I assume there won't be a second. This was a good series until the finale.

Maybe it was the strong cast that had kept me engaged (a lot of familiar B-listers but none of them really top billing) but the story just seemed to fall apart at the end. Maybe 6 episodes was too much for the writers.

I love Siobhan Finneran but this probably goes to show that she is a great support actress rather than a leading lady (even in Rita and Sue and Bob too see came second each time. The one time she came first there was an unsatisfactory outcome and the same goes for this show).

To have Siobhan, Katherine Kelly and Catherine Tyldesley in the first episode won me over but why they got as big a actress as Catherine Tyldesley for such a small role is beyond me (I guess she had a ship to catch) and she and Katherine Kelly are similar in looks and acting style.

I loved David Hayman as the cantankerous father, reluctantly having to give up on his independence as his health wanes and the way he acts with his daughter who dutifully followed him into the force is brilliantly written.

For a story made mainly in Liverpool, it did seem to have very few scousers but some great northern actors seeing the story through to a poor and convoluted conclusion.

As usual, as the plot thickens, the supposedly capable characters start doing stupid things to make it last longer?

I would say that the beginning episodes are the best, the last ones revolve around stupidity by characters. (Like why are they no using prepaid phones, not removing the sim cards, not saving information to an outside cloud,) and the list goes on...

Some good acting by supporting characters, main actor is not even in good enough shape to run without having a stunt double. Much better than American shows. More complex, more interesting. I would recommend if you ignore the logic flaws.

Even her turn in "Alma's not Normal" is excellent.

I have a feeling today's writers are stuck in the SAME tropes. This one uses at least 3 of them. The bratty kid, but wait, there are two in this one. The dementia riddled horrible father, who, surprisingly seems to have clarity at the right times, and of course, the bad bedfellow.

This was a, let's throw a lot of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. Unfortunately, this turns into 6 episodes of non-sense, with the typical 'baddie' guy and his voice, deciphering from his first scene, that he is not just a passing character whom information needs to garnered and forgotten about. Why can't these writers pick anyone of the real life stories that are so hard to believe these days, and build on this?

Siobhan is Liz. She is entrusted with a family in the witness protection and as zero spoilers will tell you, this goes tits up. Liz's sister is seen for a scene and then dunzo...Her superiors are awful humans, those of which can not be modeled on anyone remotely passable (and yet, there are 3!!), all awful. This is doing the laundry watching...hardly engaging.

Siobhan's Character is a dullard. Wardrobe has her dressed poorly with an awkward walk. When confronted with dangerous situations she's a bit of a deer in headlights. Granted, that's the script she was given so it's her character to do very little in those situations.

While I say this when only viewing three episodes, that is halfway through the show so her character is well established as a poor decision maker. While this drama takes place in the UK, it apparently doesn't have any CCTV every other UK show utilizes. So as I advance to each new episode, I'm having more questions about her decision making skills that have me wanting to just stop watching.

I typically jump at watching most all Brit crime shows, especially with a great cast of actors. Sadly, this plot was at best confusing and at worst not believable for the most part. I often enjoy mystery pot boilers, but this is not on that level. I hate to blame this mess on anyone in particular except for the writer.

It is difficult to stay invested in a story that includes inane plot lines, unbelievable twists, and no reason to believe that this would end in any way other than "black ops control everything," even without any rhyme or reason. If you want to watch an escapist mystery with no need to worry about the plot, this is for you!