Chazzbat

I love a murder mystery, but I couldn't get past the annoying characters in this show. It's not just a few, it's every single one of them. I know this is meant to be a comedy, but I found the dialogue puerile; I didn't laugh once. Looking through creator Paul Doolan's list of credits, it's maybe no surprise I didn't enjoy this, as I'm not a fan of his other works.

I made it through the first episode, but I won't be tuning in for any more. It's disappointing, as there's a strong cast, and the murder mystery plot was well conceived. However, the dialogue lets the whole production down, which is a real shame. Timothy Spall et al may come to regret having this travesty on their CVs.

I love a good murder mystery. Unfortunately, this isn't one. It's not dreadful, but it's very predictable.

The majority of the characters are unlikeable. The brother's fiancée and her pals are all stereotypically vapid, money-hungry mean girls. They're downright rude to the main character, whom they've only just met. This is all contrived to colour your view of the main suspect, but it is too obvious. I love a red herring as much as the next murder mystery fan, but the screenwriters overdid it here.

I worked out who the killer was early on, but I stuck with it to see how our heroine pieced it all together.

The redeeming feature for me was the twist at the end, which I didn't see coming. For that alone I gave this film 6/10.

I loved the original Belgian series (which ended too soon, IMO), so I was curious to see how it would transpose into English. I'm delighted that they have stuck close to the source material, retaining the quirkiness and eccentricities of the main character.

Ben Miller has already proven his ability to play an uptight English detective in "Death in Paradise", so Jasper Tempest is right in his wheelhouse. Frances de la Tour plays his flamboyant and annoyingly intrusive mother very well.

Unfortunately, Donckers is lacking some of the passion and playfulness of her Belgian counterpart, which is rather disappointing. There is more emphasis on her relationship with her partner than with the Professor, which is a shame.

This is a decent effort, nonetheless, and certainly worth watching. I'll be interested to see if this is picked up for a second series.