The Level

I tend to agree with Mr Ogden. This was a very uneven production. However, the main characters were miscast and their performances rather wooden. The plot had real potential - an interesting view of crime and police relationships on a professional and personal basis, rather than plain old cops and robbers. The layers of deceit and the twists and turns in the story do credit to the writer. There were a few cringe moments when the script seemed to slide off the edge of the turntable, but these would not have been so noticeable, had the acting been more credible. However, I felt that this was not entirely the fault of the actors, but rather poor directing. The ending left an obvious door open for a sequel. I will probably watch it in hope that the direction is improved and better performances drawn out of the cast, though I doubt the lead investigator could be made more realistic, sadly.

I have just watched this over 4 nights over here in NZ. It was a solid work, gripping to the point of silencing my son (16 so old enough!) when the final episode was on. I found the story intriguing with good acting. There were only 2 moments where I though "wow, really??" but both were obviously in order to move the story along. While a fellow reviewer called the main character a snowflake (gah!) who didn't live up to her story reputation it needs to be kept in mind that she has just lost a key person in her life and sustained an injury - it's true she's no John McClane, and I can live with that. The story is as much about her and her personal relationships as it is the whodunit thriller. Sit back and enjoy the ride. The only criticism I found was that Noel Clarke's character was a little one dimensional, I would love another series with more character progression for him. LOVED IT!

Have you watched all the episodes.. and was it all that horrible.. no. When a show kinda works, you don't readily think about quitting.. and if you can get though the script without saying it's absolute bs.. then it's in the running. All the actors in The Level admirably perform their parts, and you don't have much of a problem with any one of them in particular. Does it break ground.. that's hard for most any show today.. but for the most part it works, and it's on the schedule to look forward to the next episodes. There's lots of programming to watch.. is it all the best it can be, hardly.. but this one's not that bad. Will it continue for multiple seasons.. that remains to be seen, but so far, am willing to at least give it a chance.

The Level is yet another crime drama from the UK. That's not a bad thing in itself but I do feel, at times, they start to run short of ideas and The Level is a case in question.

Firstly lets look at the good. Its predictably well acted, directed and ably creates an atmosphere of rising tension, that fits well with the series overriding plot.

The bad is reflected in the fact that the whole notion, is a little far fetched. The proposition of a cop having a personal link with an individual from a questionable, legal background is fine. Whats inexplicable are the cops actions after initial events unfold. Whilst most people would be keeping a low profile, maybe even resigning or transferring to stay off the radar, she wades into an investigation that stands to expose her. Of course, this is the at the heart of the story but it is in my opinion "weak tea" and more than a little implausible.

That's not to say this series is not watchable. It is for the most part but I found it stretched my credulity more than a little. Six out of ten from me.

...and patterns repeat and repeat, and the story adds a few too many flaws, even an excellently performed show like this falls down into nothingness. That's what happened here. But worth watching if you have no better thing to do.