Shades

I don't know how this six part fantasy-drama slipped past everyone. It was a decent and enjoyable romp through the afterlives of two seemingly normal people.

Maeve and Mark meet different ends and come together in a kind of semi-earthly limbo. They can talk to people they have never known but what is said is almost immediately forgotten. They can't communicate at all with anyone they knew during their lives.

Each episode wraps up nicely, although there is a six part story to keep track of.

The dramatic twists focus around the relatives and friends of the two deceased protagonists. The seemingly bad are actually revealed as good and the angelic have secrets to hide!

The chemistry between the leads seems a bit forced at times, but it's a minor quibble which didn't disturb the general course of events too much.

Like another reviewer (There are only two so far!) I watched all of the episodes back to back propped up on a pillow!

I was often wishing that they would have had fun with their abilities but the series takes itself quite seriously and there aren't any laughs to be had at all.

The crisp direction meant that each episode was over without me realizing that an hour was up, so despite the lack of humor, I still came out the other end satisfied and happy that I'd watched it all.

Reuniting the leads of Ballykissangel probably seemed like a great idea. But Kirwin is rather unlikeable, much like her always-mad-about-something character in Ballykissangel but jabbering endlessly here instead of silently pouting. Tompkinson is extremely whiny and has the same look of confusion that we assumed meant angst in his previous role as a priest. Interestingly, they were the first to dump Ballykissangel for greener pastures and the show really suffered for it. They were the dour straight men off of whom the quirky fun characters were able to shine. They're still the dour straight men - but that's about all there is to them. I'm only a few episodes in and it's not quite bad enough to give up on - so I'll keep going another episode I suppose. Not a glowing recommendation there.

An unusual and imaginative ghost story with many twists. Two widely different people die on the same day and find themselves still on Earth and able to interact with others under certain conditions. They can be seen by strangers but not by people who once knew them. And the strangers forget about them as soon as they loose eye contact. But a trace memory remains so they can affect a small amount of change. This creates many situations both comic and tragic. Fine acting and no special effects makes this a very entertaining series.