What Remains

At heart, What Remains is an updated version of the country-house who-dunnit, a woman is murdered in a house that's been converted into 5 flats, and it's assumed that one of the other residents did it.

There's few tangible clues as to what happened so there's little for forensics to do - this is not CSI/Silent Witness. Instead the clues lie in the psychology and relationships of the residents - it's a bit Stephen Poliakoff in the way they're all prisoners of their pasts. So it explores the relationships of the suspects in a depth that you wouldn't normally see from Miss Marple.

Then on top of that you've got a few classic horror-movie buttons being pushed (not altogether successfully) and the hangdog detective working past his retirement date on just one last case. "You've all given up on finding the murderer, we owe it to this girl to find out what happened". It's a cliché because it works.

I can see why some people find the first half a bit slow, it's deliberately meant to be "static" and a bit claustrophobic with the vast majority of the action happening within the house. It maybe helped that I recorded it and watched the whole thing in one sitting, so didn't have a week to think about how little had apparently happened in any one episode.

On the other hand there's a few sub-plots in the middle that don't move the plot forward at all, they're just there so Giedroyc can expand his theme of loneliness in the city. It feels a bit self-indulgent when some of the residents' stories are left hanging at the end, either because he didn't know where to go or 20 minutes got left on the cutting room floor, it would be more satisfying if they had been resolved. I suppose it says something that you do care enough to want to know how things work out for them.

So this is not a show for people looking for car chases and shootouts. Personally I preferred Jane Campion's Top of the Lake which the BBC aired in the same slot a few weeks before. But if you've run out of Scandinavian detective box-sets to watch then this is a decent enough way to spend an evening.

The Brits have made and are making so many good (mini-)series that, for the sake of novelty, one should find a distinctive feature from time to time. In the one in question, the events happen in a tenement house mostly, and their origins bring us back to the time years ago. The occupants of the house are different and seem happy, but soon it appears that nothing is so good as it seems...

The tensions are maintained, the flashbacks are clarifying (not annoying and enhancing length as sometimes), and the cast measures up to their characters - without someone who is evidently "better", i.e. more interesting than others. Well, David Threlfall as DI Len Harper spent most time on screen and depicted his odd character very well, but as it is my first conscious perusal with his talent, he was just "good among the goodies". But I have certainly fixed him in my memory.

The ending / final solutions could have been less trivial, with a twist or something, but, luckily there were no supernatural forces included. And last but not least - the title! With a sophisticated and versatile meaning.

Somehow missed this first time around but have recently watched on catch-up. Truly excellent acting and gripping story. An absolute delight to watch. This shows what the BBC could do when it had a well funded drama budget. Please watch as I guarantee very few can watch this and not be impressed and frightened. Psycho definitely comes to mind.

I agree with a few other reviewers about the especially-twisting last segment. Stressful, laid it on a bit thick, but that did not diminish my enjoyment of the show. My strongest reaction to that was, we humans sure can miss a lesson (I think I can write this without being a spoiler): the new mix of tenants toward the end actually does what the first mix was so bummed about - not looking out for their neighbors.

I liked the acting, the characterization, the story. I happen to be reading about observation skills the last few weeks... working on perception bias (is what you first thought really a clear read on the situation), and this show ended up being a great lesson on that! Almost every scenario is at least a bit different than you would think on the outside. So, bravo on that.

I recommend a viewing for those who like the twisty mystery without excessive violence or ugliness!

I've watched the first 3 episodes (out of 4 I think) and am really enjoying this, as is my husband.

It is an intriguing mystery about a young woman found dead in an attic many months after her death, and a cop's attempts to find out who did it and why nobody noticed she was missing for so long.

For a TV drama, I'm finding this particularly gripping. It is very well directed and acted, particularly from the victim and the 17 year old son of the journalist. And its nice to see Russell Tovey's and Stephen Mackintosh's darker side - they are both very good too.

I can't think what else to write in this tenth line other that to recommend that you give it a go on catch up or catch it next time.