Unforgotten

With an intelligent and engrossing plot, excellent casting, production, and camera work, you can't ask for much more.

BUT we do get much more in the stunning level of acting. And / or direction - as a non-filmie I can't really tell who is making it so good. Enough to say that everyone is continually great in their roles. Totally believable. Contrast this to the vast majority of shows where half the people just parrot the script when cued.

In acting chops, Nicola Walker stands out even among so many experts. A perfect choice for the role and she does it perfectly. It's unjust that her name does not appear in the IMDb front page "stars" list.

Odd as well is the deus ex machina arrangement of her story in Season 4.

Now about Season 5: The melodrama is ramped up with more frequent heart-to-hearts and all those taking longer. Longer too are the holds on the close-up facial shots. Apparently on the theory that if some is good, more is better, and too much is just enough.

My advice is to skip Season 5. You won't be missing anything.

Because of personal experiences, I usually avoid brutal/graphic shows and movies, but Unforgotten handles these issues better than most so I always watch. Exploring just one case per season works well. It's such a multi-faceted show, covering a much wider range of topics and isn't stereotypical, so comes across more realistically to me. If you want something similar but real-life, watch The Pembrokeshire Murders.

We enjoyed Ms. Walker in Spooks (Mi5) and River. She seems ageless. In some of her roles, she look like your aunt, while sometimes being very pretty (I mean that in a good way). In this entry, she leads a homicide team checking out, in the first two seasons, 2 separate cold cases. We get to know Nicola's character, and most others quite well (a Hallmark of Brit cinema).

As well as good conflict & character development, the show benefits from crisp pacing (6 episodes of 45 mins instead of 8x65). If you are a binge watcher (thank you Netflix and BritBox), you can sample a season in 2 days without booking off work! We found Season 2's storyline superior to the first one. There is a whodunit element to the series, but, as I wrap up Season 2, I can honestly say the writers have played it close to the vest. Enjoy!

Footnote: Both seasons involve cases involving 'deviant' sexual behaviour, which is not shown, but discussed, as related to the crimes being investigated. Hence, proceed at own risk.

Hands down the best British crime drama I've ever seen.

yes, it's a murder and a 'whodunit' but it is so much more than that.

the characters are well directed and acted and feel totally believable. the detective work builds as the story unfolds and leaves you wanting to know what happens next.

it's not like any wam bam cop story from the US which may not be to everyone's taste. it's just far more realistic and solid with each character 3d. there's some humour and some sadness and lots of realism. the characters are real people, they don't have ridiculous hair, teeth and smiles or know things in a semi mystical way. they work it out and have hangovers and sometimes cry. You know, like real life.

I thoroughly recommend that you watch this.