Winter

"Winter" is an odd one - the cinematography shows occasional spots of brilliance, but is, mostly, simple and functional; the acting is on the spot, with each actor playing their characters efficiently, not missing a beat; the direction is crisp, and so is the editing; this is one of those shows where everything except the plot is good.

Twists abound in the end, and the finale is one to be watched, because it is just so good. However, the red herrings thrown in here and there were never convincing enough - the ideal red-herring is one that is well-justified, but not for the reason we think it to be, and masks the hints that foreshadow the real fact; in this case, though, there are no hints whatsoever to be masked, and some reveals are just like "Uh huh. Ok." instead of "How did I not see that coming??"

In addition, the characters are actually nothing so special. Take Castle. Castle himself is quirky, has a sense of humor, loves adventures, and is basically a big kid. But he also has the ability to show pathos towards his fellow investigators and has good observation skills, which make sense given his novelist background.

Consider House, M.D. He's sarcastic, caustic, permanently ticked-off, insulting, brash, ingenious, playful (to the extent of causing harm) but committed to his work as a doctor.

Now consider Eve Winter. Nothing special, just the typical cop with a haunting past, who is trying to do justice by the victims who keep her work coming. Nothing to write home about.

Consider the Fed, Jake. He just wants a confession and keeps getting into loggerheads with Winter. Nothing special there, either. The only one with a hint of personality is Indiana herself, and thank God for that, because otherwise the entire cast could be replaced by everymen and the story wouldn't change much.

Regardless, I'm giving this an 8/10 for an overall solid show. Good entertainment, but don't expect to be hooked until the penultimate episode.

There are two parallel plots that sometimes gets in the way of this otherwise engaging police procedural. The solid acting and direction is why I upped my rating from what I really think (6.5) to 7.0. The effort to keep both the local and federal investigations in the center of the story often creates tangents that dilute the suspense. Also, the police in both camps commit mistakes that I don't believe would happen in real life but are used here to simply insert action and use up time. Minor flubs made me shake my head such as why a criminal would mount the timer for a car bomb in full view on the dashboard. Or why a police artist's sketch of a suspect would not *immediately* be electronically circulated to all involved. However, despite these little things and the slightly irritating over-development of some peripheral characters whose demise and/or personal dramas serve little purpose, I wanted to follow this to the end because there were a few central questions to be answered. And, oddly, this was the first time I've been constantly distracted by an actor's mustache or non-mustache. What is up with Lachlan's unattractive shadow above his lips?

Like the book you don't put down... it was the day I got nothing done. Just when you have your puzzle pieces almost together the wind comes up and blows them around adding new color. Absolutely loved it. I want another crime from this team.

*sigh* Well I was hoping to cove something else in my first review but I suppose this will have to do.

I think it's biggest problem is quite simply the fact that it's no different than EVERY OTHER POLICE DRAMA EVER! Well apart from the Australian accents (although it does remind me a little of City Homicide back from 2011 and seems to suffer from dullness, anyway I digress).

Almost all of the scenes contain the protagonist played by Rebecca Gibney and a lot of the series would rest on her acting ability. Well... it's not bad, but she's trying so hard to be the tough independent female that her character seems to be a little bit of a mary sue just because she's so one-note. Probably more of the writing and directing at fault to be honest and it's causing the lead role to perform in an almost satire of her character. Maybe her character will be more flushed out in the future but this should have happened in it's predecessor The Killing Fields.

I'm not sure why Channel 7 is trying so hard for this show to succeed putting it in a prime time slot but it saddens me that something with a little more spice could have been put there.

I'd probably would have criticised it a lot more if there was anything to criticise.

TL;DR It's bland, so bland it's hard to call bad. Even bad can be entertaining.

6 Episodes were a little tiring. 4 would have been much better with the cutting of some peripheral characters as the main plot alone was excellent.

The other thread was about drugs that to me was irrelevant and distracting.

The plot holes were irritating and obvious, particularly where the composite of a suspect was deleted from the police digital files. That would not happen.

Also a supposedly sharp cop left themselves wide open to being shot knowing there was a rogue cop of the loose.

Also speaking of rogue cops - why do they always take potential suspects/victims into their own homes for protection? And never being charged? See also rogue cop-informant not being charged either.

The side romances also distracted. Seems like this crew of cops are a hotbed of barely suppressed and unsuppressed sexuality. None of it quite believable.

Winter is an enjoyable character. Would like to see more of her and less of her hairy love interest.

On Acorn.

8/10.