Bergerac

I'm old enough to remember watching the original Bergerac and always enjoyed it. A lot of time has passed since then and the people I watched it with have long since passed away. As a bit of a detective buff I wondered what was that I enjoyed about the original series so I watched a few d episodes ahead of watching the new one. I'm glad I did because there it was straight from the opening credits, the sheer beauty of Jersey itself! The new series could literally have been filmed anywhere and is all the weaker for it. Unfortunately the more I watch the more I realise that Bergerac 2025 is inferior in virtually every aspect. Damien Moloney is a decent actor but lacks the charm of John Nettles, the support cast are all lesser versions of the originals and Zoe Wanamaker is completely wasted here.

The long form story could have been an upgrade but 2 three part episodes or even 3 two parters would have been preferable as the story was fairly basic and stretching it over 6 episodes made for dull viewing at many stages which made the lack of use of the beautiful surroundings even more difficult to understand.

Mention must be made of the excellent Phillip Glenister who stands head and shoulders above all others involved and left me wondering if he wouldn't have been better suited to the titular lead role.

All in all not terrible and probably better for those who have never seen the original but it could have been so much better.

Kate Wakefield is killed inside her home, DCI Jim Bergerac is off on the sick following the death of his wife and a problem with alcohol. Bergerac pleases with his boss to be allowed to operate as a special advisor.

I'm struggling to associate this show with some of the negative reviews I've read, this was a very good first series, very watchable, very consistent, a cut above most things I've seen recently.

I really liked the mystery, I liked the pacing, the characters and the production, the location work was terrific, I couldn't reply find a lot to criticise, even at six episodes long it worked.

I thought Damien Molony was very well cast as Bergerac, I definitely got the impression of a troubled man, trying his best, but failing. I grew up watching John Nettles, but I'm more than happy with Molony.

Very good performances from the likes of Pippa Haywood, Stephen Wight and Philip Glenister, I thought Aidan McArdle was terrific.

More please.

8/10.

As others have said this is a lazy adaptation of an old classic. The story arc which goes over six episodes could have been done in two, the misanthropic cop who can't communicate with anybody let alone his daughter who is in desperate need of support is so old and overwritten it is ridiculous. The constant railing against authority which was nuanced and effective in the original is just a blunt hammer in this one. The main actor himself I'm not sure about if it's the script or his delivery but it is so wooden and unsympathetic is a hard watch. I must admit I fast forwarded through most of this as I guess who done it early on, and frankly the male "intuitive " posturing was so bizarre - literally just yelling at his boss in front of the team - let me just... I was like can you not...

I'm a fan of Damien Molony.

I'm a fan of the original Bergerac (albeit I was a tiny kid when it was on our TVs).

I love the Channel Islands.

What's not to love?

It was OK.

It just needs to be more succinct.

Faster paced.

Each case could and should be completed in two episodes - just like "Silent Witness" or "Unforgotten".

This dragged on at a snails pace.

It was missing something - I cannot put my finger on "what". Possibly just pace and story arc. I hope it's renewed for a second season taking viewer feedback on board.

I was looking forward to the new Bergerac. I'm left slightly disappointed.

There is nothing barely redeemable about this remake. The storyline isn't new, the acting is almost as bad as a children's school play and none of the characters had any depth.

It's incredulous that this even got funding. The 'whispering' DCI character, the back stabbing DI and lack of basic police procedure we know from other crime shows. There was no drama, no edge of the seat tension and no real motivation to watch the remaining episodes than to at least give it a chance.

Add to this a complete lack of plausible 'rich' people behaviour - we know any wealthy person would have used their private connections to sideline Bergerac sooner. It's dubious anyone had watched the original show or had a clue about how to write an evolving story.