The Gone

This six-part series featuring Acushla-Tara Kupe and Richard Flood in the lead roles is thoroughly enjoyable and will appeal to any fans of content in the Crime Drama genre...

Set in a small rural New Zealand town called Te Aroha (Mt Affinity in the show) the writing is excellent and each episode flows neatly into the next one as the suspense begins to build.

One of the coolest aspects of the Series is the infusion of the cultures of both New Zealand and also Ireland into the story - in both the spoken word and also in song (there are subtitles - but the language is concise and easily understandable).

Nowhere is this more poignant than in the funeral (Tangi) scene where Native New Zealand Maori "Waiata" is followed by a beautiful Irish song performed by the father of one of the missing Irish visitors.

The acting is first class - especially the performances of the two lead actors, but they are also extremely well supported by a Cast of well-known New Zealand Actors and there are some fantastic performances by the Series' Irish contingent of actors.

Acushla-Tara and Richard slowly build a dynamic partnership throughout the episodes and despite the serious and suspenseful nature of the subject matter, the story is also punctuated by some light-hearted, humorous moments featuring some playful "Banter" and quintessential kiwi humour...

As a proud New Zealand viewer - I loved seeing even more of our beautiful Country on screen, and as far as suspense and twists go - this well told Crime Story does not disappoint!

Definitely worth a watch!

I can't believe people are giving this show anything less than a 7. It's thoroughly engaging and entertaining. Great story. Great characters. The scenery is of course spectacular and beautifully shot. All the leads are spot on. Acting is brilliant. Someone complained it's too long. ????? I totally do not agree. There were many scenes when the director could have called cut maybe 3 seconds sooner true. But to make that a serious complaint is to be a complete whiner. I'm in my late 60's and been watching TV my whole life and have no patience for poor quality TV or a dud watch. There is so much to watch, I have a long list of shows to watch and never sit through anything I'm not completely enjoying. This was a thoroughly enjoyable watch and I highly recommend it.

I liked it when the detective hero loses a fight with a passing teenager right at the start. Refreshing not to have the lead character a super-hero who outfights everyone.

We then get a glimpse of New Zealand society. In particular the life of the Maori.

How they were ill-treated in the past, and are still far from equal.

And also real imperfect characters. Different from each other.

We start with one mystery, and then several more crop up.

The season ends with at least one mystery cleared up. More for Season two, I assume.

And some excellent scenery. Places where real people are living and having complex lives.

Like most Kiwis I suffer from cultural cringe, and I was only watching because I know someone who knows someone on the show.

Therefore I was pleasantly surprised by a mostly well acted crime drama. Yes, there are some clichés like the cop with a troubled past, and someone returning home to their small town to confront some unresolved family dramas. Acushla-Tara Kupe is very good as Diana Huia. Richard Flood does a solid job. There's a nice blend of Maori culture and language.

The story is well-paced, and New Zealand's scenery makes an impression as always. I hope it finds an appreciative audience overseas, we're too harsh on our own.

I wasn't going to watch this as I often find NZ dramas can be poorly acted or with thin story lines but eventually gave an episode a go. I was drawn in after about 20 minutes and ended up watching the full series over 3 nights.

Acting was good by both the NZ and Irish contingent. Story line was also good and tense at times. I think the blend of Irish and NZ themes worked well together. As someone who watches a lot of UK crime dramas I think this stacks up pretty well with some of the better ones.

Scenery beautiful and score pretty good. Definitely recommend to anyone who likes well paced crime dramas.