Paranoid

The basic plot is thin and has been done dozens of times. That wouldn't be a problem, if the execution were good. It isn't.

The plot is mainly driven by silly actions. OK, it is about mental problems, but does this mean that every other person has to suffer from them? A detective has panic attacks, is frequently either stunned or out of control, but nobody seems to care or even notice. He takes drugs, gets only worse, but doesn't think to consult his physician. Instead he eats them like candy. A witness refuses to cooperate with the police, but rather goes on to tamper with evidence and kidnap and torture a suspect on his own. Another officer seems to suffer from severe hormonal problems, another is personally involved but doesn't feel the need to excuse himself. In critical situations, officers are utterly unable to deal with criminals, don't seem to be able to use a gun, or just call it in. Oh, and someone feels guilty about and another freaks about some supposedly "pornographic" photos which turn out to be pretty mild erotica. The whole thing feels like it isn't about psychiatry, but takes place in a psychiatric ward. Or maybe it's meant to be a parody, but without the funny bits.

The cinematography is good and the actors decent, considering what horrible script they had to work with. Only Christiane Paul sticks out, but in a bad way, as a completely overacted "quirky" German police officer.

It's a crime drama with a tone problem. The tone problem comes from the awkward and melodramatic romantic subplot between the lead detectives, and the odd construction of Indira Varma's character, which is the fault of the writer. Varma delivers a great performance even though the bad dialogue written for her role makes her character codependent on men. The relationship between her and her longtime boyfriend is forced, in order to manufacture conflict with her detective partner, and not believable. The series would have been better served by focusing on the role corporate corruption played in the crime. Christiane Paul, Polly Walker, and Kevin Doyle offer strong performances in their supporting roles.

Dreadful script, some really clunky lines, especially for poor Nina. The excellent actors did their best with it. Chris Crowley was superbly creepy and I loved the German duo but the wonderful Indira Varma's character was unnecessarily annoying. Denis looked like a superb character but never got the chance to get his teeth into anything.

It didn't quite know whether it was a thriller or a comedy or a romance - bit of a hodgepodge of everything.

While the story had me hooked until the end, it didn't feel satisfyingly tied up. Unexplained bits and unnecessary bits and just plain annoying bits.

So it was pretty awful, but enjoyably so.

The reviewer who gives one star is misguided. He likes Marcella which i felt was scattergun drivel. This Paranoid show has some soul and some pathos. Plus only 2 episodes in its all very interesting and mysterious and i have no idea where its headed. Don't listen to then reviewer he likes pap clearly. The main characters in this are believable and flawed and the story is believable enough to swallow. I say the actors are good and are a good mix that work well together. Its also not eerily dark tones which is all the rage these days and was good for a show or two but now is pretentious and annoying. Anyway i like it and it has enough mix of plot, storyline and character unrevealing to keep me going.

Watched this recently and was a bit disappointed. The writer or perhaps the director seemed to be in a muddle. There were some good sections, Germany some of the police investigations but then it diverted into soap opera world. This must be one of the worse police sections in the world. Nina intentionally annoying, I hope, would not last a day on a real police force and as for Bobby he should have been on sick leave a year ago. Germany was good but when Nina came on I was almost throwing the remote at the tv. Worth a watch but be prepared to be frustrated.