Gracepoint

As a standalone show it was pretty good but here's the problem - it was pretty much lifted from the original Broadchurch - shot for shot and identical dialogue so writing the screenplay would have been a virtual copy and paste. So obviously you have to rate this a little lower. Tennant was excellent as always but the accent did slip a few times. The female lead is not a patch on Olivia Colman (but who is?). The big advantages were the lovely Alisen Down (I just want to give her a hug every time I see her) and obviously the absence of Lenny Henry is a massive plus. It was a shame that everyone who has seen Broadchurch would be dismissing all the red herrings straight away and - maybe if they changed the killer from the original would have got it a 9 rating.

But watchable and entertaining if not a top-rate thriller with the acclaimed character range, complexity, atmosphere and acting chops Broadchurch brought to this genre. Then most shows touted as Broadchurch quality aren't.

David Tenant's detective is intentionally charmless and interpersonally challenged. His partner would be fired in real life for her sappy lack of professionalism as, though repeatedly warned, she keeps advocating for the family. And none of the lesser roles are very interesting.

Love the beachy town. Plot fairly involving. Nick Nolte does an entirely credible job playing an old geezer while the young journalists could be played by anybody nice looking.

I find it irritating, in reality too, that the family vs police theme revolves around their resentment at not being let inside all the investigative operations, thinking, discoveries. Police don't help because they refuse to explain exactly why total transparency is out of the question, their liason is equally ill-equipped to field family's frustration, and at times, detectives promise to keep them abreast when to do so risks undermining attempts to find the culprit and could jeopordize a future court case.

More than half way through I can't yet predict who done it though I can spot some red herrings.

If you are a Tennant fan and can suspend the obvious comparison to Broadchurch, by which this version is a hands-down impoverished relative, give Gracepoint a chance. Undemanding, rather bland fare, but not as awful as some critics claim.

Godawful remake of the British series "Broadchurch" with David Tennant repeating his role as the lead investigating cop and Anna Gunn replacing Olivia Colman as Miller. The only other "names" in the cast are Jacki Weaver as Susan and Nick Nolte as Jack. The rest of the cast is lousy and act as if they're in a daytime soap.

The series tries to be a scene-for-scene remake of the British series and makes one ask, "What's the point?"

Tennant is a real oddity, trading in his normal Scottish accent for some sort of flat American one that seems forced. Gunn is a decade too old for the part of Miller.

The actress playing Beth is too strident and the actors playing Mark and the priest are way too creepy to gain any sympathy.

Stick to the original and don't waste your time of this muck.

I understand that many folks are staying away from the show because they are upset that FOX has made a mirror image of a highly regarded series, seemingly merely for the fact that it was "too British" for American audiences.. But as my cable option only added BBCAmerica half way through the network's broadcast of "Broadchurch" I have waited with baited breath for the "Gracepoint" and the very talented David Tennant to arrive on my screen. I was not disappointed. I urge folks to judge "Gracepoint" on its own merits. Yes, it was wrong for FOX do to what it did. But even if "Gracepoint" is a pale imitation of the original, it still is vastly superior to most USA fare. It pains me to think that drivel such as "Scorpion" becomes a hit with U.S. audiences while intelligent dramas such as "Gracepoint" flounder.

Broadchurch or Gracepoint? I'm sorry but I don't understand why this remake was necessary. Why bother? On the face of it, Gracepoint looks OK but - I say again, Why? Firstly, Broadchurch was faultless. It was probably the best drama of its kind. Ever. Why mess with perfection? Secondly, why oh why get David Tennant to do it all over again? They could at least have had the decency to let some American play the part instead of persuading Tennant to adopt an uncharacteristic American accent. (I also question David Tennant's sanity in accepting this role - money maybe). And for the record, Danny's father in this version is totally unconvincing and does not have the impact it should. Somehow, there is this inability for Americans to follow the 'Britishness' of the English language. What is that all about? We, in England, suffer American programmes on a daily basis (some very good / others really not so good) and we don't complain about it. We don't feel the need to make our own version of American programmes. We have the intelligence to decipher the Americans relentless ability to completely deconstruct the English language and what's more we put up with it. Strangely, we also have the ability to understand all of your distinctly odd dialects. If Americans would just get over themselves and watch the original Broadchurch, I'm sure they could not be anything other than moved and amazed by it. I watched the first episode of Gracepoint and decided there was no point in watching any more. Having seen Broadchurch I was not interested in seeing a different version to compare it to. People of America, do yourselves a favour - watch the original.