From Darkness

There was every opportunity for this to be another ripping British detective drama. It had moments when you are fooled into thinking the script will get back on track, and then ....wtf is this nonsense...

I managed to limp along to the end and regret it.

Its not even that the writer was piling cliches into the script, there were some good twists and plenty of opportunity for original storylines. But the idea that anyone would let the main character anywhere near a police investigation is laughable. There's the stereotypical flawed character, and then there's ridiculous... and we go well beyond ridiculous here.

I wasn't able to finish watching the first episode...

Lots of shots of Claire Church gazing deeply (into the past) with accompanying visual and sound effects. Close ups of quivering lips and tears and other such artifacts.

Little else going on, the usual "boss (es) not happy with progress".

Then the flashbacks started, that did it for me, had to hit the kill switch.

The most entertaining part provided by DS Anthony Boyce, the Oxford educated dog-hating, orange juice drinking, seasick, hung over assistant.

But ultimately worth the effort. Plot moves along slowly and overall it is not easy to keep up with what is happening. One good thing is that it is only four episodes so thankfully not too painful.

Featuring a stellar turn from the always reliable Anne-Marie Duff, this detective series escapes from excellence. So close, but the emotional bantering between the two main characters distracts from the impetus of the plot. In the end, it seems like the majority of 'From the Darkness' is comprised of relationship explorations and artistic mood shots. Too many times, I became involved only to find myself drifting away during the too many moments of personal angst. Overplayed, the emotional impact of the horrors of the situation in which these characters find themselves is dulled and a detriment to the overall impact. Which is a pity. A show like this needs cohesive plot, uninterrupted by relationship and personal turmoil. Perhaps the audience for this series is an altogether animal from my preferences, but more judicious editing is needed to make this the top notch show it should have been.

This is just a terrible series from every possible perspective! The script is bad, the plot unrealistic, the editing is a jumble of scenes that appear to be stuck together in a random manner, and the cinematography goes overboard with close ups of eyes, nostrils, mouths, all to the point of ridiculousness. Even if one tried to follow the incomprehensible plot, it all appeared so disconnected that it was impossible to unravel. As other reviewers have pointed out, The writers seemed to have been trying to make this like a Scandinavian noir detective series where all the characters have some life issue, however this just falls flat here! The ending suggests that the creators had hoped for a second season but thankfully the BBC must have decided that one was enough pain to inflict on viewers! Do not waste your time on this....you'll regret it!