User reviews

As others have commented, the constant winding back of time is confusing and takes some getting used to. I had to watch episodes 1 and 2 a second time in order to be sure I was making sense of it. However, having done so, it has become compelling to watch. It's an interesting and brave attempt to try a different take on the stock gritty police procedural murder mystery. As a one off, OK, it's worth sticking it out, if only to see how it can all be resolved without jumping forwards again, but I'm not sure I would bother if there were a second series. I, too, seem to think there's a disappointingly obvious twist coming and I'm only at ep 3, still there's time to be proved wrong, or else perhaps wind back the clock further and change the plot :-)

Firstly, I agree with the first review submitted, it is kinda hard to keep a track of what is going on...However, as also acknowledged by the title, it is purposefully done this way, otherwise it would just be another serial killer TV series, with the same old theme, so I think it is a brave attempt at something different, to try and keep your mind guessing!

I have to say though, this is not new, it has been done before, although this is far more adventurous given it spans six episodes.

Overall, I do understand the issue from the first review, but I found once I got used to the time shifts, which admittedly did take me about 20 - 30 minutes, I could keep up with the overall general plot-line, but maybe with missing the odd thing. From what I have understood, time shift occurs around the time when the narrative takes on a specific meaning, if you watch the 'key' bit (no spoilers promise), you will understand what I mean. So this may help if you are yet to watch and intrigued. It also ties up the beginning and end sequences, so you are not left with a totally mind boggling finish, how this will pan out over 6 episodes though I am unsure!

I would recommend this is given a chance, I don't think it has more than one series in it, but then I don't think that is the intention, I believe this is a one off series. Either way, I have marked it based on a fairness for trying new things, but no higher than 7 as once you get the gist of what's going on, there are no dramatically new police story lines (that I can tell), and so it is just a different way of telling the same usual 'cop chases serial killer' story line.

The now tedious fad of winding a plot backwards or rather in this case not just backwards but in different sequences like a messed up jigsaw is plain annoying. It smacks of the writers being too lazy to write a decent plot so instead they just segment the whole thing mix it up and leave you to do memory games for what must be their entertainment rather than yours. Shame I like the lead actor from Game of Thrones and the leading black actress is pretty compelling. Into episode 3 it's quite obvious unless I have overreached what the twist is going to be. Could have been very good but you just know it won't be.

From the writers of the brilliant Missing we now have Rellik which is of course killer in reverse. If you watched the second season of Missing you may remember this had a habit of leaping backwards and forwards at times was confusing to follow but ultimately all the boxes were ticked. Well with Rellik the producers have gone the whole hog and made the entire series in reverse, with the ending being at the start of the first episode. It seems to have devided opinion amongst critics and I have to admit it's very hard to follow at times. But like Missing stick with it all will become clear. This is far to good to give up on after just a couple of episodes as the ending is extremely clever and ultimately rewarding. My advice watch it as a box set together it is much easier to follow.

The first ep is confusing, as you need to get used to the backward storytelling, as well as the introduction of a lot of new characters. But this turned out to be a totally brilliant series. Some have dissed this series after only 1 ep (I ask you) which is just plain nuts. A few of the reviews just appear to be either seriously dumb, lazy or both. You have to make the effort with this and focus, but it's worth it as the pay-off is dramatic as well as tragic.

The acting of the 2 leads, Richard Dormer and Jodi Balfour is amazing as well as the chemistry between their 2 characters, DCI Gabriel Markham and DI Elaine Shepherd. They are investigating a brutal serial killer who likes to dowse his victims in acid. With each backward jump in time, you'd think there would be less known in the investigation, but actually as viewers we see and learn more. By the end of the 5th episode it's clear who the killer is, then in the finale we jump forward to where the 1st ep left off and move forward as normal, and what a finale! For me this was the best UK TV drama of the year. Nothing else even comes close.

The British know a lot about non-boring TV serieshows. The plot and presentation are kept until the very end - sensibly filmed. The script, like the acting, is sometimes very pleasing. Perhaps he will not be able to pull up to the Oscar. But the ratings of it are clearly understimated. Underestimated.

I have watched the first episode twice and still can't relate to the characters, the plot or the overall presentation. I find the odd camera angles bizarre and the wind backs really stupid. You are just beginning to make some sense of it all, when the clock winds back and you are starting from another angle. Seems like the producers are running out of ideas for a good story and think that the post modern 'arty' approach is the way to go. Even the pretentious title of 'Killer' backwards is overthought and tedious. Shan't be watching another episode, but I can only hope it gets better. Please BBC give us some well written and paced 'noir' like Spiral or the Scandie noir genre.

Lots of negative reviews and maybe I can see why - it's not easy viewing but the more I watch the more fascinating it becomes. So often with crime dramas one can sort of see where things are heading - that's what makes them reasonably easy to watch and enjoyable and somewhat bland. Rellik turns that on it's head - the impressions and ideas one builds about the characters and plot may be completely undermined later in an episode or in a subsequent episode - a twist that, instead of changing the future story arc, means you have to change your understanding of what you thought you already knew. I think it's incredibly clever writing and plotting - the more one engages with it the more engaging it becomes.

As it went on I cared less about getting to the end/beginning, clever it maybe but an effort to watch.

Keep in mind I base this solely on the pilot.

But watching a story go back and forth between past and present, is kind of confusing. It start out with some person who's face is badly burned/scarred,walking up to a person outside a kindergarten or children school. Telling him it's over,and to give himself up. After that,the story unfolds backwards. To unravel who the perp. Is and what he had done.

Which to me, makes it kind of hard to follow. Cause it switches constantly between how far in the past it goes.Then,when you feel you got the grasp of it,it messes up the time line again.

My biggest problem is that, there's nothing to hold on to,to make you care. I feel like I walked into a theater in the middle of a movie

I doubt this will last more than one season.

I'll be honest I find this quite difficult to review, I loved it, but everyone I watched it with hated it, calling it confused and muddled, to some extent I see their point of view. Personally I truly enjoyed it, with the exception of the first episode, I came close to switching it off several times I didn't really get into it, from episode two however I was hooked, that was exceptional and set the tone for the rest of the show. Rosalind Eleazar was utterly fabulous in episode two, it was the scenes between her and Richard Dormer that hooked me, exceptional TV. Dormer and Jodi Balfour were superb throughout, making a superb duo, the chemistry was visible. Plaudits also for the makeup team, the work that must have gone into the characters of Markham and Christine is unreal, adding a different dimension to the show. I liked the way the story was told, sadly the general public clearly didn't as the show hemorrhaged its viewers, I wonder had it been told in real time over a shorter term would it have worked better? The last episode was fabulous and certainly worked better the way it was told. Different, quality viewing.

Such a shame. Excellent acting and typical BBC big screen production but all let down by a mind numbingly boring script and completely ridiculous jumping around the time line of events. It's actually hard to believe that any TV production company took on this dreadful story, but it's harder to believe that they thought it could be a success. The mind boggles. Without question the worst BBC drama I've ever seen

This show is exceptional, all people complaining that it was too confusing maybe should just stick to CSI or Castle, where they don't have to involve their thinking too much. Rellik's concept is different to what we are usually served with, the whole show is going back in time to "understand motives" and it's brilliantly executed. The story unwinds slowly leading to a surprising and brilliant ending, or should I say beginning? Performance, visuals, even soundtrack are stunning. Watch it if you are not easily put off by bit of a challenging concept of playing with time. And it seriously isn't confusing at all, providing you are an intelligent human being who isn't too lazy to engage their gray matter a little;)

I thought that it couldn't get worse. I'm watching it because my partner is able to watch this sort of stuff. it is the worst drama series that the BBC have ever produced. At one point a hospital bed revelation was made and the unsuspecting victim overheard it (accidentally) as the woman lay her head on his chest and told him something he wasn't supposed to hear. Surely writers know when they're writing rubbish. The whole pretext is nonsense, the plot's ridiculous, the script is woeful.

Riveting, twisted, and if not original in concept certainly original in presentation (at least for TV). Every piece of the puzzle is put in its place with mathematical precision (and no, it's not that confusing - if you have a functioning brain, that is!). The visuals and sounds of going back in time are somehow spine-tingling - after a while, you begin to wait for them. It really is a brilliant concept: instead of the usual cause-and-effect viewing order, here you first see the effect and later the cause. The only flaw is that you'll probably be able to guess the killer at the end of the 4th episode. But even if you do, there are still more things to be revealed. Very well acted by all - Jodi Balfour is superb and a revelation. Highly recommended, if you like serial killer thrillers and don't mind exploring new ways to tell a story. *** out of 4.

Initially this looked as if it would be a really good crime series. The interplay between the two principles pointed to history together. That was what happened. Lots of meaningless flashbacks that will one day, no doubt be explained and complete the story.

Life is too short to carry an entire plot across all episodes.

This series is totally ruined by all the flashbacks. If they had just told the story from beginning to end then it would have been a decent production.

I got halfway through episode two and stopped. No redeeming features.

When I started watching this, the time line ticking back took a little getting used to but by the end of the first episode I was hooked. This is a very compelling, brilliantly original approach to a whodunit drama. The plot is multi layered and enough is served up at each stage to make not binge watching the next episode almost impossible.

The acting was solid in particular Richard Dormer and Isaac Taylor, with Jodi Balfour proving she really is a standout after her notable previous performance in the excellent adaptation of Max Collins's Quarry.

The directing is subtle, slick, and atmospheric where needed without being over egged.

I highly recommend Rellik. If you enjoy the likes of Luther, you will love this. Allow yourself the full first episode to settle into the style of the writing & time line structure and you will be rewarded by this gem of a series that will keep you guessing through it's twists and turns.

I don't normally watch series like this - I find the crimi series predictable and repetitive. But I read that Rellik had a story told backwards and I thought "hey, maybe this will be interesting and different". I was wrong.

The idea was great - to concentrate not on story development and character actions, but on their motives and the reasons they did them, and at the same time not reveal the killer until the latest possible moment. I also liked that it was relatively realistic in terms of real police work and how long some things take. I liked that the main character was a broken man and his lover was quite sexy. But that's about all the good things I can say.

The killer was obvious from the start. It's very disappointing to find out you were right with your suspicions all along. It's good to give certain clues, but by episodes 3 and 4 they were basically shouting it in the audience's faces. There were many subplots that went absolutely nowhere. Certain reveals were so poorly written, as if by a 5-year-old. The killer was supposedly smart and careful and yet acted like a lunatic after the reveal. The backwards watching prevents you from caring about any of the characters and the amount of characters makes the watch confusing (and not because I'm dumb an unable to follow it, thank you very much - it's simply poorly written). Also, it took only 6 episodes to create so much family drama, that it would feel like an year of The Bold and the Beautiful, and by that I mean it goes over the top towards ridiculousness.

I struggled to watch past episode 3 and I only watched to the end, because I had passed the half and I didn't want to believe that this series has absolutely nothing surprising or worth my time at least in the end. How naive of me.

Rellik, ('killer' backwards), isn't exactly told in reverse, but more in the natural way that normal people would tell stories, e.g. with sidebars, flashbacks, and oh-by-the-ways. Since we're conditioned to watch TV stories unfold in a linear way, Rellik may take getting used to, but it's brilliantly stitched together by writing-brothers Harry Williams and Jack Williams who seem genius in their ability to time EXACTLY when the audience will wonder, "Wait now, WHO did such & such?" If you liked the way that sister-writers Lana & Lilly Wachowski told Sense8, you'll resonate to Williams' style.

Director/Producer Sam Miller, lends his signature nuvo-noir style (Luther, Fortitude & Guerilla), sharing directorial roles with Hans Herbots (Spiral, Verlengd Weekend).

It's definitely a creep-fest of likely suspects with lead Richard Dormer (GofT) actually delivering a more believable performance when he's hideously scarred than when not. Far more restrained and nuanced is the performance by co-star Jodi Balfour, who is the better actor.

Don't believe the poor IMdB rating. Rellik is a brilliant series that attempts to examine not just the killer's motive, but the interlocking motives of all the other players--think Heisenberg's uncertainty principle applied to human behavior.

I am really only watching it now because it is different and at times confusing, as it randomly goes back and forth.It seems it was written by someone on drugs who decided on the ending first and then began filling in the blanks, and then forgetting he missed something out as he goes back to put it in, while all the time filming. The acting is good but the script is all over the place.

So to sum up, confusingly different.

It was awesome to see things in reverse perspective yes there were moments it gets confusing but it was easy to follow. The is pretty dark and very morbid some of things you see will make you feel sick to your stomach which is another reason the show is great you feel what the characters are going through.

Total garbage!!!

All the backwards and forwards left me totally confused, tried 2 episodes but gave up after that.

Somebody was trying to be very clever here but sadly it doesn't work for me.