Strange how this oddly understated show divides opinion so violently. I watched the first 20 or so episodes when it was airing several times a week, without quite being drawn into the curiously un-insistent plotlines. The disappearance of the beautiful but unlikeable Jane Harper (Georgina Walker) ought to be an event of considerable drama, but such is the gentle, ambient quality of the show, that even this fails to move the viewer very much. Is this a failing? I'm inclined to give "Night & Day" the benefit of the doubt. When I first saw it I wasn't sure whether it was experimental or just incompetent. I don't think it really matters.
People who like quick development of plotlines are urged to stay away! "Night & Day" unfolds at a glacial pace. It was probably inevitable, in the light of this, that it would be reduced to one episode a week. This seems less an ignominious concession, and more a realisation on the part of the programme's makers of its natural tempo.
Some viewers will also be irked by the difficulty of establishing who the central character is. Initially Della, Jane's shy friend, seemed to occupy this role, but as the show has continued this would seem to be less the case.
On balance, I find the show likeable. Its lack of urgency, its ambient, dreamy quality, and its evocation of a quiet London (which still exists in pockets here and there) mark it out as unusual in a TV world where noise, incident and naturalism are the norm.
