Hollington Drive

From the writer of 'Blood' for C5, which was great, so was looking forward to this one.

Pros: the premise when it was eventually revealed at the end of episode one after a very slow start, is an intriguing one. There's also a fairly decent ensemble cast led by the excellent Anna Maxwell.

Negatives: the Protagonists family setup was very confusing - the Direction was weak - lots of pointless drone shots and static chat scenes and the tempo was way too slow. The Score was busy and intrusive with some of the dialogue inaudible. I agree with other reviewers that the parents of the missing child bizarrely didn't really seem that bothered..

For me it needed more sympathetic and interesting characters and more pace. I gave up on it.

For those who don't appreciate this drama or give it a chance, look up Brecht or 'verfremdungseffekt'. It is slow moving and the characters are unlikeable - set against a stepford housewives backdrop - but I think this is deliberate. You are supposed to be forming a moral judgement about the characters, their behaviours and role in the story. It is a snapshot of modern middle-class living from the writer/ director - presenting their viewpoint/ opinion.

Count me among those who found this series to have much to recommend it. I'm glad I didn't let the low ratings deter me from watching.

Although I may be the only viewer who truly enjoyed the Eddie character, he struck me as a real, believable person who obviously had enough warmth and compassion so that David reached out to him for friendship and understanding. The scene with these two wounded men was well acted and quite touching.

Relationships can prove complicated in the best of times; in the case of a missing child who is later found dead they must be unbearably strained. I think the actors brilliantly portrayed the various emotional and ethical struggles they were facing. The continuing lies and complicity among the protagonists created a tenseness, albeit a frustrating one, that carried the story along to its conclusion.

And, yes, as someone mentioned, four episodes was just enough to develop the action, lead us astray, and reveal the truth.

I persevered until the end. I found it quite boring and very slow paced. It had so much potential from what they alluded to in the first episode then it just turned into a poor drama revolving around two quarrelling jealous sisters, with the big reveal coming about suddenly and leaves a sense of "is that it?" The acting was largely poor and quite wooden.

Many of the poor reviews here, were posted before the final episode aired.

That frequently makes for an unreliable review.

I recorded all 4 episodes and watched them over two evenings. (It's easier to follow the characters that way). I normally make a decision as to whether to continue viewing a 4-5 episode show by mid episode 2. In this case I chose to stick with it to the end ..... and I'm glad I did!

It has an unpredictable outcome that on reflection, I should have seen coming. Watch carefully - there are clues as well as red herrings.