Ne t'éloigne pas

I will be honest, with names like James Nesbitt, Sarah Parish, Eddie Izzard and Cush Jumbo in the cast this was always going to be a show that I would be watching from start to finish.

The first episodes were a bit messy, but after that it had me hooked and I binged it in one sitting.

Some would say it was convoluted and they would be right, it has lots of twists and a few red herrings, but you have to persevere with shows like this if you want to be entertained.

The one star reviewers who didn't even get through the first episode deserve to miss out, if you have the attention span of a gnat, you deserve to miss out. Go and watch a show with lots of explosions.

This is not what I would call a brilliant show, but it has a lot of twists and they keep coming right to the very end and I mean that literally.

If you think you should give up after the first episode or during the first episode, don't this is worth the 7+ hours required to watch it.

Not sure I would watch it a second time, but it is likely if given enough time between viewings.

Easy 7/10 for me.

The draw was Cush Jumbo, James Nesbitt and a UK crime drama. The premise is, do we ever really know someone? The questions are: Are we a product of our past? Can we escape the errors of our past? Great casting. Great performances. Great locations around the iconic DREAM memorial in Sutton Manor Park, Saint Helen's, UK. I give this series an 8 (great) out of 10. {Police Procedural}

How many ex spies/assassins/trained killers/hookers/ mob enforcers are there in your PTA meeting? If television and mystery writers are to be believed, there are thousand of them picking up young Madison or Dakota from soccer practice right now. They are just hiding their pasts until some hapless yokel attacks them, and out comes the karate and the gun slinging.

In this case, Megan is happily ensconced in her new life as a mother and wife when she gets a visit from an old friend. The audience only has to wait one episode before Megan beats the crap out of a couple of bad guys and two episodes before she meets up with the delightful Eddie Izard as one of her old running buddies.

Unfortunately, there isn't enough Eddie Izard to.get over all the cliches that drag this series. The rest of it bounces between "predictable" and "why am I wasting my time?"

Although the acting was fine, the whole show was so blandly familiar that I gave up.

The "5" is for any series with Eddie.

The first three episodes are good, but it rapidly starts going downhill once you reach the "people doing stupid things just to drive the plot" stage, and it gets even worse when you get to the "defiant teen thinks she's super smart" stage. And don't forget the random, happy, dancing assassin couple.

So, so stupid. I'm on episode 5 and about to press the eject button. I don't think there's any way I can make it any further.

I'm not sure if this is a serious drama or a black comedy.

On the up side the production values are quite high.

On the downside, the plot is ridiculous. Coincidence piles on coincidence and there are clichés all over the shop A missing man is spotted in a glimpsed dark photo?

Everyone seems connected to the same events or locations The main character who has fled her past just seems to be round the corner from her old haunts.

The dancing psychos seem out of a different movie.

James Nesbitt's policeman is always watchable but is surely playing this for laughs albeit with a straight face .

His dialogue with his partner and ex wife is actually a high spot, whereas the aging copper who hates tech and his overkeen boss are just too predictable.

To round out the clichés there is a sleazy club with a manageress who has a heart of gold .

Richard armitage is a burned out down on his luck photographer.

Oh and Eddie Izzard plays a kindly uncle / junkie lawyer operating out of a pet shop. But without the humour or flair of a Saul Goodman.

The Americanisms (pro bono lawyers, huge basements, 17 year olds driving about by themselves) come thick and fast..did noone from the UK adapt the script?

Regardless... The relatively high production values and the strong cast make this watchable (just about).

It's alright, but it's not great by any standards.