After the Flood

What the heck is with all the reviews absolutely slating this show ? Are people's attention spans or expectations just out of whack these days ?

I say give it a try, and switch off if it's not your cup of tea.

This was recommended to me by my Scottish neighbour. We both watch plenty of series and movies. OK maybe it's not super duper top notch drama or mystery, but it's entertainment. That's it, entertainment, it's not here to change your life or guide you to a higher plane.

Oh we live in Australia by the way, and so seeing the countryside, the towns and the 'people' is always a nice thing to us ex pats. It does get one homesick at times that's for sure.

In this series things certainly take a sharp upturn in episode 5, woooooh.

Somebody here stated that the bad guys are telegraphed, well OK there's only a handful of characters and well, someone there has to be involved, I mean that's how stories work right.

The way certain people are involved is what makes this turn out great, no spoilers intended, but it's not black and white.

I watched it over 2 days and it filled in some time, y'know like entertainment is made for.

OK, give it a go I say, and enjoy that cup of tea, cheers.

A pregnant constable, Jo, acts heroically to rescue an infant during torrential rains and flooding. She has been promoted to Trainee Detective at the same time, and, after finding a dead murder victim in an elevator, she is keen to investigate. Too keen, perhaps, as she runs an unauthorized DNA check on the corpse, in haste.

Here's an interesting plot point: apparently, the DNA check, to a PRIVATE database (nothing turned up on the Police version) is ILLEGAL (???) in U. K.--hence, she faces dismissal and even jail time, if caught. Is that true? Maybe in England, but we see historical cases being solved in USA & Canada via those sources. So, the notion that the submission by an officer is a felony seems bizarre. Anyway, she gets a 'hit' and that drives the rest of the story.

I like these Euro 6-part series (3 or 4 is better), but even they can't resist the filler (including needless profanity) that better writers could skip. Nonetheless, good performances by Sophia Rundle (Jo), Lorraine Ashbourne (as her crusading Mom, Jonas Armstrong (her spouse & shifty fellow cop, Lee) and, one of my favs, PHIL GLENISTER, as a shifty contractor, who cuts corners to keep his head above water, wgilst citizens are sinking BELOW water.

The wrap-up is quite unique, with a few characters embroiled in borderline (or serious) violations. What to do? Leave it at that, or run a second season? I'm happy to believe that we can just tie it up THERE and draw our own conclusions --not that easy to predict!

I thought the first episode was very promising as the flood scenes were very realistic indicating it might be a drama series that had cost a lot to make and so would be very good. I also like Philip Glenister and Lorraine Ashworth as actors. The first episode and these two actors account for my 4 star rating. Thereafter the series becomes a typical ITV drama, promising start to reel viewers in leading to a damp squib of an ending. It's also quite obvious that many police dramas are written these days with a female officer/detective showing her male colleagues up to be incompetent. That formula is wearing a bit thin. I can't comment too much on the plot (other than as many holes as a culender.) without giving away spoilers. Overall watchable but do not expect Happy Valley.

I'm writing a review as the ones I've read are so negative. Criticisms involve (a) another strong female lead who knows better than the men. After 70 years of male detectives sweeping the floor with women it's about time the strong female lead takes her place in drama - we need more not less (sorry boys but coercive control tends to be a male thing) and yet the female character is not so strong as to be free of coercive control. Then (b) the dialogue is too ordinary like everyday conversation! As a writer I can tell you that "writing the ordinary" is a ton harder than convoluted language. It also makes the story easy to follow and the characters appear more real. Perhaps those who don't like it simply watch too much TV? Then (c) the so called ridiculous plot. What police drama doesn't have a ridiculous plot? Line of Fantasy Duty? This was believable on-edge stuff with great acting that kept one guessing right to the end - with enough tension and up-to-date themes. The ambiguous characters ensured there could easily be a series 2 and I look forward to watching it.

After the Flood is a good TV serie in which each character has some skeletons in the closet. As a matter of fact, each episode we learn some new secrets of each character. Sophie Rundle is a really good actress and her character in this series is a younger version of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. On the other hand, there are important topics such as environmental management, corruption, and urbanization that this series focus on. As a matter of fact, I advise everyone to watch this serie IF they will release the second season of it because the story was left incomplete and it requires a second season. In short, I give 7 out of 10 to this serie and I hope that there will be a second season coming soon.