An t-Eilean

Interesting crime drama, right out of the Nordic noir playbook, set in the Outer Hebrides. Compelling plot, good acting, stunning scenery and the absolute novelty of being Gaelic speaking for the most part. This aspect is quite refreshing and indeed intriguing as the setting of the drama feels both familiar and otherworldly. It feels like it could be a set in Norway or Iceland given we have to follow the dialogue via subtitles but then there is a lot of familiarity about the setting. Plus the characters throw in quite a bit of English when speaking to each other. It's not without flaws. For example, it tries to squeeze too much into the four episodes. It might have been better to have given each of the protagonists an episode of their own in which their back stories could have been explored more deeply.

As someone said before, the lead acress is a miscast. Totally wrong for the role and makes everything else completely unbelievable. The lead actress is so wrong as a police and has the same confused and scared expression all the time.

Plot doesn't hold up and by episode 4 you never really care anymore.

With a better cast and a better script it might had a chance to be good but now it is just off.

It is boing and boring.

It's a no from me and I am Sorry to say that I do not recommend it...

I give it 4 stars because of the interesting and beautiful scenery and the gaelic languange being used.

This is a rare flop in the otherwise dependable genre of 'tartan noir' police procedurals.

At first glance, it wound appear to have all the right ingredients of a satisfying spiel in the mould of 'Shetland'. The addition of Gaelic dialogue is an intriguing touch.

Unfortunately, the whole production is a major disappointment. The story is implausible, beset with tropes and cliches you'll have seen a hundred times before. The script is mechanistic, the characters boring and the acting wooden.

Even on catch-up, with the ability to recap the action (such as there is), the story is disjointed, confused and exhausting to follow. The editing in particular is a frantic machine-gun barrage of shots that make it impossible to keep up with the subtitles for the split-second they appear on screen. The frequent switches between English and Gaelic in the same conversation are an added struggle to follow.

Despite the copious drone footage, there is no sense whatsoever of place and we learn nothing about the unidentified locations we are flying over.

None of these criticisms would necessarily be a problem on their own, but taken together they add up to a series that is more effort than enjoyment and ultimately difficult to recommend.

I really wanted this drama to be a success but it was awful. I would have turned off earlier if it wasn't for the beautiful scenery and the false hope this drama would get better. The plot was full of holes and the police investigation was laughable with a comedy of errors. As a reviewer has said the lead character was miscast and the overall acting so cringeworthy. This had so much potential but it felt to me that they had a rough storyline that cried out to be developed, but instead crammed it into a 4 episode drama. Therefore, none of the characters had much substance to them and the drama was a wasted opportunity.

As this Gaelic language drama opens Sir Douglas McClean, one on the wealthiest men in Scotland, calls his children to tell them that in intruder has shot him and his wife. The police arrive at their castle on the Isle of Harris, in the Outer Hebrides, and find him wounded but his wife is dead. Officer Kat Crichton, who left the islands ten years previously is tasked with being the Family Liaison Officer. She assures her boss, DCI Ahmed Halim, that there won't be any problems returning to her old home... but it soon becomes apparent that she has crossed paths with the family before and has reasons to dislike them. As the story progresses we learn more about what is going on within the family and Kat's issues with them.

I thought this series was rather enjoyable. It might be looked at as 'Shetland with Subtitles' given its Scottish island setting. The central mystery is solid although having our protagonist having past problems with the victim's family felt a bit forced; the mystery could have been just as intriguing without it. The characters are solid enough and there are plenty of suspects... at the half way point I was unsure as to who would ultimately be revealed as the killer, or more importantly the motive. The Harris setting, with its rugged mountains, sea lochs and beautiful empty beaches was a delight; I'm sure the local tourist board will love their corner of the country being shown off! Overall I'd recommend this to fans of the genre looking for a new location for their murder mystery fix. I've no idea if more of this is planned but if it is I'd certainly watch.

These comments are based on watching the series in Gaelic with English subtitles.