ObeseManWatching

TBF I have only watched the first episode and I pretty much guessed the first plot twist about 20 minutes before it was revealed. Characters are one-dimensional and play to stereo-types (the committed but damaged cop who has no real time for a love life, except... etc)

This is the kind of drab drama that would have appeared on ITV a couple of years ago (until they started to improve their fare), A smattering of well-known actors who are best known for predictable, sanitised dramas and this looks to be no different.

I may be doing it a dis-service after just one episode and no doubt the producers would say it gets better - I'm just not going to waste four/five hours of my life finding out.

A final nail inthe coffin for me was American spellings on the sub-titles for a very British-based drama! Annoying and insulting to the UK/European subscribers. "American" is NOT the same language as English.

I hated this.

Not often I would be as strong as that is a review but I hated almost every minute of this drama.

Let me explain, the script was okay, the production was superb, it had a very fine cast and the acting was fantastic with not a dud performance amongst them. The story line was also okay.

This was all-in-all a very good, much-better-than-average drama.

But I hated it.

Let me explain, It was tense.

Now tension is dramas is a very good thing, indeed one could argue that in order to be a "drama" it needs to have some tension at some points. However this was tension dialled up to 11.

Almost from the off we had tension, Becky/Sasha create her own tense moments almost at every turn and then did not stop. There must have been 15-20 EastEnders duff-duff moments per episode. It was TOO much.

I tried to binge-watch this (as indeed I do with ALL series now even when stripped across a 6-8 week schedule) but six 55 minute ish episodes LITERALLY took me three weeks to watch. Or rather NOT watch.

There was so much tension in each episode that I had to keep stopping watching.

Maybe just me, but I WAS one of the kids who used to hide behind the sofa when watching Doctor Who as a kid (indeed so much so that in our council flat I genuinely befriends a mouse - different story, I digress sorry).

Believe me when I say I literally had to hit pause and have a break - at least a dozen times per episode and sometimes as little as 30 seconds apart. I really really hated it. I watched it to the end as it was otherwise a good production but for me it was just too unbearable.

Conversely my wife loved it. She apparently likes being tense!

So this may not bother you and if you are like her you will really really enjoy this show. I think it is safe to say I didn't.

There were a couple of other minor gripes I had, lighting was very dark and in the interior night- time shots (there were a LOT of these) at times I found it very difficult to actually SEE what was going on. This obviously didn't help.

And the other thing that really really began to bug me was the main character of Becky/Sasha. Her eyes were almost always set to about-to-cry or actually-crying mode. To top it off, it was so clearly "tear-stick" crying with the tears coming out of the centre of the eyes instead of from the corner. It might seem a little thing but once you get bugged by that you cannot UNsee it. Shame because the actor's performance was otherwise extremely good.

Overall I suspect this is going to be a bit of Marmite series. You will either love it or like me, hate it.

For the reasons given I would have given zero stars but felt I owed it to give it something for the actor's and scriptwriters performances but I would never ever want to see this ever, EVER again. Ever.

Conversely, I would see someone else giving this a 9 or 10 and could not argue with their score. Just not for me.

Ever.

EVER.

This is simply the finest six hours of TV you will find anywhere.

Personally I love stuff that breaks the fourth wall and Phoebe Waller-Bridge does it to perfection with impeccable timing and the exact expression. Every. Single. Time

Not a wrong step by any member of the cast at any point and the script is sharp, witty and heart-breaking all at the same time.

I think we are" supposed" to dislike or disapprove of Fleabag but I have to admit fell for her character hook, line and sinker! I "love her" too!*

* not "a spoiler" but watch it and you'll get the reference! .