Finally caught up with it!  It reminded me a lot of Sherlock, which maybe isn't surprising!  I particularly enjoyed the deduction parts. 

I watched the first episode last night. My feelings about it are mixed. I enjoyed the opening scene, the women helping each other through a terrible situation on the subway. I thought it was interesting to see a character like Sherlock, in terms of his ability to make deduction and as someone who helps individuals with mysteries in their lives, who is also an inmate and murderer (a little bit like Hannibal Lecter, I realize now).

The scene where everything starts to unravel with the flash drive, the son taking the blame for it because he doesn't know what's on it (also, I noticed Louis Moffat in the role! He's so big now!) was quite interesting. I'm kind of curious why David Tennant's character seems prepared to take the fall for this, what else he's protecting that young man from besides the abusive mother. I don't understand why he went so off-the-rails with his violent behaviour towards Janice. That's the mystery, I suppose. But at first, before we see her trying to get some power in what is happening to her, it really felt like she was a strong woman being indirectly punished for who she is.

Also, the way the Stanley Tucci character and his prison buddy make light of the situation with the money transfers towards the end...it rubbed me the wrong way. They were laughing about something I thought was actually quite sad. I guess they are inmates, murderers, so they are maybe not supposed to have the same morals as the rest of us, but I found it an odd choice that put me off. I've seen other people online over the years criticizing the ways Steven Moffat has portrayed women in his various shows. In previous instances, I've not really agreed, but I'm not sure I like how the women are portrayed here, even if we do have a woman in the important journalist role.

Overall, it was a combination of curious and off-putting, and I'm not sure it was my mum's cup of tea, so I don't know when or if I'll watch more. 

Last edited by Yitzock (November 6, 2022 6:05 pm)

He is, isn't he?  His parents must be proud.  I didn't recognise him, but it's obvious now you've pointed it out! 
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Yitzok.  I suppose in favour, all the women in the show are quite strong characters.  But that also gives a message that they should be strong characters.  I do remember one of the things I didn't like so much about Sherlock was that violence was used for humour at times and seemed to go a bit too far. I think particularly about the scene where Sherlock has apparently repeatedly thrown somebody out of a window.  But I don't think it's meant to be a reflection of real life morality. 
 

When I first saw the credits I thought maybe it was just someone who looked a lot like Louis Moffat, but then I checked online and saw that it was him.

It's been a long time sincce I have thought about that bit about Sherlock throwing someone out of a window multiple times. I can't remember how I reacted to that the first time I watched it. I don't remember being that bothered, but I can understand why you would have been, LIberty.

I didn't know about the commentary, as I only have heard excerpts from commentary on the first episode on YouTube. Perhaps the humour about violence is just a quirk of Steven's that doesn't always work for me because of where they've taken it in this show. I thought it was kind of a clever deduction, but it bothered me the way they tried to turn it into something funny. 

Last edited by Yitzock (November 7, 2022 3:49 pm)

Yes, definitely dark themes! I still haven't gotten around to watching more.
But I get what you mean about John repeatedly beating Sherlock up. I think for me it was funny that he kept getting angry, even with Sherlock's repeated attempts at explanations, not necessarily the actual beating him up part.

Likewise and it will remain my fave TV series...
none has ever affected me so much.
Oh I have been watching Yasmine on Richard Osman's House of Games this week...
there was a question about Andrew Scott,
She dived in with the answer, I think she's a fan!

Last edited by besleybean (November 16, 2022 5:22 am)