Vera

youve found somebody. . . .i'm enjoying it

I agree Hattie64,watched the first,cant believe how bad the script and acting is,its a NO from me

Sorry but I loved it

As a geordie I object to importing an actress from the south, her accent just doesn't ring true, well it wouldn't would it! So why didn't they 'employ' a geordie actress? I'm disappointed but still watch because its geordie-land

milliej so right there are some fantastic geordie actresses who could
do the programme justice,but I can listen to the accent all day as I
love it , the programme was good I thought

I liked it

I watched first 20 mins or so and could not get into it at all .....so its a no from me im afraid

So I am not alone then!!! I have a confession, just to prove I was correct in my dislike of the programme, I actually watched the second episode!! and just as bad. So now, definately no more.

I've just watched the second episode which I recorded and yes I agree Hattie, it's just as bad I mean that woman should not be 'in charge' she's much too emotional and flies off the handle so easily. (ok maybe the men do to but they shouldn't be in charge either!) (and worse, she keeps dropping her accent...shocking...lol!) although perhaps only a geordie would notice?
I prefer the more suave type (err men that is ) like John Nettles in Midsummer Murders , Morse, oh what's his name..the man who played Judge John Deed, and of course I have to include good old (proper 'geordie') Kevin Whatley who is doing a very successful (I think) continuation of Morse, as Lewis with young Fox as his 'posh' sidekick, now that I like .

I made a point of watching it because we spend a lot of time in the North East and I wanted to see the locations. However, I couldn't get into it at all..it seemed to go on forever and I couldn't work out what was going on [not unusual for me, I hasten to add..at the end of most 'whodunnits I still don't know whodidit']. I've been watching a lot of the Scandinavian stuff recently, Wallander and The Killing and I find them far superior to most of the British programmes, the exception being Exile with Jim Broadbent. Trying to get into 'The Shadow Line' at the moment, but I'm struggling with that as well!

Vera ?? Not seen nor heard of this, explain please

Vera, it is a north eastern thing, you either love it or hate it. Actually Brenda Blethyn's accent is good and she plays a typical strong, northern woman. Up north we all have a relative like this.

Naaaa I disagree her accent is not good, it slips they should have given the part to someone of geordie origin. It's not a very good programme anyway, another woman cop in charge, my husband gets livid lol. He would agree with the killing which I haven't watched and Wallander tho' which I enjoyed, the original that is, not the home grown one!

I think Brenda Blethyn said she picked up the accent by listening to people talking in shops. Pity because she's such a good actress. You can't do a geordie accent just by calling everyone a bonny lass/ lad etc. And then there's the 'lilt' to it that you can't just pick up from overhearing a few conversations. I only stuck with the programme [I did nod off a few times!] because I wanted to see the programme afterwards about the Pitman Painters; now that was good. We went to Ashington to see the exhibition once, but something went wrong [it was closed] but I loved driving round the place just looking at the old terraced houses, and tryng to get a feel for the place. Will try to go back this summer. Will give Vera another go this Sunday, because I love the North East [I get quite emotional as we drive past the Angel of the North!]. Wallander was superb milliej, wasn't it..if The Killing is repeated try to catch it; when the last in the series was shown on Danish tv @ 80% of the population tuned in!

I too loved The Killing, a new series starts in the Autumn. Spiral was good too and Wallander, all these programmes were so superior to a lot of the English Varieties. I think the Shadow Line, which started slowly, should be well worth watching as well. So Vera doesn't stand a chance against competition like this.

I'm going to give The Shadow Line another go tonight; I was a bit tired last week, and it was a bit of a let down after Exile. I love Hugo Blik [sp] programmes [those dramedies he did with Joanna Lumley] but I found it a bit pretentious. Read an article today about the girl who starred in Spiral...I only watched it to fill the void left by The Killing but it grew on me. I'm watching that Icelandic comedy on BBC4 'The Night Shift'..not sure if it's funny but it's 'interesting'.

ooops; wrong night! It's tomorrow...

I rather liked it and wondered why...then I realized that it was like a female Wallander....and not the Kenneth Brannen one.........and I'm a soft southerner!

My husbands a 'soft southerner too' and he can't stand women being in charge! Mind being married to a dyed in the wool geordie even though I haven't lived there for over 40 years.....might have something to do with it ..possibly!!

Hattie64...we have the same taste in television dramas. I stayed awake [usually a struggle] and glued to the screen [sub-titles] as I didn't want to miss a single moment of the "entertainment"...

I tend to flit around when I watch things on the telly, so it was good to get into a routine of having to sit and watch a programme for 2 hours every Saturday night..that's why I thought I'd give Spiral a go as well. I started to get interested in all things Swedish after watching Let the Right One In, followed by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [the first film; the next two weren't as good]. The actresses seem more 'real' as well..not botoxed. The girl who starred in Spiral, when she had her hair 'done' by the hairdresser just told her to 'stick it up in a clip, my character doesn't have time to do her hair every day!'. She wasn't Lund, but was still jolly good. Not sure what I'll do this Saturday night. There was even a forum about The Killing [think it was done by The Guardian] where everyone discussed whodunnit after each episode.

...The Shadow line is growing on me....

I thought last nights episode was so gripping, the 'chase' was the best I have ever seen.
I loved the books 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' but not the films. The Americans are making their own version, also 'The Killing' which is based in Seattle. I think it is the sub-titles they have difficulty with!!! As my husband is hard of hearing, we have the subtitles on for most of our viewing.

Is Jay the scariest character ever to appear on television?...... the scene with the pregnant woman was terrifying. I think there were too many characters in the first episode, I couldn't tell the goodies from the baddies, although I think the title sugests that there is a fine line between them anyway. I'm pleased to find myself enjoying it, because I'm such a fan of Hugo Blick's work. The stylised scenes aren't annoying me any more either.And I've just watched An Education on the telly; wanted to see it for ages [missed it at the cinema and never got round to buying the dvd]. Loved it, such a sense of time and place, and the acting was superb.