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The Long Call and Shetland.

(135 Posts)
Calendargirl Sat 30-Oct-21 11:13:11

Haven’t seen any posts about either of these since they aired.

Gave up on TLC after two episodes, have read the book but found it rather dreary, couldn’t remember the outcome and didn’t really care. Matthew Venn is no Jimmy Perez, but Jimmy looks a bit jowly and could do with a shave. I know he has a lot on his plate though, with murders, bereavement and a dad with dementia.

Calistemon Mon 01-Nov-21 23:11:14

No! She didnt gamble - autocorrect.

She gabbled too fast.

Calistemon Mon 01-Nov-21 23:10:33

GrandmasueUK

I’ve quite enjoyed The Long Call, and have just binge watched the series today. I found that the female detective spoke really quickly but it might have been very noticeable as compared with the drawling speech of the other characters.

Yes, I've just watched the last two episodes and did get into it more.

The female detective gambled too fast and we had to put on subtitles to find out what she was saying.
Compared to Martin Shaw, Juliet Stephenson, Anita Dobson, who are all very experienced actors, her diction was terrible.

GrandmasueUK Mon 01-Nov-21 23:03:12

I’ve quite enjoyed The Long Call, and have just binge watched the series today. I found that the female detective spoke really quickly but it might have been very noticeable as compared with the drawling speech of the other characters.

Ro60 Sun 31-Oct-21 09:46:15

They both seem to be trying to emulate the Scandinavian dramas but miss the mark.
Even though I can understand what they're saying & love the scenary, somehow, they're just not as engaging - yet.

Hoping there's more to come from The Bridge, Vallhallah Murders and of course the French series Spiral,.

Kim19 Sun 31-Oct-21 09:22:23

Found Long Call drawn out and boring. A pretty bleak watch and somewhat predictable. Am thoroughly enjoying Shetland so far. Love the way their team knits together.

Calendargirl Sun 31-Oct-21 07:25:58

The Peter Manuel story had Martin Compston as the baddie Paddyanne, if I remember rightly.

Dorsetcupcake61 Sun 31-Oct-21 05:32:36

I am a fan of Ann Cleaves so I recorded The Long Call. I started to watch the first episode yesterday but after half an hour I just found I wasnt engaging with it.
I still have the other episodes but not sure whether I will continue.
I dont know about anyone else but I am finding that over the past five years or so there are so many dramas that are endlessly advertised and they totally fail to live up to expectations! At best they are stretched over to many episodes at worst are non sensical poorly produced. Recent examples were Vigil which after a couple of promising episodes I gave up on. Hollington Drive(?) was another. Good potential and cast but not quite engaging enough and from reviews I have read not worth the time invested watching it!

paddyann54 Sun 31-Oct-21 01:26:29

He was in the Peter Manuel story ,cant remember what it was called ,but set in the 50's and with his hat and his belted trench coat it could have been my dad ...spooky .The book is The Crime Pond but I'm fairly sure the series had a different name .Worth a watch though

Calistemon Sat 30-Oct-21 22:13:51

I've always liked Dougie Henshall - he has a je ne sais quoi.

Aveline Sat 30-Oct-21 19:01:15

paddyann that's so nice.thanks

paddyann54 Sat 30-Oct-21 17:23:32

I love watching Dougie Henshall ,he has the exact same eyes as my late dad and I never know whether to laugh or cry when I see him ,but its nice as my dad has been gone nearly 28 years

Aveline Sat 30-Oct-21 16:55:25

There's a warmth and kindness to Vera and Jimmy Perez which was somehow missing in The Long Call'.

BlueBelle Sat 30-Oct-21 16:55:09

I didn’t like the long call as much as I was hoping, and unlike everyone else I though Anita Dobson over acted the last scene I am enjoying Jimmy and Shetland although Jimmy has aged a bit more than Duncan still rather nice though
I thought Shetland very complicated so decided to watch it over again on iPlayer well three quarters of the second episode was completely new to me so I must have slept through most of it ??

Floradora9 Sat 30-Oct-21 15:59:40

Ann Cleaves did a great job with Vera but I am not enjoying this departure nearly as much. I had read the book but have forgotten all I read .

Aveline Sat 30-Oct-21 15:15:05

Watching 'Shetland' now. Much better than 'The Long Call'. You'd think Perez would at least shave for his Mum's funeral!

TerriBull Sat 30-Oct-21 14:49:37

Yes thought it was pretty good on the whole, given there are some dire dramas around at the moment, Hollington Close for one couldn't be bothered seeing that through to the end! I read the Matthew Venn book when it first came out, thought the actor who portrayed him, played him well, his personal backstory is quite moving, I think I was remembering that more that anything else, completely forgot "who dunnit!" so that kept me watching. I'm a fan of Anne Cleeves writing and this new series will be a welcome addition to her Vera and Shetland ones. Love the Devon setting, have visited that part of the world on quite a few occasions, beautiful coastline, thought that frothy sea water at the beginning was very effective.

Lincslass Sat 30-Oct-21 14:44:47

Long call, will have to restart as the storyline did not enthuse me as much as Shetland and Vera.

Lincslass Sat 30-Oct-21 14:38:33

Shetland and Vera, both excellent, and showcasing fabulous scenery and good plots at the same time. Poor Jimmy, going through a rough patch, but shaving would make him feel better surely ?

lemsip Sat 30-Oct-21 14:26:34

i'm enjoying shetland. I like Jimmy,

Sparklefizz Sat 30-Oct-21 14:03:56

I thought the script of The Long Call was poor, and there were so many mistakes in police procedure. OK, a bit of artistic licence is fine, but honestly! I've read the book but the person who transferred it to the screen has slipped up. But Martin Shaw and Anita Dobson were excellent, and as naughtynanny has said, AD was very brave to appear without makeup and looking haggard.

I'm enjoying Shetland, but I wish Jimmy would have a shave and wear something other than a collar-less T shirt or jumper. He would look much more appealing in a shirt with the sleeves rolled up ;)

And Vera - what can I say? She's the best. Love her one-liners.

Boz Sat 30-Oct-21 12:28:58

Disliked it. Found the storylines confusing. Guessed AD, MS or JS had done it as they would have been the most expensive actors to hire, so get the best baddie part.
The most interesting component were the Drones. They get about. All over Shetland (far superior series) and Vera's Northumberland (very much the best). Lovely birds-eye views of Britain.

muse Sat 30-Oct-21 12:20:20

Enjoying Shetland but need to catch up with Ep2.

Now I know Martin Shaw is in Long Call, I'll be watching that too. Saw him on stage once. Oh my! Oh yes!

GrannyGravy13 Sat 30-Oct-21 12:04:05

I really enjoyed The Long Call (haven’t read the book) although it was a murder it was gentle compared to many TV series at the moment.

I thought Martin Shaw oozed coercive control and Anita Dobson acted superbly.

Calistemon Sat 30-Oct-21 11:57:17

There are just too many characters in The Long Call.
It was confusing, or perhaps the older I get the less I can cope with complicated story lines.

naughtynanny Sat 30-Oct-21 11:55:51

The last episode nailed it for me, by Anita Dobson's performance, she was brilliant and very brave to take on the no make-up, haggard look when normally she's very glam.

But she was really good, very watchable and engaging. Otherwise, I didn't quite get the point of some of the weak sub-plots, the painting pregnant one, and the farmer dad and his daughter. Martin Shaw is still lush!