Shetland - new series

Douglas Henshall left Shetland, and I discovered him in the Netflix series, Who Is Erin Carter? . It is a very good series, but you need to stick with it. Henshall isn't in it for the first few episodes, but when he does appear, well, he is far from the goody policeman he was in Shetland! I can recommend it, lots of twists and turns, and a few British actors you may recognise.

Simple and classic, certainly, but of quality, like a whole generation of British series, carried by good actors, and filmed with care.

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Sorry Calendar girl. I only watched Vigil last night on the BBC i-player so didn't look for threads about it at the time it was shown.

Meanwhile, Vigil was good

I posted a comment about Vigil on Sunday night, granted I revised the old Vigil thread. BlueBelle was the only person to pass comment. Not surprised, for some reason the thread never ever surfaced in ‘Active’, I suspect BB looked on the ‘last day’ section.

Why is this? Would I have been better to start a whole new thread for Vigil? A bit pointless I thought.

Apologies, I digress from Shetland.

I enjoyed it. New personalities always take a while to settle, not easy to take over from a successful actor I’d think, but the relationship between the two main characters will be worth a watch. Also loved the fact that the others are more in the story hope that continues. I’ll keep watching..

I liked the setting and the cast. Ashley Jensen is a good addition. However, I thought they were all let down badly by a very poor plot. It was confusing and unnecessarily convoluted. Next series must be better.
Meanwhile, Vigil was good.

Well, I actually enjoyed this last episode more than any of the previous ones (surprisingly). I thought the acting was of a slightly higher standard, even Tosh didn’t irritate me as much and the storyline seemed to move forward at a reasonable speed.
Overall though, I’ve really not been enthralled by any of it. Far too many red herrings, poor acting and yet again no solicitor present at any of the interviews. I’m not sure if there has to be one present within a certain number of hours after being arrested but surely if you’ve been arrested for murder, the first thing you would do is ask for representation. Or are we meant to believe that Bobby felt so bad about his part in Ellen’s death that he didn’t really care what happened to him?
I thought the incest storyline was a bit of a cliche, seen it done lots of times before. The character I felt the sorriest for was young Rory. Lost his sister and now his Dad and his extended family.
One thing I did like though was the green sweater Ruth was wearing towards the end, in fact I liked a lot of her clothes. Loved her boots. Also liked the music used throughout, e.g. Teenage Fan Club.
Hopefully, series nine will be better.

I thought the ending was awful. I don’t think I’d watch another series.

Yes, far fetched and a complicated storyline. I didn't enjoy this series nearly as much as usual, and even the Shetland scenery looked less appealing.

I felt suspicious about Kieran from the first episode and every time he appeared. I expected that he wouldn’t be Ellen’s father but the incest story was a shocker.

Yes, too far fetched, and I didn't like the incest storyline, so grim.

Well, no one has commented on the final episode.

Grannynannywanny was correct in her prediction of the killer.

All a bit far fetched.

There are so many different men I can’t keep up with them .

I thought that too. It might explain why the vicar didn’t get on with Ruth/ if she wasn’t his biological daughter and why he had affairs.

grannydarkhair

pascal30 But maybe Ruth isn’t the dead minister’s daughter and that’s why the DNA proved her and Ellen weren’t related? 🤔 that would explain why she was a bit of a rebel when young.
kittylester I’m glad someone is enjoying it 😁

Oh, you already said that.

Sorry, it's been a long day 🙂

pascal30

I think that we'll find that Ella was the dead vicar's daughter

That would mean that Ruth is not his daughter.

Ooh, another twist!

grannydarkhair

I actually didn’t dislike the latest episode quite as much as the previous ones. Yes, Tosh constantly did the “owl” eyes, Sandy was as much use as a chocolate teapot, the Procurator Fiscal is a total dweeb but at least the story moved on a wee bit. However, there’s still just so much you can pick faults with, apart from the poor script and acting - the speed everything is processed by the lab, the fact that Ruth Calder could phone her DC and get all Bobby Bain’s info so quickly and on a mobile, the fact that RC and Sandy were openly discussing the case whilst sitting in a cafe, why did Tosh speak to Heather Bain in the street, etc.
I’ve just started reading Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves, it’s the one when Jimmy goes back to Fair Isle and the difference in the quality of the writing is very apparent from page one. If I was AC, I’d definitely be telling the production company to call it something other than Shetland.

I love your synopsis of the last episode, grannydarkhair

I'll add that Ruth is a more of a loose cannon than ever - and why is she still there? Don't they want her back at the Met?

I think the Ashley Jensen character - Ruth Calder - is ridiculously unprofessional - and she’s making Sandy look bad!

grannydarkhair

pascal30 For someone who’s not really enjoying it, it might well be said I’m far too invested in it 😂 it just bothers me that the Jimmy Perez Shetland, even when it was no longer based on Ann Cleeves books, was streaks ahead in the quality of the acting, scripts and storylines than this latest effort.

There's a certain direness that becomes a bit compelling just to see where on earth they're heading.. but completely agree about the Jimmy Perez Shetland.. at least they seemed a bit more procedurally more correct than this one..

pascal30 For someone who’s not really enjoying it, it might well be said I’m far too invested in it 😂 it just bothers me that the Jimmy Perez Shetland, even when it was no longer based on Ann Cleeves books, was streaks ahead in the quality of the acting, scripts and storylines than this latest effort.

grannydarkhair

pascal30 But maybe Ruth isn’t the dead minister’s daughter and that’s why the DNA proved her and Ellen weren’t related? 🤔 that would explain why she was a bit of a rebel when young.
kittylester I’m glad someone is enjoying it 😁

I like your thinking!!

Oooh , Pascal and GrannyDarkhair , that would be a super twist ! Can't wait to see if you're correct !

Surprisingly I find Tosh is well outshining Ashley Jensen acting wise. Maybe that's the dictat of the script, of course. As for the new boss, I just ignore him. His incompetence seems to reflect what I'm reading of in real life policing at the moment.

annodomini

^I think that we'll find that Ella was the dead vicar's daughter^

Wasn't that the reason why Ashley Jensen's character (forget her name!) had the victim's DNA compared with her own to try to establish a familial relationship and it turned out to be negative. Or am I simply confused?

If the DNA test had been positive, would Ella have been Ruth Calder’s half sister?

pascal30 But maybe Ruth isn’t the dead minister’s daughter and that’s why the DNA proved her and Ellen weren’t related? 🤔 that would explain why she was a bit of a rebel when young.
kittylester I’m glad someone is enjoying it 😁