Reasons For Liking Broadchurch

[poliphilo]

1. It had the confidence to be leisurely.
2. It realized one murder is enough.
3. It eschewed torture porn.
4. It was as much about life in a small town as anything else.
5. It was made with loving care
6. The characters rang true.

I don't think it was a masterpiece, but if it points the way for future TV drama I'll be happy. 

Comments

Re: 9th Battalion.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Well, they were all neighbours, so, yes, pretty much....

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Apparently Broadchurch wasn't inspired by The Killing (I understand it was written some years ago on spec), but I suspect that success of the Danish series may have influenced the decision to make it. I hope it leads to more drama that is not afraid to take its time and depict the lives of ordinary people without slipping into soap opera.

Overall, I thought it worked very well and showed very clearly just one death affects a small community and created deep rifts. Also, it's not just the murder victim's family that is devastated, but also the family and friends of the murderer. That's something that's normally ignored in most TV murder mysteries.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It used the whodunnit formula to talk about all those other things- and worked at both levels. Had it been put into production before the advent of Scandi-noir it would almost certainly have been made for less money and with less care.