Shetland. It's almost Scandi but not quite. The title of the source novel, 'Red Bones', obviously didn't sell it to an audience for whom crime drama these days is all 'location, location, location'. ITV's 'Vera' is also penned by Ann Cleeves, but Tyneside - also the setting for the 'Gently' books - hasn't the natural advantages of Sweden ('Wallander'), Connemara ('Single-Handed', 'Jack Taylor') or, errr, 'Midsomer...'?
Like detective Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall in huggable jumpers), we'd prefer the Islands to remain places of negligible crime rates and no retail chains, so this is an unwelcome exposure, but ah, those bleak, windswept hills and craggy brows - the latter belonging to every islander over the age of 30. If this wasn't quite Scandi, it wasn't quite US crime drama either, and none the worse for it. Current British efforts to emulate foreign success, such as 'Mayday' and 'Broadchurch', seem like strung-out scenarios rather than slow-burn thrillers. Scandis can get it right ('The Killing' series one) or wrong ('The Bridge') and ditto the Americans ('Homeland' series one and two, respectively) but getting it wrong means either yawningly long or absurd developments. 'Mayday' somehow managed both.
'Shetland' had enough going on to build interest and sustain two hours. We questioned developments but didn't find the TWNHs that usually pepper these dramas like stray shot from a murderer's rampage (see 'Vera'). It even made the Vikings look... well, like a sort of homely, northern, weapon-wielding version of Morris Men. If this feels more like a re-enactment in more ways than one, that's because it is: yet another crime drama with a nice backdrop without any claim to breaking the mould. There are three more Shetland novels at the moment, which equates to six hours of feet-up crime drama. Anymore for anymore?
No comments:
Post a Comment