Dept. Q

Well-written and acted; especially Goode, Pirrie and Manvelov - but seriously, all of the actors were great. Also, a nice blend of humor and dark themes. My only problem is with the Lyle Jennings angle. Merritt knew Lyle, and even though he would have changed due to age, she would have recognized him. I'm guessing some of us have known someone since we were in grade school or more recently, and were able to recognize them decades later. It's unlikely he would have been able to pass himself off as someone else to her.

Based on the Danish novel "The Keeper of Lost Causes" by Jussi Adler-Olsen and no doubt the 2013 Danish film, the Scottish series, "Dept.Q" cant quite fill the boots, of its scandi crime thriller, counterpart. Lets look at the positives. The acting is undeniably superb. This series is backed by a strong cast, of veteran UK actors. As a result, the complex characterisations, are brought to full bodied life. The script sensibly, adheres to a similar core story, to the one found in the Danish film, too. Its dark, disturbing and at times creepily unsettling, stuff. Where it falls down, is its re-invention, of the main character. Morck is presented as an "angry man", "the devil", ready to violently explode. By contrast, the Danish film's Morck is driven not by rage but instead, a meticulously obsessive, crime solver personality. One that brushes aside social norms and conventions, to close the case. In summary, if you can look past the measure of sabotage, of the main character, then there's a decent crime drama on offer. Its not as outstanding, as its Scandinavian counterpart but its still compelling enough, to warrant a look.