Pacionsbo
Absolutely Fantastic
Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Roman Sampson
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
lauriejoyce-132-126127
This show is aptly named "Vexed", as the switcheroo that occurs after the first season is truly vexing! The all-too-short season 1 was such a delightful introduction to a cadish, but lovable, Jack and his hapless partner Kate; it rates a solid 9+ in my books. The chemistry between these two was excellent, and they were well matched in their comedic abilities. We particularly delighted in Jack's insensitive remarks, from which much of the humor stemmed. Unfortunately, all that changed quite dramatically in the second season. Lucy Punch was replaced by Miranda Raison as Jack's new partner- an earnest know-it-all who sucked all the humor out of the show. Jack's character was also toned down to a disappointing shadow of his first season's character. What a waste of Toby Stephen's great comedic talent! I would love to see this show brought back in the format of the first season, but I suppose that ship has sailed as the actors have moved on to greener pastures. Again I say, what a waste!
John Smith
The energy between the two characters was nice and set the stage for some fun dialog. The problems is the show promotes violence between domestic partners as perfectly OK. At a minimum domestic violence is simply not a very good comedic device.For example in the very first episode Lucy Punch commits blatant physical domestic abuse and battery against her husband. She literately breaks bones and keeps him on the ground as she beats him with a weapon as a way of dealing with her unfounded suspicion that he was sleeping with another woman. He wasn't not that it matters whatsoever, but that was used as legitimate justification for her beating him."I am sorry that I hit him, but I would like Dan to acknowledge that we had been having problems." Does she go to treatment for her violent behavior? No! In episode two they go to couples counseling as if BOTH have issues to work on. What kind of message is being put out here? Violence, as long as it is the woman, is a really good way to work on relationship issues.great
ajrg-17-381639
I like the series, especially the second. However I watch detective show only for the acting, which I liked in this case. There is no resolution of relationships which is unfortunate since the series is over and there may as well have been. Also there was less chemistry between the two protagonists, if they may be called that, in the first series. I think the show got off to a bad start which it never overcame in the eyes of the critics. Many of the criticisms of the first show, that the acting was over the top were corrected in the second series. My complaint about the chemistry between the stars was too. However the actual murders and mystery remained secondary to the dynamics of the partners and to me that is the charm of the show. It is about the relationships between men and women. Many of the 'victims' are very plain and the passionate love affairs are between quite ordinary individuals. Even the main characters are not gorgeous in a conventional sense. To those who are fans of the genre the lack of dramatic mystery is a terrible feature. For me it was part of the appeal.
Jan Newson
I hadn't heard of this programme previously and thought I'd give it a try. It's billed as 'comedy' but really when script writers and actors try too hard to be funny it shows, and the results are, well, not funny.The actor who plays Jack can't deliver 'funny' lines. He has an awful transatlantic drawl that is annoying (maybe it's supposed to be??). The episode I watched had a storyline with the TV cooks' murders, and the character of Jack trying hard to be funny was so badly acted I nearly laughed; "your name is Sue, you made Sue-ffle, and you are a Sue-chef" -geddit?. Not even bad enough to groan at. He mumbles comments under his breathe at a bereaved husband and his side-kick hits him - badly, badly acted. He smashes his car into another and the young attractive female driver gives him her phone number. Dream on. The woman playing the female detective is wasted in this programme. I couldn't help watch this, just not believing what I was seeing but in the end had to switch it off - feeling pretty 'vexed' (geddit?) at yet another new programme on TV turning out to be awful. Instead of this rubbish can't the BBC bring back Zen the police programme set in Italy.
