Personally I like that it is gloomy and dark and near miserable. I also like the bleak landscape and that feeling of isolation and loneliness. Like a land/place the world forgot.
I didn't watch the first series, but I can already see a thread running through it. So far there is a lot of connection with children - whether it is to with Matthias' dead daughter or Mared's own child or the children involved in the murder stories. It comes back to haunt Matthias again and again.
The whodunnits aren't that difficult to work out if you put your mind to it. But for me it's not the actual finding out who the murderer is that is the interesting thing in Hinterland. It's the subtleness in its writing and acting to create its 4 main characters, the community that they are a part of and what that sense of community feels and looks like. Without making a big deal of it, I now know that Lloyd goes on dating websites, Mared is a bit of bitch to make subtle fun of that and Matthias wasn't impressed with Mared's putdown snobbery at Lloyd's expense. In other episodes, Mared is able to connect with the distant broody lost soul Matthias as a parent. And Matthias finds quiet kinship with a landscape and community that suits his mood. Although I hadn't watched the first series and didn't know the details, the Thomas/Matthias conversation hinted enough for me to realise that Iwan Thomas was a former colleague of Matthias.
It is more an atmospheric psychological drama which is not easy to pull on-screen. It just means that as a viewer you have to work a lot harder to get beneath its surface. I would admit that the Welsh/English mix was rather offputting at first. But it does work on a level of familiar unfamiliarity which only helps to create the kind of alienating mood of the series.
I cant help thinking if this exactly the same programme, but subtitled and Nordic, the same critics would be fawning over it. Terrible smell of snobbery in here.
Nice to see I am not the only fan here. Having not seen S1, I have enjoyed it greatly.
I'm not sure that is fair. I really, really tried to give it a go. But it was all way too bleak. The main guy with the Ricky Gervais funeral face, just made me very sad.
Don't get me wrong, as I am from Ireland, it is vastly better than anything useless RTE have made recently. But it was just too heavy and maybe a bit too close to home for everyone.
I cant help thinking if this exactly the same programme, but subtitled and Nordic, the same critics would be fawning over it. Terrible smell of snobbery in here.
Nice to see I am not the only fan here. Having not seen S1, I have enjoyed it greatly.
Good point and there are loads of simplistic American series for those who like that type of thing - some of them must be recording a couple of episodes a day!
I cant help thinking if this exactly the same programme, but subtitled and Nordic, the same critics would be fawning over it. Terrible smell of snobbery in here.
Nice to see I am not the only fan here. Having not seen S1, I have enjoyed it greatly.
I've seen both series and can't wait for series 3 fingers crossed. I would say it's one of the best programmes from any part of the UK in a long time, 12 out of 10 from me.
There had been history between the Bowens and the Watkins that dated long before Aron/Cal Bowen and Marc/Abi Watkins were born (or at the very least when they were just little children). Years back the Bowens' boatyard had worked on the Watkins's family boat which the Watkins used to make a living. Will Watkins, his father and other men working for the Watkins took the boat and went out to sea but they got into trouble when the boat capsized in rough weather: the repairs the Bowens did on the boat was shoddy and the engine had failed. Will Watkins was the only survivor. So ever since that day there has been feud between the two families.
Fast forward many years and we see that Will Watkins is now the father of Marc and Abi Watkins, and Annes Bowen is the mother of Aron and Cal. Abi falls in love with Aron Bowen and they have a baby. Abi is killed and Aron goes down for her murder. Expect that it was Annes Bowen who had killed Abi. She had warned Aron about the family's disapproval of his relationship with Abi, and how the Watkins will now try to get their hands on the Bowens' boatyard business. When Mathias looked at Aron's interrogation tapes, Aron had told the police (i.e. Brian Prosser - or Tosser as I like to call him - who is now the Chief Supt) that after the argument/fight he had with Abi about his suspicious over the affair he suspected Abi to be having, he went over to see his parents about the argument/fight. His dad was already in bed asleep, but his mother was awake. Annes shouted at Aron, told him he had ruined his life for getting involved with Abi in the first place and the Watkins family, and threw in him out. But Mathias knew that Annes had lied to him, having told him a different story earlier on, and that's when he realised that it was Annes who had gone round to Abi's to kill her after Aron had come round to see her. So her son went down for a crime he did not commit, and Annes knew this but did not care.
Then to top it off, it was Cal who killed Aron. Cal had believed that Aron really did kill Abi and that Aron had no right to a relationship with Ffion, which was what Aron pushing for. Sadly, he had not only killed his brother; he killed a totally innocent brother. When Annes was justifiying her actions with "I did it for my family", Mathias told her her family had gone, which is true: Cal had killed Aron who was innocent, and her husband had drank himself to death believing his son Aron was a murderer. [ETA: Apologises for long reply. Hope it helps though:)]
I think because of the effect it has had on Ffion (and Aron being innocent and how much he has suffered), this episode is probably the saddest one of this current series for me so far. Watching Mathias's home burn down with the photo of his daughters just added to the poignancy.
So Mathias suffers from insomnia. Not surprising. I often wondered how he functions given his own personal tragedy and his work as a murder detective. Just it was lovely to get a glimpse of Lloyd's life as a single man who wanted to have a relationship of his own to assuage his own loneliness, it was nice to see Sian Owens get a little look into her character rather than be an expert on police gruntwork:D. I wonder what is up with her and that Craig Jones. And although I didn't see the 1st series (I really should see it), all the stories from there just adds to the growing mysteries that make this community what it is. The past really weighs heavily on their individual stories and this on-going story with the children's home/child abuse that keeps popping up.
PS: That Chief Supt Tosser sure has a lot of skeletons in his cupboard. I can almost feel how the walls seem to be closing in on him.
Another excellent post that has saved me a lot of time.
My sides are hurting from all the jokes and laugh out loud humour. For God's sake Mathias take your bloody job more seriously! But a nomination for best comedy at the Bafta's is surely on it's way very soon.
It was a slow burning and very atmospheric finale to the series and I really enjoyed it.
I like my dramas to be as dark as possible and they don't come much blacker than this.
Poor old Tom - he has nothing left at all now and I do wonder if it was Prosser who banged him on the head at the end - the bloke has more skeletons in his closet than a bloody Chinese cemetery.
Roll on series three.
By the way Mared and Sian are very easy on the eye which does help to distract from all of the anguish, death and misery.
I have 500 hours of TV in the can, and since the number of re-run channels on FV increased 4-fold there are now some genre of programs that I used to watch that I now have no time to see
I have 500 hours of TV in the can, and since the number of re-run channels on FV increased 4-fold there are now some genre of programs that I used to watch that I now have no time to see
Why would I want pay TV?
Wow. It's just a suggestion! Even if you personally don't find it worthwhile, other thread readers might.
The problem with re-run TV is you don't know when a prog first appers if it is going to be shown once, and never again, or find its way into continuous repeat.
I've been caught out before thinking "I'll watch this series next time around" for there not to be a next time around (Rockford on ITV3/4).
So now, when somthing new starts which I don't have time for, I use my "Grundig" to move it to an external drive and wait to see if it's repeated. Currently doing this with the 200 odd eps of X-Files on Spike which at 5 times a week for a year I certainly don't have time for.
If it is repeated I might eventually get time to see it "live", if it isn't, I have it in the can for later. Sometimes, when I do start to watch a series I think this is XXXX and delete the lot!
I've seen both series and can't wait for series 3 fingers crossed. I would say it's one of the best programmes from any part of the UK in a long time, 12 out of 10 from me.
I watched and really enjoyed both series as well and I'm really looking forward to Series 3.
I have 500 hours of TV in the can, and since the number of re-run channels on FV increased 4-fold there are now some genre of programs that I used to watch that I now have no time to see
Why would I want pay TV?
Wow. I couldn't possibly conceive ever having the time to watch so much recorded material...
There had been history between the Bowens and the Watkins that dated long before Aron/Cal Bowen and Marc/Abi Watkins were born (or at the very least when they were just little children). Years back the Bowens' boatyard had worked on the Watkins's family boat which the Watkins used to make a living. Will Watkins, his father and other men working for the Watkins took the boat and went out to sea but they got into trouble when the boat capsized in rough weather: the repairs the Bowens did on the boat was shoddy and the engine had failed. Will Watkins was the only survivor. So ever since that day there has been feud between the two families.
Fast forward many years and we see that Will Watkins is now the father of Marc and Abi Watkins, and Annes Bowen is the mother of Aron and Cal. Abi falls in love with Aron Bowen and they have a baby. Abi is killed and Aron goes down for her murder. Expect that it was Annes Bowen who had killed Abi. She had warned Aron about the family's disapproval of his relationship with Abi, and how the Watkins will now try to get their hands on the Bowens' boatyard business. When Mathias looked at Aron's interrogation tapes, Aron had told the police (i.e. Brian Prosser - or Tosser as I like to call him - who is now the Chief Supt) that after the argument/fight he had with Abi about his suspicious over the affair he suspected Abi to be having, he went over to see his parents about the argument/fight. His dad was already in bed asleep, but his mother was awake. Annes shouted at Aron, told him he had ruined his life for getting involved with Abi in the first place and the Watkins family, and threw in him out. But Mathias knew that Annes had lied to him, having told him a different story earlier on, and that's when he realised that it was Annes who had gone round to Abi's to kill her after Aron had come round to see her. So her son went down for a crime he did not commit, and Annes knew this but did not care.
Then to top it off, it was Cal who killed Aron. Cal had believed that Aron really did kill Abi and that Aron had no right to a relationship with Ffion, which was what Aron pushing for. Sadly, he had not only killed his brother; he killed a totally innocent brother. When Annes was justifiying her actions with "I did it for my family", Mathias told her her family had gone, which is true: Cal had killed Aron who was innocent, and her husband had drank himself to death believing his son Aron was a murderer. [ETA: Apologises for long reply. Hope it helps though:)]
I think because of the effect it has had on Ffion (and Aron being innocent and how much he has suffered), this episode is probably the saddest one of this current series for me so far. Watching Mathias's home burn down with the photo of his daughters just added to the poignancy.
So Mathias suffers from insomnia. Not surprising. I often wondered how he functions given his own personal tragedy and his work as a murder detective. Just it was lovely to get a glimpse of Lloyd's life as a single man who wanted to have a relationship of his own to assuage his own loneliness, it was nice to see Sian Owens get a little look into her character rather than be an expert on police gruntwork:D. I wonder what is up with her and that Craig Jones. And although I didn't see the 1st series (I really should see it), all the stories from there just adds to the growing mysteries that make this community what it is. The past really weighs heavily on their individual stories and this on-going story with the children's home/child abuse that keeps popping up.
PS: That Chief Supt Tosser sure has a lot of skeletons in his cupboard. I can almost feel how the walls seem to be closing in on him.
Excellent summary,, thanks very much
Just watched that episode on Iplayer and I must have missed something
At the end who was killed in the explosion
Thought ot may have been Mr Tosser but he's going to be in series 3
Don't they normally show in Welsh on S4C first then BBC1 Wales around the New Year followed by BBC4 some months later.
This why I was so surprised that it was starting now. The story opens from where it was left off - the aftermath of Tom Mathias' caravan being destroyed by fire.
This why I was so surprised that it was starting now. The story opens from where it was left off - the aftermath of Tom Mathias' caravan being destroyed by fire.
oh, goody! I think I watched it on iplayer last time in Welsh.
Thanks for posting this, my box didn't pick it up but luckily found a repeat on friday
Glad to be of help. Normally I'm the one who finds out from posters on here when a new series starts and, because nothing has been posted, I thought I would let anyone who is interested know.
I realise that it will be shown on BBC4 eventually, but it's such a good series I like to watch it early on S4C rather than have to wait.
What I don't really understand is why they do a different version of each episode that's part
English and part Welsh. Why not do the Welsh version for S4C and then a totally English version for BBC1 Wales and then BBC4? Why do we get this weird halfway house version?
What I don't really understand is why they do a different version of each episode that's part
English and part Welsh. Why not do the Welsh version for S4C and then a totally English version for BBC1 Wales and then BBC4? Why do we get this weird halfway house version?
It has been discussed before, that is the way people talk in Wales. They will switch between English and Welsh, sometimes in the same sentence. Welsh is many people's first language so between themselves they will often use it in preference to English.
Comments
I cant help thinking if this exactly the same programme, but subtitled and Nordic, the same critics would be fawning over it. Terrible smell of snobbery in here.
Nice to see I am not the only fan here. Having not seen S1, I have enjoyed it greatly.
Don't get me wrong, as I am from Ireland, it is vastly better than anything useless RTE have made recently. But it was just too heavy and maybe a bit too close to home for everyone.
Good point and there are loads of simplistic American series for those who like that type of thing - some of them must be recording a couple of episodes a day!
It's currently on Netflix.
I've seen both series and can't wait for series 3 fingers crossed. I would say it's one of the best programmes from any part of the UK in a long time, 12 out of 10 from me.
Another excellent post that has saved me a lot of time.
My sides are hurting from all the jokes and laugh out loud humour. For God's sake Mathias take your bloody job more seriously! But a nomination for best comedy at the Bafta's is surely on it's way very soon.
It was a slow burning and very atmospheric finale to the series and I really enjoyed it.
I like my dramas to be as dark as possible and they don't come much blacker than this.
Poor old Tom - he has nothing left at all now and I do wonder if it was Prosser who banged him on the head at the end - the bloke has more skeletons in his closet than a bloody Chinese cemetery.
Roll on series three.
By the way Mared and Sian are very easy on the eye which does help to distract from all of the anguish, death and misery.
That's pay TV
I have 500 hours of TV in the can, and since the number of re-run channels on FV increased 4-fold there are now some genre of programs that I used to watch that I now have no time to see
Why would I want pay TV?
Wow. It's just a suggestion!
The problem with re-run TV is you don't know when a prog first appers if it is going to be shown once, and never again, or find its way into continuous repeat.
I've been caught out before thinking "I'll watch this series next time around" for there not to be a next time around (Rockford on ITV3/4).
So now, when somthing new starts which I don't have time for, I use my "Grundig" to move it to an external drive and wait to see if it's repeated. Currently doing this with the 200 odd eps of X-Files on Spike which at 5 times a week for a year I certainly don't have time for.
If it is repeated I might eventually get time to see it "live", if it isn't, I have it in the can for later. Sometimes, when I do start to watch a series I think this is XXXX and delete the lot!
I watched and really enjoyed both series as well and I'm really looking forward to Series 3.
Wow. I couldn't possibly conceive ever having the time to watch so much recorded material...
Just watched that episode on Iplayer and I must have missed something
At the end who was killed in the explosion
Thought ot may have been Mr Tosser but he's going to be in series 3
Looking forward to this new series.
On what channel? Not BBC Four? BBC 1 Wales?
The Welsh version (with english and welsh subs available) is always on S4C. It will be shown on BBC 4 eventually.
which series is this? Are these new ones?
Will it be repeated?
To answer my own question, I've just checked, it's repeated on Friday.
Don't they normally show in Welsh on S4C first then BBC1 Wales around the New Year followed by BBC4 some months later.
Yes, this is the new series.
Thanks for posting this, my box didn't pick it up but luckily found a repeat on friday
This why I was so surprised that it was starting now. The story opens from where it was left off - the aftermath of Tom Mathias' caravan being destroyed by fire.
oh, goody! I think I watched it on iplayer last time in Welsh.
Glad to be of help. Normally I'm the one who finds out from posters on here when a new series starts and, because nothing has been posted, I thought I would let anyone who is interested know.
I realise that it will be shown on BBC4 eventually, but it's such a good series I like to watch it early on S4C rather than have to wait.
English and part Welsh. Why not do the Welsh version for S4C and then a totally English version for BBC1 Wales and then BBC4? Why do we get this weird halfway house version?
It has been discussed before, that is the way people talk in Wales. They will switch between English and Welsh, sometimes in the same sentence. Welsh is many people's first language so between themselves they will often use it in preference to English.