Broadchurch - ITV Drama Series (Part 3)

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  • fizzle90fizzle90 Posts: 6,467
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    bebecat wrote: »
    It always seems like the air date for return of popular series is some big state secret...lol. Just tell us already! Same with series four of The Killing, Gracepoint, and others. They get all vague and cagey about it.

    They only had the first script read through yesterday, never mind filmed anything yet ;) give them a chance :D
  • IJoinedInMayIJoinedInMay Posts: 26,317
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    I watched the repeat of this on ITV Encore. I thought it was good, sometimes very good but not quite as good as people were making out at the time of its original broadcast. A lot of people said that the program was more about the ramifications of the murder on the local community, rather than who the killer was. I can see their point of view but I've been left feeling more emotional following half-hour episodes of EastEnders than I was after viewing Broadchurch.

    The only part that came anywhere near leaving a lump in my throat was when Beth asked the woman in the car what was causing the traffic jam and heard that there was a body on the beach. The look on Beth's face indicated she assumed it was Danny and I hope I never find out what it would feel like to be Beth at that moment. The other events didn't stir up anything inside me.

    I did like the subtext about the media, which was elaborated on by a few posters on here. Karen's a cow.

    I find it odd the manner in which those who guessed Joe was the killer were criticised for saying they were disappointed that he was. Almost as if it was wrong for them to attempt to guess who the killer was? That's where my enjoyment of crime shows comes from, guessing who did it. Sure, if there are heart-wrenching moments along the way, even better but if I want hard-hitting drama, I'd watch something like a soap before I consider something like Broadchurch. The selling point of Broadchurch, IMO, is the "who killed Danny?" question, not whether Mark and Beth's marriage will survive.

    I can't comment on whether Joe was an obvious killer or not as I already knew he was the killer before I watched this program. I think I can comment on his motive though and I thought it was a bit lame. As others pointed out, we already had the child abuse theme covered (very well) with Susan. Plus, they didn't go into detail about why Joe "loved" Danny, which I felt was necessary considering Joe had shown no signs of being interested in children or even being homo/bisexual. Even if there was merely was a throwaway line about Joe being a bit experimental in his younger days, that would have been something we could have looked back on and went "ahh, now I see!". However, Joe had a fling of sorts with Danny because he was a bit bored at home. Why couldn't he have tried his luck with Becca or even used prostitutes? Him choosing an 11 year old boy to fill his time wasn't questioned enough.

    On a similar note, while I also believe Jack's relationship with his pupil was very much wrong, I think his character was there to explore wider issues e.g. the media digging up your past/is it possible to ever fully move on from your most serious mistakes, rather than for us to ponder whether's it's OK to shag the star pupil in your Music class.

    Finally, I also think a 2nd series (which might not be too far off from the date I'm posting) might prove to be an unwise decision. For me, Broadchurch is a show about murders. If you want to follow the lives of characters in a sleepy village, bring back Heartbeat. With that being said, I don't know how you can replicate the atmosphere if you do have another murder in Broadchurch. A big feature of the first series was seeing how everyone reacted to such a serious crime taking place in their unassuming corner of the world. If most of the characters from Series 1 are present next time around, they'll be hardened to it. Broadchurch isn't about Hardy or Miller, so seeing them tackle a completely separate murder in a different, more crime-weary place also wouldn't be the same. I do like the idea of there being a Sandbrook prequel, the only issue being that we know that the main suspect gets away with it. Unless they go uber-artsy with that and have the series progress in reverse-chronological order ending with the murder scene. Another idea involving the 2nd series following the trial of Joe is an interesting one but I'd prefer to move on from Danny's death onto a fresh story.

    If they can manage to concoct another murder to rock the Broadchurch community again and make it work, I'll be impressed. However, I think they should allow Series 1 to bask in its glory and leave it at that.

    P.S. - I also thought the lighting of the beacons was terribly cheesy.
  • IJoinedInMayIJoinedInMay Posts: 26,317
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    As for when Broadchurch II finally hits our screens, I can see a teaser trailer being aired during the "I'm A Celebrity..." and/or "The X Factor" final beginning the build-up to an early 2015 premiere.

    If, as speculated on here, the 2nd series does have a more spiritual/religious theme, they can go to town with the marketing over Christmas. For example, it might not be only Jesus' birth Mark and Beth are celebrating over Christmas. If Beth got pregnant in March 2013 (when Broadchurch Series 1 began), then the baby would have been born around December of that year.

    EDIT:
    I agree with some of the comments on the Digital Spy article (about the addition of Eve Myles and co to the cast) that suspect that David Tennant will only appear in the first episode. I'm not sure if he will die (in suspicious circumstances or not) but I do think another detective will be brought in to replace him (presumably James D'Arcy). This time, we'll see a tougher Ellie who will take charge of any investigation.
  • prgirl_cescaprgirl_cesca Posts: 477
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    My friend is an extra in Broadchurch 2 so definitely being/been filmed. Hopefully not too long!
  • NormandieNormandie Posts: 4,617
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    Idlecat wrote: »
    Taken from the radio times

    Susanna Lazarus
    9:30 AM, 12 May 2014
    After over a year of rumours and speculation, RadioTimes.com can exclusively reveal that David Tennant and Olivia Colman will both be returning for the second series of Broadchurch. <snip> In the British version, his character was last seen suffering a heart attack and looked so worse for wear that Chibnall recently hinted to RadioTimes.com that his days might be numbered.
    Hmmm. Red herring? The Tennant character does die... and is then found to have been murdered in a Richard Poole first episode sort of way... and Eve Myles' character replaces him thus confusing Torchwood / Who followers forever who resort to looking to the skies to await the arrival of the Blessed Barrowman... :D
  • RFSRFS Posts: 7,627
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    Normandie wrote: »
    Hmmm. Red herring? The Tennant character does die... and is then found to have been murdered in a Richard Poole first episode sort of way... and Eve Myles' character replaces him thus confusing Torchwood / Who followers forever who resort to looking to the skies to await the arrival of the Blessed Barrowman... :D

    Chuckle... GREAT summary! I can't wait!
  • SurferfishSurferfish Posts: 7,659
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    I watched the repeat of this on ITV Encore. I thought it was good, sometimes very good but not quite as good as people were making out at the time of its original broadcast. A lot of people said that the program was more about the ramifications of the murder on the local community, rather than who the killer was. I can see their point of view but I've been left feeling more emotional following half-hour episodes of EastEnders than I was after viewing Broadchurch.

    I'm the same.

    Missed it first time around and just finished watching it after recently recording it on Encore (after hearing all the praise after it was first shown). I didn't know who the killer was before seeing it. I only guessed towards the later episodes when Ellie tells Susan she couldn't believe a mother wouldn't know what was going on under her nose.

    Like you I thought it was good but felt it didn't quite live up to all the praise it got. I found Happy Valley (shown recently on BBC1) far more gripping.

    In particular I didn't find the acting of Danny's family very convincing. They just didn't seem distraught enough. I thought Ian Beale in Eastenders gave a much more realistic performance of how a murdered child's parent might behave.

    Also there were a few too many red herrings some of which never even got explained. What was the argument with the postman all about?

    Also what was the psychic guy all about? There was no explanation where he got his information from. Or was he actually supposed to be generally psychic which doesn't fit very well with the rest of the program which came across as a real life drama rather than anything supernatural.

    I still had the first episode saved, so after the finale went back to watch a couple of initial scenes to see if there were any subtle clues.

    One of the scenes shows Danny's Dad walking down the high street the morning after the murder, unaware that his son is missing. He passes most of the main subjects, says hello etc. Joe is happily strolling along with his family having a joke and a laugh, bright eyed and bushy tailed. This is the man who we eventually find out was up for most of the previous night having murdered a child with his bare hands and disposed of the body by rowing out to sea in a storm!

    Saying all that I did still enjoy the series and would still watch Broadchurch 2. :)
  • via_487via_487 Posts: 1,244
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    johnF1971 wrote: »
    One of the scenes shows Danny's Dad walking down the high street the morning after the murder, unaware that his son is missing. He passes most of the main subjects, says hello etc. Joe is happily strolling along with his family having a joke and a laugh, bright eyed and bushy tailed. This is the man who we eventually find out was up for most of the previous night having murdered a child with his bare hands and disposed of the body by rowing out to sea in a storm!
    The cast were not told who the murderer was until the filming of the final episode, so the guy playing Joe would have been blissfully unaware that he had committed a violent crime and been a bit busy covering it up the night before!
    And I think that was a mistake. I think the actors would have been able to draw more out of their individual characters had they known their relationship to the murderer.

    Like you, I also agree with IJoinedInMay. Broadchurch was good (and I remember I got involved in the 'whodunnit' discussions on here), but it was in no way outstanding.
    And yes, the beacons were incredibly cheesey.

    I actually found Broadchurch a little disturbing as the weeks went on. The series was not so much a whodunnit as a discusion on underage sex.

    We had Danny's parents, who had found they were expecting their eldest child when the mother was 15. A believable scenario.
    We had the ex-teacher/shopkeeper who had fallen in love with his star pupil (and she with him). Also a believable scenario.
    Then we had the Pauline Quirke character, who didn't know her husband had been abusing her daughter. And this gave us a huge clue when Ellie asked her 'how could you not know?' in the penultimate episode.

    It was like the writer was putting all these suggestions/contradictions to us to make us question our attutudes.
    Absolutely fair enough, but I thought it was overdone (possibly to show us there are so many different ways we could all capable of having something to hide?) and as a result, we ended up with a rather unsatisfying explanation of the lead up to Danny's murder. As IJoinedInMay said:
    Joe had a fling of sorts with Danny because he was a bit bored at home. Why couldn't he have tried his luck with Becca or even used prostitutes? Him choosing an 11 year old boy to fill his time wasn't questioned enough.
    Couldn't agree more.

    I also will watch the next Broadchurch, but without anticipation of watching a masterpiece. I just want a good 'whodunnit' with a satisfying murderer/motive this time please.
  • MandarkMandark Posts: 47,930
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    Binged watched my recordings from ITV Encore. Have to say that it was an interesting drama but with an unbelievable outcome. Nevermind. Looking forward to the next series.
  • CasmanaCasmana Posts: 1,861
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    Is there a new thread ?
  • stv viewerstv viewer Posts: 17,474
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