Doctor Foster kept me gripped because I thought there must must be some dark, underlying mystery to be revealed. in the end, I was disappointed to find out that it was really just a mundane tale of infidelity. But it was cleverly written (even if it was a big tease) and well acted. I was immediately interested in the characters and wanted to find out more about them.
On the other hand, From Darkness just seemed preposterous from start to finish. I lost interest in the characters because their motives and behaviour just appeared so unbelievable. I can excuse plot holes, every drama has them. But when you get characters behaving so out of tune with reality, I just lose interest. Unless it's deliberate fantasy of course, but From Darkness wasn't as far as I know.
It had the potential to be a good programme but it so messed up with the stupid, almost infatuation from the start of massive built up sexual tension between Church and Hind.
Church was a right idiot in the last 2 episodes too , getting drunk and leary at the party they were uninvited for, and why on earth did Hind take the risk of going into the house when he knew Police were on their way?
And Church either ignoring or forgetting to come back to the would be killers aid just to get off with Hind back when she was a Copper shows what an idiot she was and that neither of them should have been in the job with how they went about things.
Well, we didn't see that coming! Claire shooting Lucy was the surprise of the series I must say. I quite thought Lucy would shoot herself and I certainly never thought she'd shoot Hind. What a bloody mess!
The series was like the curate's egg - good in parts - but there were so many flaws that it quite detracted from one's ability to suspend belief at times. And what's the director's obsession with extreme facial close-ups? They were pretty pointless really and only served to slow the whole thing down. At least it was all over in 4 parts and it served to fill a gap in Sunday night TV viewing before pouring the bedtime cocoa!
Well, we didn't see that coming! Claire shooting Lucy was the surprise of the series I must say. I quite thought Lucy would shoot herself and I certainly never thought she'd shoot Hind. What a bloody mess!
The series was like the curate's egg - good in parts - but there were so many flaws that it quite detracted from one's ability to suspend belief at times. And what's the director's obsession with extreme facial close-ups? They were pretty pointless really and only served to slow the whole thing down. At least it was all over in 4 parts and it served to fill a gap in Sunday night TV viewing before pouring the bedtime cocoa!
Claire was shown to be such an idiot in the last 2 episodes that its not surprising that she shot the or one of the killers at the end.
I thought Hind had been knifed. If he was shot they didn't do the sound for it.
On Claire losing her baby, maybe it was down to the stress of the case?
I thought Hind had been knifed. If he was shot they didn't do the sound for it.
I was on only in the room whilst the wife was watching this, so I wasn't really paying attention, but I thought I saw her grab up a gun and a pillow.
I know pillows reducing a gun's bang to nothing is probably a Hollywood myth which has been disproved many times on Mythbusters and YouTube but I assumed that was why there was no bang.
Seems that not many on here enjoyed the series, I definitely didn't but I stuck with it in the hope that it would improve - it didn't. Ann Marie Duff is not a bad actress but this was awful writing. Shame all round
Doctor Foster kept me gripped because I thought there must must be some dark, underlying mystery to be revealed. in the end, I was disappointed to find out that it was really just a mundane tale of infidelity. But it was cleverly written (even if it was a big tease) and well acted. I was immediately interested in the characters and wanted to find out more about them.
On the other hand, From Darkness just seemed preposterous from start to finish. I lost interest in the characters because their motives and behaviour just appeared so unbelievable. I can excuse plot holes, every drama has them. But when you get characters behaving so out of tune with reality, I just lose interest. Unless it's deliberate fantasy of course, but From Darkness wasn't as far as I know.
I agree with this - I don't have praise for Doctor Foster as I felt the ending was too 'normal' to what I thought would have a twist at the end of it but it wasn't as bad as From Darkness. As much as I am pleased for those who enjoyed it, I felt the ending spoiled the series most as it seemed the story just fell down in the last episode.
I can suspend belief or reality a handful of times but nearly the whole episode felt to be full of it. I didn't get why the policeman boss was nasty to the guy the wife was introduced to him, how the wife deduced that he had cheated on her when all he was saying was '...I .....I ......I', and had he cheated on her? I thought the episode began with him and Claire returning from that wedding party. The likelihood of the police just walking past someone lying on the floor - even if they thought she were drunk.... can't see it myself. How Claire calculated who the 90's killer was and was able to summon the strength to run down the road after him? I guess that's why they showed her doing that training to explain that one. How did Lucy know about the witness protection flat and that Claire was there? And blimey that commute from the Scottish Isles to Manchester seemed as regular as a tube service.
I could go on, not because I just want to moan but because I wanted it to like it and am so disappointed. It was as if the writers wrote how they wanted to story to end without putting in the detail of how it would get there from the third episode to the last and chucked it all in. It left me wondering if the series was originally meant to be longer than the four episodes.
I was on only in the room whilst the wife was watching this, so I wasn't really paying attention, but I thought I saw her grab up a gun and a pillow.
I know pillows reducing a gun's bang to nothing is probably a Hollywood myth which has been disproved many times on Mythbusters and YouTube but I assumed that was why there was no bang.
She did have a gun before so maybe but having said that, the way she done the attack seemed more like a knife but some people with guns do attack close like that, at least in the films anyway.
Claire being messed up because of believing she "murdered" her baby isn't poor writing at all. Loads of women in real life seem to keep unplanned babies for that reason/fear.
Claire was already messed up before the baby died - she lost it when she tried to kill herself.
I'm in the minority who enjoyed this all the way through until the very end. I thought A-MD and Lindsey Marshall were great as Claire and Lucy. The plot held up for me, and I liked the bleak atmosphere.
I was disappointed though in the way Claire acted in the final scene. I really felt that was out of character and unexpected. I know she was messed up, but not unhinged and harmful. I did find it odd that the original case so disturbed her as a very young officer that she became suicidal when she found out she was pregnant - surely that sort of weakness is identified through the police recruitment and training processes. I kept thinking there was more to her story than that, although I can understand that she would subsequently suffer from anxiety and depression. I felt very sympathetic towards her all through the story (even the weird drunk wedding-crashing), but then it ended with no hope for her future.
I really enjoyed the final episode too and I loved the ending - I thought it was so unexpected. I thought all the plots were resolved nicely. The only thing that niggled me a bit was Claire working out who the original killer was - I would agree that seemed to be worked out and resolved too quickly.
But I thought the actress who played Lucy was brilliant, and I thought her motive was very realistic. A victim who was ignored years before, who became so damaged that she became a danger to everyone else and wanted to show the world and Claire how hurt and damaged she was.
I loved the red herring of the daughter meeting up with someone from the Internet as well and it all turned out to be innocent.
Oh dear. I was away at the weekend & only just caught the last episode. I actually laughed at the ending. I put up with all of the holes & dodgy directing & acting, because there was an interestingish story underneath, only to be cheated like that at the end. Really ridiculous & utterly stupid. If that passes for a twist these days, we're producing some pretty shoddy writers!
Only caught up with it tonight. It was mostly good but I thought the ending was very disappointing, it was out of character imo.
It looks like the case messed Clair up originally in the late 90's and it had the same effect by the 3rd and 4th episode. Like I said earlier, it went far too over the top in the sexual tension between Claire and Hind and I found that very irritating.
It did have a number of flaws, was watchable but could have been a lot better.
I thought Doctor Foster was utter tripe, even worse than From Darkness. On the other hand, I am loving both River and Unforgotten. Personal taste innit
My husband and I both love Unforgotten and I hated River ep 1 but am glad I stuck with it as it grew on me totally from the beginning on ep 2
As for From Darkness - I know crime shows are not comedies and murders are serious business but humans are more than that and I thought the main female character was too 'dark' I know she had issues and there were a couple of light 'normal' moments but she looked like she sucked a lemon the whole time.
I enjoyed it more than some other crimes shows I have seen (Broadchurch series 2!) and will watch a further series but I am not totally convinced
Only one word for it "pants".
Almost every scene just seemed silly, the location Manchester to Island just laid the background of stupidity.
My eyes pricked up higher than normal when they said what did you find at the suspects house, "oh, dogs, dog hair, dog shit and women's makeup, didn't think he was was the type to have a girlfriend". NO HE WAS NOT, HE WAS FAT, BEARDED! SUROUNDED BY SMELLY DOGS, WHERE WAS HIS GIRLDFRIEND HIDING? IN A KENNEL.
Where did the young detective fit into the story, his part seemed to have no purpose at all. What about the very young daughter being told to go out, I have grandchildren of that age and it is the very last thing they would do, to causally wander out and start talking to a stranger. Why did the main detective go back into the house, no one was in danger and the armed squad would soon be turning up.
The ending was surprising but again a bit silly since it appeared the boyfriend detective was still moving, why did she not rush to help him?
Only one word for it "pants".
Almost every scene just seemed silly, the location Manchester to Island just laid the background of stupidity.
My eyes pricked up higher than normal when they said what did you find at the suspects house, "oh, dogs, dog hair, dog shit and women's makeup, didn't think he was was the type to have a girlfriend". NO HE WAS NOT, HE WAS FAT, BEARDED! SUROUNDED BY SMELLY DOGS, WHERE WAS HIS GIRLDFRIEND HIDING? IN A KENNEL.
Where did the young detective fit into the story, his part seemed to have no purpose at all. What about the very young daughter being told to go out, I have grandchildren of that age and it is the very last thing they would do, to causally wander out and start talking to a stranger. Why did the main detective go back into the house, no one was in danger and the armed squad would soon be turning up.
The ending was surprising but again a bit silly since it appeared the boyfriend detective was still moving, why did she not rush to help him?
I was thinking the first thing she should've/would've done was phone for an ambulance.
I suppose the young detective was just 'another copper' someone who'd be there in real life.
This is back on Iplayer, from the summary and a skim of the last 2 pages of the thread, it's not for me, but those who liked it might want to give it another go.
Comments
On the other hand, From Darkness just seemed preposterous from start to finish. I lost interest in the characters because their motives and behaviour just appeared so unbelievable. I can excuse plot holes, every drama has them. But when you get characters behaving so out of tune with reality, I just lose interest. Unless it's deliberate fantasy of course, but From Darkness wasn't as far as I know.
Church was a right idiot in the last 2 episodes too , getting drunk and leary at the party they were uninvited for, and why on earth did Hind take the risk of going into the house when he knew Police were on their way?
And Church either ignoring or forgetting to come back to the would be killers aid just to get off with Hind back when she was a Copper shows what an idiot she was and that neither of them should have been in the job with how they went about things.
The series was like the curate's egg - good in parts - but there were so many flaws that it quite detracted from one's ability to suspend belief at times. And what's the director's obsession with extreme facial close-ups? They were pretty pointless really and only served to slow the whole thing down. At least it was all over in 4 parts and it served to fill a gap in Sunday night TV viewing before pouring the bedtime cocoa!
Claire was shown to be such an idiot in the last 2 episodes that its not surprising that she shot the or one of the killers at the end.
I thought Hind had been knifed. If he was shot they didn't do the sound for it.
On Claire losing her baby, maybe it was down to the stress of the case?
I know pillows reducing a gun's bang to nothing is probably a Hollywood myth which has been disproved many times on Mythbusters and YouTube but I assumed that was why there was no bang.
I can suspend belief or reality a handful of times but nearly the whole episode felt to be full of it. I didn't get why the policeman boss was nasty to the guy the wife was introduced to him, how the wife deduced that he had cheated on her when all he was saying was '...I .....I ......I', and had he cheated on her? I thought the episode began with him and Claire returning from that wedding party. The likelihood of the police just walking past someone lying on the floor - even if they thought she were drunk.... can't see it myself. How Claire calculated who the 90's killer was and was able to summon the strength to run down the road after him? I guess that's why they showed her doing that training to explain that one. How did Lucy know about the witness protection flat and that Claire was there? And blimey that commute from the Scottish Isles to Manchester seemed as regular as a tube service.
I could go on, not because I just want to moan but because I wanted it to like it and am so disappointed. It was as if the writers wrote how they wanted to story to end without putting in the detail of how it would get there from the third episode to the last and chucked it all in. It left me wondering if the series was originally meant to be longer than the four episodes.
She did have a gun before so maybe but having said that, the way she done the attack seemed more like a knife but some people with guns do attack close like that, at least in the films anyway.
Claire was already messed up before the baby died - she lost it when she tried to kill herself.
I was disappointed though in the way Claire acted in the final scene. I really felt that was out of character and unexpected. I know she was messed up, but not unhinged and harmful. I did find it odd that the original case so disturbed her as a very young officer that she became suicidal when she found out she was pregnant - surely that sort of weakness is identified through the police recruitment and training processes. I kept thinking there was more to her story than that, although I can understand that she would subsequently suffer from anxiety and depression. I felt very sympathetic towards her all through the story (even the weird drunk wedding-crashing), but then it ended with no hope for her future.
But I thought the actress who played Lucy was brilliant, and I thought her motive was very realistic. A victim who was ignored years before, who became so damaged that she became a danger to everyone else and wanted to show the world and Claire how hurt and damaged she was.
I loved the red herring of the daughter meeting up with someone from the Internet as well and it all turned out to be innocent.
Overall I really enjoyed it.
It looks like the case messed Clair up originally in the late 90's and it had the same effect by the 3rd and 4th episode. Like I said earlier, it went far too over the top in the sexual tension between Claire and Hind and I found that very irritating.
It did have a number of flaws, was watchable but could have been a lot better.
My husband and I both love Unforgotten and I hated River ep 1 but am glad I stuck with it as it grew on me totally from the beginning on ep 2
As for From Darkness - I know crime shows are not comedies and murders are serious business but humans are more than that and I thought the main female character was too 'dark' I know she had issues and there were a couple of light 'normal' moments but she looked like she sucked a lemon the whole time.
I enjoyed it more than some other crimes shows I have seen (Broadchurch series 2!) and will watch a further series but I am not totally convinced
Almost every scene just seemed silly, the location Manchester to Island just laid the background of stupidity.
My eyes pricked up higher than normal when they said what did you find at the suspects house, "oh, dogs, dog hair, dog shit and women's makeup, didn't think he was was the type to have a girlfriend". NO HE WAS NOT, HE WAS FAT, BEARDED! SUROUNDED BY SMELLY DOGS, WHERE WAS HIS GIRLDFRIEND HIDING? IN A KENNEL.
Where did the young detective fit into the story, his part seemed to have no purpose at all. What about the very young daughter being told to go out, I have grandchildren of that age and it is the very last thing they would do, to causally wander out and start talking to a stranger. Why did the main detective go back into the house, no one was in danger and the armed squad would soon be turning up.
The ending was surprising but again a bit silly since it appeared the boyfriend detective was still moving, why did she not rush to help him?
I was thinking the first thing she should've/would've done was phone for an ambulance.
I suppose the young detective was just 'another copper' someone who'd be there in real life.