Grace (my Rating: 3+)
Better than some but just okay (but see my PS)
Grace, revolving around Detective Superintendent Roy Grace and Glenn Branson (his deputy and close friend), is now in its fourth season on Britbox. I watch when the other pickings are slim.
The problems with Grace start with the eponymous lead character. Actor John Simm largely succeeds in given Grace the necessary appearance of grace but he seems a bit hollow inside and prone to putting his head into his own needs. Both he and DS Branson have personal problems surrounding their wives. Grace is at one point pursued by his boss as a possible suspect in his own wife’s murder. The show follows the unfortunate recent tendency to complicate the mere solving of crime with deep dives into pathos. The crimes themselves – which can seem rather scripted – must share the plot with the various detectives’ own back stories and current life challenges.
A bright spot appears in season two, in the person of the no-nonsense DS Norman Potting, played by Craig Parkinson. Laura Elphinstone’s DS Bella Moy is also solid. The other team members seem not to have much depth despite the plot weight being carried by their personal difficulties. The series takes place in Brighton and usually finds a way to showcase the drowned ruins of the iconic West Pier.
Kinda interesting plots sometimes – when not overdone – but also kinda meh, so a 3+
PS: I’m now reading my third Erast Fandorin novel by Boris Akunin. Each one inhabits a different detective genre and each has been a great read. Akunin combines historical realism, fascinating detail, moments of unavoidable lol with sometimes brutal realism. Akunin also often presents Fandorin – the central character – as seen from the side by others. Well done and very interesting.
