GUENOT PHILIPPE I hope that this terrific TV series will be widely shown in France one of these days; after all, it was produced by Studio Canal. I won't talk of the qualities of this show, the other comments have already done it. But thta's the first time in hostage films history that I see hostage takers wait for FOUR or EIGHT days to get the ransom they asked for. The really FIRST damn time. Four hours would have been more believable. That's my own opinion. I really loved the Iraki descent character, whom I have already seen in another Dannish crime movie - DARKLAND - which I commented. His character is here so moving, and SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS I did not expect him to die so soon. The hostage scheme is perfect for a TV show, especially when it comes to focus on hostages and takers personnalities. See CASE DE PAPEL or this other series which I also commented last year, and showing Irak vets pulling a bank robbery - KILLPOINT.

wentworthstreet It's pretty obvious from the outset that Philip is hiding something about his past and, boy, do they milk it! I also thought it a great shame that Louise wasn't given more to do. Sadly, her character was rather sidelined and her main purpose seemed to be throwing concerned looks in Philip's direction on a regular basis. As Louise was clearly the smartest person in the room, it is depressing that she was marginalised into the role of female love interest - how uninspired.And, of course, the female reporter was so dim that she jumped into bed with one of the 'relatives' who was quite clearly working for the hostage takers as their fourth man on the outside.Finally, it is revealed how Mark (Alpha) and Philip are connected. However, unless I missed something, it remains unclear how Bravo and Charlie fit into the picture. Who are they? How and why were they recruited by Alpha? What did they hope to get out of taking hostages when the ransom was purely intended to get Jim released? They certainly did not seem to be the altruistic types! At least we found out Sammy's role at the end.On the plus side, I thought the detective duo of SP and Simon had great potential and I also thought Jakob Oftebro did a great job as Mark (Alpha). The actors portraying the hostages were also believable, even if some had rather cliché back stories.The Bridge and The Killing have set the bar extremely high. Below the Surface is not in their league, but it is not terrible either.

rachaelcollinson I started watching this out of curiosity and after the first episode i binge watched the following 7 on BBC I Player. I think that from a technical point of view the producer has captured this perfectly, and i think the actors portray the roles they play as if it was real life. I wasn't expecting the ending but never the less it captured my heart and in the end i cried at the ending. Cant wait for season 2 (if there is one)

drnotout Well, what a waste of time that series was. Absolutely incredible plot lines and totally unbelievable characterisations. I tried to hang onto the plot, but it just didn't work. For example, a small group of terrorists (a noun that the BBC would never allowed to be used) get holed up in an underground space that has a lift shaft providing direct access. Yet none of bumbling police ever consider using gas to subdue the protagonists and thus facilitate a rescue - oh no, that would never do. The ending was the true low point of this disappointing drama with the only winners being the other distant terrorists. BBC4 has subjected us to some real stinkers in the Saturday evening drama slot recently and I'm not sure there is any light at the end of this particular tunnel. By complete contrast, I confidently predict that the upcoming fourth series of Michael Connelly's Bosch on Amazon will make up these Scandinavian deficiencies.