mwnciboo The subject matter and atmosphere, are excellent but the story is plodding and flat. It is to a degree impressive that Tim Roth is unrecognizable and credit should be given for an excellent convincing accent, which often proves to be the downfall of many an A-lister trying to do serious Drama. But therein lies the issue, there never feels like there is much serious Drama, it is a dark and brooding subject matter but it comes across as meandering and lethargic. The audio is variable, often needing subtitles as the set pieces of dialogue were often breathy or quiet.Interesting, but did not live up to, or make the most of it's potential.

keith-618 Another look at the Christie serial killer saga starring Tim Roth and Samantha Morton - what could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot as it turns out mostly connected to the name of Craig Viveiros the director. The acting throughout was fine but the director decided to make the whole enterprise in the mode of a horror movie complete with dark lighting, dark sinister music and slo-mo sequences with yet more dark sinister soundscapes. The scenes that worked best had no music at all and were quite sinister enough because of the work and effort the actors had invested in them. Why Mr Viveiros decided that the audience would find it necessary to add a music track and film techniques to tell us what to think is beyond me? I addition to these shortcomings of the director. I must also add that there's almost no detail about the murders - no modus operandi - in fact, no fact! After the second episode I was compelled to look up Wikipedia and learned more in five minutes than I had in two hours. I persevered with the third episode partly so as not to waste the previous two hours but also because I was enticed by Tim Roth and Samantha Morton's performances. But in spite of them the whole experience still left me wishing I'd watched the movie with Richard Attenborough instead. Maybe I will do that anyway.

grasswhisperer While the acting of the principal actors is fine, especially Tim Roth. this mini-series just drags on and on. The way they have set up the narrative is odd and it just plods along. The story is mildly interesting because it was the mishandling of the case against Timothy Evans and his subsequent execution that eventually led to the abolition of the death penalty in the UK. The series is very dark and the ending is abrupt. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone despite the fact that it is from the BBC which has produced a lot of fine programming. Since this story has been told several times before, I am not sure why another telling was necessary.

Khun Kru Mark One aspect of making a drama based on actual events is that we mostly know what's going to happen. This has the disadvantage of removing some of the apprehension needed to make good dramas work but it has the benefit of letting the viewer focus on other things.And in this case, there are plenty of 'other things' to absorb. The exquisite attention to detail on the sets, the (sometimes odd) writing, the inconsistent accents of some cast members and the masterful performances of Tim Roth and Samantha Morton.For some viewers (like me) it's worth re-familiarizing yourself with a little backstory about these characters and the events that happened, as they give some reason and motivation behind some of the strange decisions that are made.There is probably too little material for a three-hour miniseries to satisfy a young audience and the violence of the events that unfold are implied rather than displayed... which leaves the drama somewhat lacking in suspense... especially in a story where such inventive ways were used to dispatch the victims.In the end, this BBC drama is drab, uneventful and too long. What makes it even more difficult to digest are the choppy and confusing (and entirely unnecessary) flashbacks and flashforwards.