Since I do not have the funds to watch Netflix (they have āBroadchurch,ā Hulu doesnāt), I decided to go ahead and watch Gracepoint, the American version of āBroadchurch.ā
Watched 3 episodes Tuesday with my buddy Q.
Binge-watched the rest tonight because it was so damn good. Probably the best drama ever. Yes, way better than CSI or Law n Order.
Because there are just some actors with that certain āje-ne-sais-quoisā that make an otherwise typical murder mystery even more āedge-of-your-seatā thrilling.
David Tennant is just that actor. Anna Gunn is the same. The energy between them is superb. And I especially liked how supportiveĀ āCarverā ended up being towards āEllie,ā there at the end. It shows how excellent the writers were, showing the growth of the two main detectives, the changes in their relationship, the eventual respect that grew between them.
I will confess, however, that I wish David had kept his Scottish accent for this version, that theyād written it so his character was an ex-pat or something...just so those of us who like hearing him talk with his normal accent could have that exquisite pleasure.
But...he wanted to try an American accent. And thatās okay...because he made it work superbly. However, both my buddy and I caught glimpses here and there of Davidās normal brogue. I still heard those traces, even in the later episodes. So, it gave me glimpses of how he sounds in āBroadchurch,ā which Iād still like to see, just because I want to. Vudu has it, I think, so yeah, thereās my option.
And damn it...I LOVED those shots in the later episodes where the sun is bringing the red in Davidās hair to brilliant life, almost literally setting his hair on fire. I seriously wish I could have taken a screen shot or three so I could paint him.
You wanted to be ginger, Doctor? You landed a role that turned you ginger in just the right spots. ;-)
One other thing I want to add is the way Carver went full-on with the investigation right from the start. He hit the ground running, and oh did he ever bulldog it! I mean, when the captain said Carver was the best, he damn well meant it.
And his name was appropriate, too. Like a King of Swords, he literally carved his way right through all the bullshit, the lies, the āIā-canāt-imagine-someone-would-do-thatā attitude that is so prevalent in small towns. Many people of the town resented his surly pessimism, but I found myself drawn to him, and not just because Tennant was in that role.
It is true that I prefer to think the best of people, but in a murder investigation, I would have to side with Carver, try and lay aside subjectivity as much as possible, and think about everything from as many angles as possible, asking as many questions as possible, and be as observant as possible. I found myself thinking the same way as Carver did, actually. As emotional as I can be sometimes, I find characters like Carver riveting.
I think itās the dogged discipline I see. A discipline I feel I need to develop, still.Ā
I think itās also the mental prowess thatās backed up by doggedness.
It makes me wonder, however, just how fast Sherlock Holmes would have solved the Danny Solano case.
Faster than Carver and Miller put together, Iām sure.
But it would have made the show a LOT shorter.
If I were to compare Holmesā and Carverās respective detecting skills to sex, Iād call Holmes a fifteen-minute quickie and Carver a nice, slow drawn-out lovemaking with a fantastic climax at the end.
I definitely prefer the second option...
...Especially if Tennantās in the role. ;-)
