Watched: Broadchurch
Fuck, this was miserable to watch. Fantastic, of course, and displaying the sort of tension and brilliance in the writing that can only come from one person being given the reins (Chris Chibnall, who has a lot of good Doctor Who writing credits under his belt), but so, so sad.
It’s refreshing to see David Tennant cast as a new lead - he immerses himself in this, and sheds all of the baggage that comes from being the Doctor by being as dour and miserable as possible. Olivia Colman is similarly great, but given a dramatically different part to play.
The most impressive part of this was how it examined inner prejudices - rather than describe the culprit in second-hand terms, the one extended flashback of the series takes you back to the night of the murder, where the relationship between the killer and victim is portrayed with exactly the level of complexity it needs. It’s a show where the characters are painfully quick to demonise each other, but the camera always takes an emotional step back.
This was masterfully done, and I’m excited to see what happens regarding the second season (and a little less excited to see how the Tennant-starring American remake fares). Think I need something a little cheerier for now, though.