230. Web-series Reviews – 76

More web-series reviews…

Murder in the Valleys – Release in 2022.  A Sky Original documentary. Over four parts, Murder in the Valleys tells the story behind the biggest murder investigation in Welsh history and its enduring repercussions. One night in June 1999, three generations of a family were brutally killed in the small village of Clydach, South Wales. For more than twenty years, despite the conviction of a local builder, the case has divided the community. Filmed over 12 months, as the police decide it is time to review the evidence, this series examines a case that didn't end with the guilty verdict.

One of the reviews from the web...

I’ve just watched Murder in the Valleys, I’m really interested in this case.

I find it really frustrating that the police didn’t do a better job of investigating the Lewises & showing more transparency. If they had there might be a stronger feeling of Dai Morris being guilty. How can a force investigate their own officers? Alison Lewis used to report into Martyn Lloyd-Evans. He clearly showed a favourable bias towards the Lewises.

And now the police won’t release the recent forensics report on the sock-why? Forensics, like all evidence, need to be scrutinised. Also, there wasn’t actually much evidence against Dai Morris was there? The chain, his violent past & the fact he lied. Guess we’ll never know. Be interested to see how the Lewises lives have played out over the years…  Hope I’m not too late in discussing this. Watched all the documentaries I can find on this case.

One other really strange thing stuck out…Why are there no documentaries focusing on the murders? We have so many true crime shows and I can’t find one about the event….just on the very obvious miscarriage of justice.

Also, it stinks how David Morris just dropped dead in prison and the autopsy couldn’t find a cause.

He was outside his cell then he dropped dead? The human body is an engine and will show how it broke.

The whole thing stinks.

My Take – Worth a watch.  The documentary suggests who could have done the crime but stops short of naming the culprit, as there is no concrete proof.

 

The Bay – Came out in 2019 and has completed 3 seasons with the 4th coming in 2023.  Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong investigates a missing person in Morecambe Bay.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Set in the town of Morecambe, this series opens with a woman meeting an unknown man in a bar; shortly afterwards the two have sex in a back alley. The next day it emerges that she is DS Lisa Armstrong. She is called out when two teenaged twins, a brother and sister, have gone missing. It turns out that their step-father was the man she encountered the night before. Rather than tell her seniors she works to hide this fact. As the series continues one body is found but the search for the other continues. Various suspects arise, both inside the children's family and amongst the wider community. Away from the case DS Armstrong's own children are getting involved with some potentially dangerous people.

I must say I found this a fairly mixed series; the central mystery concerning the missing children was fairly gripping but side story featuring our protagonist's children felt like extra drama for the sake of it which just distracted from the main story... it would have been better to have a shorter series rather than padding it with such melodrama. Similarly the one night stand between Armstrong and the step-father was rather too much; as was her behaviour afterwards. The fact that so few of the characters are likeable is also a bit of a problem as it made it hard to care about them. Thankfully the resolution was pretty good; wrapping up the two main storylines. The cast do a solid job bringing these characters to life at least. Overall, this felt like an attempt to recreate the success of 'Broadchurch' which misses the elements that made that show (at least series one) such a winner. Overall a decent enough crime series that wasn't quite as good as I hoped.

My Take – An ok series.  Series 3 is a new lead and the lead in Series 2 is suspended from work.

 

Russian Doll (Season 2) – Came out in 2022.  As most reviewers, I found series 1 watchable and entertaining enough, despite main character Nadia being a rather annoying character. Still, the re-birth after each gruesome death had an element of black humor and suspense, and the Alan character moved the plot forward, towards an end that was simplistic to the point of stupidity, but wrapped up the series nicely.

Obviously it would be quite difficult for everyone to understand that at some stage the purpose of life could be saving a perfect stranger who appeared for a few seconds in the background, but whatever... as Nadia would say.

However, series 2 is a different animal altogether. Gone is the humour, the consistency and the indispensable presence of Alan. What happens is a sequence of random time trips back to the 80s and 1944, during which we further discover what an eminently dislikable character Nadia's mother is, glued with a useless side plot of Alan in East Berlin in the 60s. Each and every episode suffers from considerable randomness and Nadia trying too hard to be funny cracking silly jokes and chain smoking. Is the show sponsored by tobacco companies?

My Take – Not worth watching. Just watch Season 1.

 

Into the Night – Belgium Series.  Season 1 Came out in 2020 and Season 2 in 2021.  When radiation from the sun causes a global disaster on Earth, survivors on an overnight flight from Brussels race from city to city trying to stay ahead of the sun's rays by remaining in the cover of night.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

This Belgian drama mostly takes place aboard an aeroplane. As the series opens we see various characters boarding a flight that is scheduled to fly from Brussels to Moscow. Just before departure an armed Italian soldier forces his way aboard and orders the crew to fly west... anywhere west; the further the better. He claims that something has happened to the sun which is causing anybody in daylight to die. Whether he is right or not they have little choice but to obey. They can't stay in the air forever; they will have to find suitable places where they can land, refuel/restock and take off before sunrise. That won't be the only problem; there will inevitably be problems with the plane and tensions between those on board.

This series got off to a good start and thanks to its relatively short episodes, which tended to have single episode problems as well as the main background story, kept things tense and didn't give the viewer time to worry about certain unlikely details. As one might expect the plane, which was far from fully loaded, contains a wide cross-section of people... we even have the cliché of the sick child on his was to emergency medical treatment; this might not exactly be realistic but it serves dramatic purposes as tensions rise. The effects are okay although we didn't need so many shots of the plane flying over what appears to be a major city, especially as the plane is meant to be flying over largely uninhabited areas. Overall I'd still recommend this, despite flaws it is tense and as the final episode of the first season ended I was very pleased to learn the next season starts in less than two weeks.

These comments are based on watching the series in French with English subtitles.

EDIT: End of Season 2:

WOW! I can't believe how many wannabe critics are slamming season 2. The writing was much better, with less plot and technical issues. It was edge-of-your-seat non-stop tension and suspense, and totally unique and amazing writing. What irks me is how great this season ended, that I'm getting anxiety waiting for an announcement when season 3 will be ready.

Mad props to the writers, and I can't wait for what happens next! I've upped my rating to a 9/10 based on how this season was.

My Take – A worthwhile watch!

Cheers till next time😊!

Daffy Definition

Humility – The ability to look appropriately shy while explaining to people how wonderful we are😊!!