" A Rare Bird" is definitely not the best episode of this season, but it manages to be ok at best.
Let' s start with the good aspects, shall we?
. The production values of the episode are great. The direction's fine and the music fits the scenery (really liked the use of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake"). The acting's good for the most part, Genevieve O'Reilly and Amanda Lawrence especially stand out.
. There are some effective scenes in the story, the humor is suitably wry at times and the characters are quite compelling. The identity of the killer (Micheal) was a surprise indeed. Sykes is a delight to watch, he is cuter than Paddy.
But....
. The mystery could have been better in pace, there were moments, when the story dragged quite a bit. The dialogue is strangely poetic and occasionally stiff, giving off a bizarre feel. The chemistry between the actors is, agreed, very lacking in some scenes, Neil Dudgeon's always been a hit or miss for me. The motive for the murders is not than interesting at the end of the day either.
Overall, an ok episode.
5/10 HK.
Let' s start with the good aspects, shall we?
. The production values of the episode are great. The direction's fine and the music fits the scenery (really liked the use of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake"). The acting's good for the most part, Genevieve O'Reilly and Amanda Lawrence especially stand out.
. There are some effective scenes in the story, the humor is suitably wry at times and the characters are quite compelling. The identity of the killer (Micheal) was a surprise indeed. Sykes is a delight to watch, he is cuter than Paddy.
But....
. The mystery could have been better in pace, there were moments, when the story dragged quite a bit. The dialogue is strangely poetic and occasionally stiff, giving off a bizarre feel. The chemistry between the actors is, agreed, very lacking in some scenes, Neil Dudgeon's always been a hit or miss for me. The motive for the murders is not than interesting at the end of the day either.
Overall, an ok episode.
5/10 HK.