Broadchurch

In England Broadchurch was widely advertised and much hyped. It was what the nine network used to call “Event Tv”. Here, it quietly slipped on to the ABC schedule and has just now finished it’s run which means that if you hurry you should be able to  catch it on I-view surely the best use of 8cents a day ever. If you aren’t quick enough though buy the DVD because for once the hype is accurate.

We start off in the first of the 8 episodes with the death of Danny Latimer an 11 year old boy. At first it looks like a suicide but the coroner rules that it’s most likely a murder and the community is stunned. Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (David Tennant) leads up the investigation aided by Detective Sargent Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman). The murder is the focus of the eight episodes but along the way we meet many of the town’s residents, many of which have secrets that become harder and harder to keep once suspicion and paranoia start to settle in. One of the most effective things that Broadchurch does is highlight what people turn into once they become scared, the community is filled with flawed characters but that never feels contrived as each feels very human. As the episodes go on you learn more and more about Alec Hardy and his relationship with Ellie grows both characters become complete and fleshed out. Another thing that Broadchurch does very well is explore how unforgivable things on paper can become forgivable once circumstances are understood; this happens time and time again with Alec, Jack Marshall the paper shop owner, Nigel even Ollie and even Ellie. This makes the ending revelation more thought provoking than it might have been had everything been presented as black and white. Nothing is treated as absolute, characters are given believable motivations and the story is comfortable with its ambiguity.

It has to be pointed out that Broadchurch is a little bit like a Doctor Who reunion both in front and behind the scenes. David Tennant, Arthur Darvil (who plays the local vicar and played Rory in Who) even Olivia Colman was in a Christmas special. Behind the scenes Chris Chibnall who wrote the entire thing also wrote 42, The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and The Power of Three and if you think that I was just rattling off a list of the “meh” Doctor Who episodes you’d be right but don’t let that put you off, what Chris Chibnall has done here far exceeded anything he ever did for Doctor Who. Many of the episodes are directed by Euros Lyn another Doctor Who alumnus who shows more subtly here than you would have thought possible given his Doctor Who episodes.

Broadchurch isn’t going to be winning any awards for originality, it’s a simple tale of the effect that a murder has on a small sea-side community, a who-dunnit that is at once very old fashioned and completely of the moment. What carries Broadchurch and makes it standout though is the excellent writing, outstanding directing and the brilliant performances of everyone concerned. David Tennant and Olivia Colman in particular are amazing but there isn’t a sloppy performance that you could point to.  Broadchurch proves that you don’t have to have the most incredible idea in the world to make compelling television if your craft it lovingly enough. Highly Recommended.  

Audio: Audio is 5.1 and quite good, although the more I listened to the theme music the less I liked it.

Video: Video is fantastic for DVD, clear, good contrast. It’s clear that whoever made it knew how to film.

Special features:

Disc Three of this three disc set is dedicated to special features and it’s a shame therefore that all you get is one half hour feature that was clearly filmed on set before production really began and is aimed to get people to watch the drama. That’s fine but if I have this DVD not only have I presumably watched it before I got to this doco but I bought the DVD set. Cast notes don’t cut much of a special feature with me, that kind of nonsense on DVD’s hasn’t been tolerated since 2004.