Lack of good storyline.

Fresh and Exciting

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The cops in this British drama don't act like professional policemen but more like mentally deranged teenagers with anger management issues. The main character, DI Thorne (David Morrissey), is not in control of his emotions. His volatility and rage seem to infect the other members of the cast so that in total what we have here is a virtual feeding frenzy of scenery chewing. Cops yell at other cops and cops and medical doctors yell at each other. In one scene one character becomes enraged and punches another character repeatedly in the face for no reason that was apparent to me. DI Thorne seems to believe that he can communicate with a woman in a vegetative state by shouting at her. Other times he seems depressed and on the verge of suicide. The plot is senseless and contrived. Nobody appears to behave rationally. A woman doctor, when she finds out that her daughter has been kidnapped, just freaks out and starts screaming uncontrollably and Thorne freaks out too, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. So who's minding the store?I don't generally like procedurals that feature serial killers, and especially serial killers with weird and perverted MOs, and especially serial killers who have an obsession with the primary investigator, sending him taunting messages. These are tired, boring clichés. That's my prejudice. But I must admit that genre could be done well in the right hands. This one is just awful. Don't waste your time.

These British shows all seem locked into the same way of presenting their story lines: a good start, a nice development of characters, weak dialogue, ending in ever expanding vast plot sink holes. This one does a nice job of dangling a variety of "suspects" in front of you, but unfortunately falls into the "don't ignore the first suspect" method. It's always nice to see McElhone and Morrissey never bores, but in the end the ludicrousness of the plot twists ever morphing does it in. ***********************SPOILER********************* Tell me how does a non medical individual gather half a million pounds worth of medical equipment, set it up securely in an abandoned slum, set up electricity that would cost a fortune and would alert the authorities, off of a janitor's salary??

Here we have a three-ring circus PLUS the kitchen sink. This show is so chock-a-block with clichés, red herrings, obvious plot contrivances, and all the current motifs of crime TV that it's hard to imagine what they left out. (We have the renegade cop always in trouble but with infallible instincts, the cold female boss, the seemingly genius serial killer that no one can catch no matter how many clues are strewn about in plain sight, the 'orrible, 'orrible crime, the cop himself and/or loved ones drawn into danger, dubious psychology made up on the fly, etc., ad nauseum.) The show is all so blatantly contrived that it seems to veer into self-parody on numerous occasions, totally undercutting whatever dread or deep engagement we're supposed to be experiencing. Sadly, with so much fine British TV to chose from, never seen on these shores, this is a show that Encore chose to bring over to the US. No thanks.

Now and then during channel surfing late at night there appears something new and unknown that results in making the viewer wish for more. Such is the case for the series THORNE. It is a high tension thriller of a series.'Thorne' is DI Tom Thorne (David Morrissey) who in the Sleepyhead episode enters an investigation into a mysterious serial killer. His first three victims ended up dead. His fourth was not so fortunate. Alison Willetts (Sara Lloyd-Gregory ) is unlucky to be alive. She has survived a stroke, deliberately induced by manipulation of pressure points on the head and neck. She can see, hear and feel, she is aware of everything going on around her, but she is unable to move or communicate. In leaving Alison alive, the police believe the killer's made his first mistake. And it is this kind of complex story-weaving that makes this a very tense and enjoyable series. Written by Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble and directed with panache by Benjamin Ross, the large cast includes some very fine actors - David Morrissey is at the top of the list - that includes Eddie Marsan, Sandra Oh, Lily Loveless, Neil Kelly among others. We can only hope that this 2010 series has more parts to it and that those episodes will reach our shores and TV screens. Definitely recommended for lovers of high mystery and thrillers. Grady Harp, June 21