to think Shetland isn't as good as The Killing

[coatonarack]

Not nearly enough Shetland jumpers. Or ponies. At least Sarah Lund wandered around in Hunter wellies a lot.

My family are currently considering a move up there in a few years time when my parents retire. Mum is really keen but even she said that that programme didnt do anything for the appeal of the place. It was really flat and depresing.

Dorset yes. Had a lovely trip down to Lulworth Cove last year. Devon yes too - I visited there as a child and have always found it quite obvious. I did drive through Somerset and visited places like Glastonbury Tor and found it difficult to distinguish between a Somerset accent and the other two you mention.

But then I grew up in Holland, and can distinguish between a Tilburg and a Breda accent.

Certainly I could understand all the accents on Shetland last night without any difficulty, just like I can understand a Yorkshire and a Midlands accent.

Any strong regional UK accent's can be difficult to understand. Don't know why folk get all offended by this and have to state how they have no problem with any accent.

Am a fan of the foreign detective shows on BBC4 and thought it was nice to see a fresh go at a British version of Wallander. Maybe not having read the books was an advantage? Slow start but I think it might develop. Always a pleasure to see Douglad Henshall in anything - I live in S Scotland and didn't have a problem with the accents and thought it was a far better programme than that pathetic "Death In Paradise" but we all like different stuff.

BeogniaBampot Don't know why folk get all offended by this and have to state how they have no problem with any accent

Perhaps because they don't? You mean people are allowed to say they cannot understand an accent but not allowed to say that they can?

Confusing.

I always think complaining that you can't understand which, tbh, was a perfectly clear range of British accents, means you just haven't travelled far from the place of your birth in your lifetime surely? Not that the accents are "impenetrable".

it's the tone. they usually say it in a superior way to put someone else down.

Didn't have a problem with the accents, just found the whole thing miserable and slow moving.

DH grew up on Shetland so it was interesting for me to see the place that has had a big influence on him, but he wouldn't watch it as he loathes the place so much.

I don't think I'll bother watching any more - will watch my new Castle dvd instead!

Just seen some of it and can't believe some of the editing.

For example when he was supposedly getting off the over night ferry he was actually walking up Victoria Pier. If you ever get the over night ferry it will dock in Lerwick at a very depressing Northlink terminal (or whoever has the franchise by then) opposite the even more miserable looking Shetland Hotel that no person should ever inhabit

Also very suprised that Sullom Voe appears to have been wiped from the landscape

On Yell we had our own Up Helly Aa on the last Friday of February, it was just one massive piss up! But the whole community was involved men, women and children although no women allowed in the Jarl squad. The entire thing started at 9am Friday morning at the Cullivoe bus shed and ended at about 3-4 am at Cullivoe hall. Then Sat morning is the clear up (with more booze) then down to the bottom of the island for more drinking and squads at another hall, then on the coach back to Cullivoe hall for the dance again until 3-4 in the morning. Then Sunday clean up followed by a charity auction headshave where all the men get the beards and hair they have spent all year growing shaved off into whatever style the highest bidder requests. They then have to leave it like that for a week.

I found it deeply disappointing. The books are fantastic and that's where any comparison of The Killing will fall down - it was written for television whereas this is an adaption of a really, really good book. (Why start with the 3rd though as they do need to be read consecutively).

As others have said when 2 Shetlanders get together it can be truly incomprehensible but at least East Coast accents would have been a start rather than the tedious Glasgow Scots that gets trotted out as a generic Scottish accent.

Real shame though not sure I expected any better really esp after the attempts to film Ian Rankin. Mental note to maintain avoidance of TV versions of books I have loved.

Obviously the accents were varied - the archaeology sudents were from a university and is it not the case that students come to unis from all over the whole, wide, world even and not just one little accented corner of littleland, somewhere, the UK?
The detective and his daughter had moved back from somewhere else so she obviously had the accent of wherever seh spent her early years.
One of the wives had an Irish accent - hwo very daring to move to an area and bring your accent with you!
We Scots must be so clever - we can understand every single regional accent we hear on Corrie, Eastenders, Holby etc etc etc
Sorry, rant over...I just don't understand this obsession and the extent to which it influences views

I was quite enjoying it but then DH suggested we might watch my new Game of Thrones S2 DVD and I agreed :)

I liked it.

Was hoping for some more real shetland accents (v. sexy) but i can cope with the mix we got and i'm genuinely surprised that so many mumsnetters found them hard to deal with - it just goes to show that even in recent years we still haven't got enough regional accents onto 'normal' tv.

I don't care about the continuity in terms of places - i live in edinburgh now and they're always taking liberties with what's near what on tv.

I haven't read the books, but then tv is never as good as the book for books you like.

I'm from Manchester and didn't find the accents difficult, as long as I was listening properly. The only accents I've had trouble with are broad West Bromwich and one Edinburgh taxi driver, I just hoped I was smiling and nodding in the right places.

I used to work in London in a company with Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast offices and sometimes staff came down from there to deliver training. Used to get loads of Londoners/people from south east complaining in feedback forms that they couldn't understand the speaker's (slight) accents, whereas I didn't think the accents were strong at all. Some people have trouble understanding any accent north of Watford or West of Reading. Just a bit thick and parochial of them really.

I didn't think that the accents were particularly strong. I can understand why the BBC put subtitles on something like Sweet Sixteen when the actors spoke so quickly that even some Scots struggled to keep up with them.

i work in a Scotland-wide call centre

i thought as i am english that i would have more trouble than most understanding the different accents.

but found that Glaswegians can be completely bamboozled by accents from Shetland and Orkney, even the Western Isles

Aberdonians and Dundonians can be tricky sometimes... and i still don't know why they keep calling me ken.

I was disappointed, seemed all a bit odd maybe it was suppossed to be!

but honestly how many weegies are there in shetland ?

but honestly how many weegies are there in shetland

LOL more than half judging by "Shetland"!

Is that old man in the first scene the ghillie from Monarch of the Glen?

Coatoarack yes itis.

What pants that was

I can not understand the ex's family when they all talk together (east Kilbride)

Erm... They changed the ending! It was Ronald wot did it! it shaped up to be better than I thought it would, but why use a book then miss out so much and change stuff?

Was it just the two episodes are is it on again?

I liked it! Only because my late granny was from Lerwick. I've never visited Shetland and my granny moved here to South Wales after ww2. Her name was cis. I've enjoyed watching it and imagining her living there (missing the point that's its a crime drama obv)