To think that Vera is the worst crime drama of our age?

[MorrisZapp]

I love a cosy ITV procedural, and happily go along with the expositional dialogue and hoary old stereotyped characters but fuck my old boots this is unwatchable stuff.

Tinkly 'suspense' music, mugging to camera, and her grating voice drove me over to Grand Designs by the second ad break. I believe it's on season 11, so clearly it's a much loved show in some quarters.

YABU - how dare you, I love watching detectives two decades past retirement age turn up and call a corpse 'pet'

YANBU - it used to be finely nuanced, edgy stuff but I feel it's lost it's way somewhat

I'm relatively local so try and watch to spot places I know or exclaim in shock how she can be at the Angel of the North one moment and Alnwick Castle 20mins later.

The storylines are crap. I always regret putting it on.

And according to people I know who have worked on it with her, shes rude.

I haven’t watched so haven’t voted. I love police procedural. What I’m still reeling from is the utterly appalling Silent Witness I watched for the first time this week. It’s been on for ever and has a good cast, but oh my!
Is Vera as bad as Silent Witness?!

The voice is so offputting that I've never been able to watch more than two minutes of it.

I really enjoy it, nothing wrong with her voice. Just shows we all like different things!

It used to be good, and the books are good, but the show has totally lost its way. Shame really as I love a good cop show.

That's a tad ageist , 2 decades past retirement takes her to 87.
I watch it , it's not great , but it's ok , in a kind of dull plodding way.
Each to their own op , each to their own.

I like it.

I like Vera. If you've watched it from the start then you'd know that she's grown in becoming more softer. She's been forced to confront her relationship with her Dad etc. I loved Catherine Cookson and she's the detective version of that.

"I love watching detectives two decades past retirement age"

Newsflash but she's just within retirement age, but who doesn't love a bit of ageism before lunch. Or because she's female and old, should she not be on television or in work?

It seems to surprise people on here, but we all like different things.

Also, the police personnel who I've met, do fit into stereo types. The job changes people.

I like it. But her male sidekick would make it worth watching even if I didnt ! Kenny Doughty is rather nice imho.

@LagunaBubbles

I really enjoy it, nothing wrong with her voice. Just shows we all like different things!

Same here. I'm catching up with previous series that I haven't seen too, and starting to read the books.

That's a tad ageist , 2 decades past retirement takes her to 87.

Although police (esp in Vera's generation) often retire after 25/30 years' service so in that case she'd be retired by 50 and so is more than 2 decades past her police retirement age, and although some go back to the job post-retirement, I doubt there are man 75yo's still at it. Indeed Vera's previous season was meant to be BB's last, but she loves it so much she kept going. Which is great and as PP says, lots of people love the show too. But it's not ageist to say it pushes credibility on the age front (as well as many other fronts). Mind you, Frost went on till David Jason was pretty old so there's some precedent with TV cops.

@MissyB1

It used to be good, and the books are good, but the show has totally lost its way. Shame really as I love a good cop show.

I agree with this. Just read her latest book and it enjoyed it.

YABVU to criticise anything with Brenda Blethyn as the star.,
😁

That said. I wouldn't watch it if BB wasn't in it.

It's a great show. You can always turn over.

The first episodes are loosely based on the books and they’re the better ones. Later ones have got silly.

But I agree about Kenny Doughty!!

Have you seen Midsomer Murders (I think that's what it is called) it's awful. Everyone in the small village is either a murderer, murdered or an accomplice.

I saw a season 1 episode the other night and was shocked by how much better it was! The art direction or whatever was gorgeous, and her character prickly and interesting. All the recent ones are grey and same-y. Also as an infrequent viewer, I get her sidekicks mixed up - am I right that there are two tall dark and handsome seconds-in-command? Or did the first guy gain/lose weight, get a different haircut?

I tried the Vera books as I loved the Shetland books. Found the Vera books awful. Haven't seen either TV version.

We love it as the scenery shows a part of the UK we have never seen much of before

I like it, but after 11 series, it's pretty formulaic.

Body found.
Body ID'd
Family informed and start acting shifty
Colleagues/friends/schoolmates informed and they start acting shifty.
Information comes through in dribs and drabs, with people lying until caught out - lots of to-ing and fro-ing between locations with fantastic scenery in between.
More confrontations "So, why did you lie to us?"
Final piece of the puzzle falls into their laps and there's a rush to arrest one of the first people we met and who seemed to be beyond suspicion.

Every time

Also as an infrequent viewer, I get her sidekicks mixed up - am I right that there are two tall dark and handsome seconds-in-command? Or did the first guy gain/lose weight, get a different haircut?

The first guy left so they got another tall dark handsome and young side kick for her. This one is better because he always gets on the floor of a crime scene and puts her plastic bag shoes on her feet while she complains at him for something or other.

I love it. I do question the geography, and the pathologist does seem to be doing the forensics as well, but he's Paul Kaye and if it's good enough for Nikki Alexander why not.

Brenda Blethyn is awful in it but it's not the worst crime drama ever, surely Rosemary and Thyme takes that honour!

Joe and Aiden.

There's a young black female DC - the first one left to join Manchester and the second one is called Jac.

The Scottish guy is a mainstay

The rest of the team occasionally get speaking parts - with a young blond guy doing the emails and social media scans.