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

YABU Unforgotten is much much worse

I enjoyed Unforgotten! Clearly I have abysmal taste in crime shows.

Haven't watched Midsomer Murders in years. I didn't take to the new Barnaby. Never took to Morse either, so haven't watched Lewis or Endeavour. I did watch a lot of re-runs of The Sweeney during lockdown. That's the stuff to watch if you want a reminder of neanderthal attitudes amongst TV cops.

Oh don't knock Vera, I absolutely love it! I was delighted now they've just started series 11.

I watch all the usual...Midsomer Murders (it got better after John Nettles retired from the cast but is still a bit silly and unbelievable), Silent Witness has become pretty gruesome....
Vera is perfect. It's northern, gritty and down to earth, but obviously a crime drama. Much better now 'Vera' has softened a bit....and even better that it focusses on the drama in the main, and doesn't get caught up with the main character falling for a prime suspect or whatever (as in many of these dramas these days).
As for Brenda Blethyn, I luffs her character.....

Lawrence Fox's antics have ruined my love for Hathaway. Perhaps he's going through a male menopause and he's hormonal!

@MorrisZapp YANBU, it's shit. And I HATE her accent. Big fan of Brenda, but OMG I detest her bloody awful Geordie accent in VERA. The accent is one of my faves in the world, and to hear it done so shockingly bad (IMO) makes my soul weep.

Shakespeare and Hathaway, another brilliant one.

@Etinox

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?!

Absolutely not! Silent Witness has been risible for years.

My criticisms of the 2 most recent episodes of Vera:

1. Brenda Blethyn is 75. She'd have taken her pension about 20 years ago.
2. In both the 2 recent episodes, Vera got a confession from each perp but not under caution, etc. In both cases, they shipped the perp off to the station and Vera and sidekick went off home. Any fule kno that they'd have had to do a proper interview, under PACE, with the perp cautioned, offered a solicitor, recorded on tape, etc.

I voted YABU because as long as Midsomer Murders exists nothing else can claim to be the worst crime drama. I do find Vera annoying though with that weird high pitched voice.

I love the cinematic quality of Endeavour. You can tell a lot of work goes into each episode.

Grantchester I used to enjoy when the delightful James Norton was in it. But they've replaced him with a geography teacher. It's like getting Joe Pasquale to play Rhett Butler. It will not do.

Yes, I've often thought that about the interviews, but by that stage I don't really care.

@Etinox

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?!

Silent Witness used to be quite good. About 20 series ago.

NO idea why they insist on keeping its rotting corpse going

Silent Witness has been risible for years.

Oh god yes.

I used to really enjoy Silent Witness but at some point a new series started with, I think, a new actor is in the lead part.

I watched part of the first episode and gave up as it seemed to be less about the 'silent witness' of the title and more about the emotional agony and angst of the lead character.

Never watched it since.

I know all the police procedurals have pathologists doing stuff they don't do in real life, but I used to know one in real life and he said it made him feel stabby that they showed the one in Silent Witness behaving like a police officer.

YANBU - I can't even bear the trailers, so based on that I've avoided all episodes.

I used to love Witless Silence as well, and then Tom whatsisface went and Emilia Clarke got more annoying. Clarissa was the only thing worth watching and she’s gone as well.

Shakespeare and Hathaway is brilliant. Proper little guilty pleasure that one. I especially love Lou’s red boots and covet them more with each passing episode.

Interesting to note I’ve just returned from a break in Oxford and all reference to Laurence Fox seems to have been removed from places of interest. Now only listing Morse and Lewis and actors from A Discovery of Witches on one pub sign

Love Vera, Morse, Father Brown & Midsomer. If you have not read the Caroline Graham books I’d recommend. Loved them. It’s perfect comfort tv & don’t have to concentrate too much!

What I enjoy about Midsomer Murders is the re-appearance of all the older actors that I'd forgotten even existed.

@SilentBob

Oh how I have tried to love Vera. I can't. And I am a massive fan of cosy crap detective tv shows!

Actually, does anyone have any recommendations?

Me too. I love the scenery. Other similarly scenic crime series- Shetland, Hinterland. Also for the cosy aspect Grantchester, Father Brown (all time favourite), Agatha Raison, Death in Paradise, The Frankie Drake mysteries, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, The Coroner (starring Claire Goose not the violent American one), Shakespeare and Hathaway.

There's no hope for me is there?😁😁😁

As @hippychick10 said, it's her accent that makes the show unbearable. I'd love to watch it as I live in Northumberland, but the accent just grates on me.

Talking of cosy detective stuff, my secret pleasure is Shakespeare and Hathaway. Totally non-challenging, but entertaining, and I love Sebastian.

I love it ,we record it and pretend it's an evening programme 😀

Unforgotten?

Who's dissing Unforgotten?

I ❤ Unforgotten. Like The Bill crossed with Time Team.

You'll be telling me New Tricks is shit next.

New Tricks needs to get in the bin!

I have a tried-and-tested method of finding the murderer in TV crime dramas, and it almost always works.

The murderer is the character played by the only actor/actress that anyone has heard of.

I’m in Aus. I love this show, Pet. We just don’t get many episodes. So far behind

I’ve only watched a few of the early episodes but I never got into it, I’m surprised it’s had so many series as I don’t see where it fits, to me it does not come under the umbrella of ‘cosy’ murders like Midsomer/ Marple/ Death in Paradise/Rosemary and Thyme (which I love!) to name but a few, those crime dramas have charm and warmth which Vera just doesn’t have and it’s not gritty enough like Luther etc to fit that genre either, I just find it depressing and rather bleak.