Dept Q - 2 episodes in and finding it utter pish - anyone else?

[BigBoysDontCry]

I've been looking forward to watching this and now really disappointed. The acting is almost universally abysmal and the characters are mostly unbelievable. The plot is too but that's less of an issue for me.

Is it because I am from Edinburgh? Is that maybe how people in other places fel when something is set in somewhere they are from? I feel I should persevere given the acclaim it's got but I do feel like just ditching it now.

Agree about the teacher. I assumed that she was a personal friend of the dad, as no way would a head teacher in Scotland introduce themselves by their first name in any other circumstance - but she wasn’t was she?

(granddaughter, daughter and wife of Scottish teachers here)

I agree with you OP. And I'm not from Edinburgh, or even Scotland.

Agree with this completely. Plus I thought the actress playing Ailsa looked like an older version of Shirley so was expecting there to be a connection between them in some way & found that offputting!

I’ve watched two episodes and I can’t stand the way they have to “quirk” up some characters. Just play it straight.

"And the island - Mohr - didn’t make sense to me at all! It’s meant to be off the coast of Edinburgh? Within easy driving / ferry distance - yet it’s portrayed as being very remote, rural, insular, harbouring all these hidden family / community secrets and a whacking great industrial / murder site? Seriously? Anywhere that convenient to Edinburgh, that’s big enough to have its own police station, would be full of holiday homes and naice tea shops, not farmers and giant post industrial wastelands. And anywhere that’s actually like Mohr would be at least a days travel away. I kept thinking - how did they get to Orkney so fast ? Which would at least have made sense with the diving / post oil industry plot."

Now watched episode 3. They talk about the Ferry going from Oban so take it it's meant to be off the west coast somewhere. So 3 hours drive minimum from Edinburgh to the Ferry and then however long from there to wherever it's meant to be, so maybe doable in a day depending on fake ferry times/distance 😂

Just finished episode 3 and I agree OP, it's shite. DH thinks it's really good so I'll probably have to suffer the rest.
They keep going on about Merritt had secrets but I just don't care.

I agree it was the writing that was just not good, dialogue not believable, and the way the new department was set up... I often wonder what the good actors in such programmes (some were good!) think of the writing.

Agreed OP, I tried to push through because everyone had been raving about it but I just couldn’t do it!

I'm a glutton for punishment. Just watched episode 4. Also just noticed that Navid from still game is Martin. He's normally lurking in the dark dingy flat so I hadn't noticed...

it's mainly the poor casting, acting, screenplay and characterisation

I completely disagree with all of this.

Have we even watched the same show?

I agree that it is a slow burner and if I hadn't already read the book I would have given up on it, but it gets better with each episode.

I watched ep1 and also disappointed which surprised me. I think the lead character keeps losing his accent and his dialogue seems fake - the ‘we love football’ chat with his mate seemed so fake. Best thing is the Syrian side kick. He has some subtlety. Also a bit too bleak for me compared to slow horses for example. That poor woman!

We are allowed to disagree, I'm glad you enjoyed it, it's great when you watch something and look forward to the next episode. 😊

It's not getting better to me but I'm finding it less annoying, I think that's just familiarity rather than it actually being any better though.

I found the first few episodes a bit strange. But stuck with it. Overall I really enjoyed it.

I'm late to the party here...I thought it was abysmal.
I was really looking forward to watching it as the girls in my work said it was brilliant, one said she couldn't stop watching and stayed up until 3am to finish it.
It's very 'Harlan Coben-esque'. The acting, the writing. The storyline is terrible. The junkies....CRINGE 🙈 I'm Scottish, from the West Coast admittedly but some of the accent and dialect were awful. That's just not the way Scottish people speak! If I didn't know some of the actors beforehand, I'd have thought some of them were putting on a rubbish east coast accent.
I gave up after 3 episodes.

Agree with others that it's a slow start but was hooked by half way through the series!

'Just finished episode 3 and I agree OP, it's shite'

Same, I watched 3 episodes and gave up. Just didn't care how it turned out. Even the charms of Matthew Goode and Mark Bonnar couldn't make me stay

And I know she wasn't in it all that much, but I can't bear Shirley Henderson

, and it's worth wtching.There are obviously areas where you have to suspend disbelief, especially the whole business of setting up an expensive new department in some disused cloakrooms, but then that's the nature of TV drama anyway. That doesn't change the fact that actually the acting and writing are good, and it's definitely worth watching.

I loved it, including the swearing, and so did my Glaswegian husband. Agree with @HotCrossBunplease that the Syrian sidekick was excellent. Best thing I’ve watched in ages.