I'm a bit divided over the adaptations, I do enjoy them, but as the books were so(& obviously) more in depth, & ultimately, really bloody great(no pun intended), for me, anything less, in a way, was always gonna be a bit of a letdown.
I think if it had been on BBC, making use of a full hour, rather than being shredded up with adverts, there could of been a touch more background development, but I'm just chuffed for Mark Billingham, that his work is being recognised & translated into new media forms.
Character/actor-wise, I grew into Morrissey over the course of both stories, but I never felt comfortable with Thorne as a scouser. London, & it's recognisable aspects/locations, that helped build the character of Thorne in the books, was fantastic! Extremely vivid & gritty. I was disappointed to see these aspects ommitted. (A shame about the lack of Elvis too!)
I always pictured Holland as a tall blonde/fair bloke, & a bit less 'ditzy' than the TV portrayal, although the smart/clever aspects of his character were very good.
Phil Hendricks? Hmmm, a bit too over dramatic for me, never Irish, & I saw him/read of him as way taller, bigger built, with a 'Gothy/fetish' look, & a pony tail, glasses, piercings & tats.
The sexswap of Brigstock was highly unnecessary, though I can see why they wanted to move away from the slightly cliched nature of the male commander type, with a good heart, as witnessed in many a cop show.
Tughan, bad! In the books I felt he was way smarmier, less 'psycho', & better looking. I felt his portrayal was way over the top.
The villains have all been good, & there have been some nice twists on the original storylines.
Overall though, I don't think as they are as good, just yet, as one of my personal favourite, book to screen adaptions, LA Confidential.
That book is a classic in my mind, & the screenwriters did a great job of changing the storyline, to give it a proper end as a film, considering that it was actually the middle part of a trilogy, & make that a classic in its own right.
Mark Billingham is happy with the adaptations though, & it's always nice when that is the case. So many authors dislike what their books become, once they hit the screens.
Kudos to Sky for making them though! Good to see that they are investing in homegrown talent, rather than the constant influx of imported shows.
I look forward to the next series!
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ravmeltt
13 years ago
Torello, I disagree with some of what you say. I think Holland is perfect in the role as the detective. I don't know why you pictured him as tall, blonde and fair, but then I guess tall, white, blonde and fair usually gets the roles. And why would you picture a coroner or forensic guy with a ponytail, piercings and tattoos. You've been watching Pauley Perette in NCIS haven't you.
"Tughan, bad! In the books I felt he was way smarmier, less 'psycho', & better looking. I felt his portrayal was way over the top. "
I think you're mixing Tughan up with Martin Palmer. Palmer was the psycho, the killer. Tughan was the other detective (the short white guy) working with Thorne and Brigstocke, the lady commander.
I think that Sleepyhead was way, way better. This one was more predictable. I figured out the split personality early on and it was driving me crazy that Thorne was taking so long to get it.
This is my signature and I'm sticking to it. lol
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torello
12 years ago
@ravmelt
Aaah, the joys of good healthy debate!:-)
Your opinion is your opinion, as is mine, however, I don't agree with what you have said. My observations are based on the books & the visual aspects that had built in my own mind across the course of reading all of Thornes' adventures. Have you read the books?
There are allusions in the books to the looks & styles of the characters: Tughan, Holland & most certainly Hendricks. Hendricks goes to fetish clubs, has tattoos, & lots of piercings(1 for every boyfriend he has/has had).
I certainly didn't visualise Holland as tall, white & blonde, because that demographic "usually gets the roles". Again, more of how he is described to some degree in the books themselves. Irrespective of ethnicity, I felt that he was portrayed as a bit stupid, not completely so, probably more niaeve, but not as sharp as the Holland of the book.
I didn't mix up Tughan with Palmer. I think the actor choice for Tughan was wrong.
I think everyone builds up their own mental picture of what the characters look like when reading a book. I personally felt that Thorne might look a bit older, uglier/rugged & stockier, through how he was written in the books.
Like I said in my original post, these are adaptations & not strictly following the book to the letter. Again, the fact that these got made is great, as Mark Billinghams' work deserves to be highlighted in bigger media circles. If more people discover the books through the show, then that will be fantastic, as frankly, I don't think the series are as good as the books, but hey, that's just me.
I saw NCIS for the 1st time a couple of weeks ago. I'd never seen or heard of Pauly Perette before. I see what you mean in terms of the 'goth' look/style though. :-D
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