Wow! Such a good movie.

The Age of Commercialism

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

To be clear, I thoroughly enjoy British detective stories and I enjoy the DCI Banks series. I have the last four episodes of the final season to go. However, I keep waiting - and here comes the cliff hanger - for Banks and the writers to address the unresolved issue of relationships in the work place. Will my concern be alleviated in the last four episodes? If I were to guess, I'd say the answer is no.

I really enjoy DCI Banks having read quite a few of the novels. Peter Robinson is a Canadian though he divides his time between Toronto and Yorkshire. For people who think Thompkinson is miscast I would say that there is nothing in concrete that an actor has to be exactly as described in a book. I think he's great in the role. I have only two quibbles about the series. I wish Banks and Cabbott would either get it on or leave it alone. All they ever do is sexually dither with each other and it's getting boring at this point because it has been going on for so long. No one ever mentions their age difference of course. I mean he must be nearly old enough to be her Dad but in television land that gets swept aside.Secondly I don't think Caroline Catz adds much to the program. All I can see is Doc Martin standing there with Portwen in the distance. I'm afraid Caroline has been typecast past a point. For some reason they have also decided to make her look old and harsh with that vampire lipstick and all black clothing.

First Season (2010's "Aftermath": Scenery-chewing by Tompkinson that you rarely see emanating from an English actor. So hysterical that I couldn't believe he could achieve such a high rank in an English police department (or any U.S. police department for that matter). A rookie cop exhibiting such a lack of control would never have his contract renewed much less become a DCI. "Aftermath" also had ill conceived story problems, such as having a chief murder suspect's lawyer, during an interrogation, ask for a client conference only to have the off-the- wall Banks disregard the request and continue badgering the suspect. One might ask, "Couldn't an over zealous policeman do this during a questioning of a suspect?" Of course, but then, like Chekhov's rule about the rifle introduced in the first act having to go off in the second or third act, the policeman's blunder about a suspect's rights would have to lead to a mistrial when the defendant's lawyer has the confession thrown out. The good news however is that as the series progressed over the next few years virtually all of my objections above were remedied by better, more logical mysteries plus the becalming of Tompkinson's performances.

I first discovered DCI Banks by Peter Robinson whilst recovering in hospital from life saving surgery. They were an essential part of my recovery - against the odds. Since then I have read every novel. The TV series is however a different kettle of fish. Shallow characters abound and major characters are just not portrayed in the intended manner. The one black character, Winsome, who is such a vital character in the books with her IT skills has been dropped altogether. Her replacement? That rather nice lady from Doc Martin. Why? I have no idea. Annie Cabbot talks down to her superior Banks in a way the character invented by Peter Robinson would never do. Apart from the fact they had an affair she is obviously very much a supporting officer in the books. She is also now a mother which is also poles apart from the original character and her lifestyle. This is typical bubblegum TV and reduces Banks to the level of most crime series whereas it has the advantage of some superior story lines to be a major TV series. It should be another Morse or Lewis. Steven Tompkinson? Great lightweight TV actor but not as DCI Banks in my book. I know that TV rewrites some excellent crime stories, I suppose Frost is a prime example, but Banks is my greatest disappointment by a mile.