Countdown to Thirteen: Broadchurch: Series 1, Episode 1 (2013)

Like many people (particularly, I suppose, many Americans,) Broadchurch was my introduction to Jodie Whittaker.  While I didn’t continue with the show past the first season, she was definitely one of a number of actors doing excellent work on the series, and her role here gives her no shortage of dramatic material to work with.  It’ll be good to review the first season of the show, as well as watch the two that followed (note:  I’ve heard that it goes pretty dramatically downhill after series 1, and since the show was written by Chris Chibnall, our forthcoming new Who showrunner, it’ll also be a chance to see just how apprehensive I should be about him at the reins of Who.)

Broadchurch, a sunshiny little seaside town where everyone knows everyone, is rocked when 11-year-old Danny Latimer is found dead on the beach.  The chief officers on the case are Ellie, a local detective with personal ties to Danny’s family, and Hardy, the new DI in town, and they quickly realize Danny’s death was no accident:  it was murder.  While the detectives do their work, Danny’s family grapples with the enormity of what’s just happened.

While I remember having mixed feelings on Broadchurch’s first season when I saw it initially, I do like the pilot.  It nicely sets up the cozy feel of the town and does good work contrasting the horror of Danny’s sudden death with the bright, color-saturated picturesque setting.  This episode, like most pilots, mainly establishes the central mystery and introduces the major players.  In this case, since it’s a small town where nearly everyone is a suspect at some point or another, that means a lot of characters, but by and large, the show does well giving us brief snapshots of who we’re going to see.

As with so many British shows, this one is filled with actors I know.  It’s another retroactive Who reunion for Whittaker, with David Tennant taking the lead as DI Hardy and Arthur Darvill playing the local vicar.  The series also includes Olivia Colman, who’s excellent as Ellie, David Bradley, and Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm from Game of Thrones.)  Andrew Buchan, who I first saw in this show, is also very good as Danny’s dad Mark.

Whittaker plays Beth Latimer, Danny’s mom, and it’s no surprise to say she does a lot of heavy lifting.  The early scenes of the episode, which take Beth from busy rushing-about to “that’s odd, Danny’s not where I thought he’d be” to worrying over his whereabouts to seeing the body on the beach, are very effectively done, and Whittaker handles that shift of emotions really well.  In learning about Danny’s death, her grief is visceral, and for the rest of the episode, she’s just trying to drag herself along.

Accent Watch

Another West Country.

Recommend?

In General – Going strictly off of this episode, I’d say yes.  The show boasts an excellent cast, and the pilot is really well put-together.  I’ll wait until the end before I give my verdict on the show as a whole.

Jodie Whittaker – Yes.  Even though she hasn’t had too much to do yet other than cry, Whittaker is instantly engaging.  The scene of her running down to the beach is so well done.

Warnings

Violent subject matter involving a child and strong thematic elements (I know there’s more coming, but again, I’ll save the more thorough description for my wrap-up at the end of the series.)