*Premise spoilers.*
I first reviewed Broadchurch back when I was working my way through Jodie Whittaker’s filmography, as part of my Countdown to Thirteen reviews. At the time, my main focus was on Whittaker’s performance as Beth, since she was the forthcoming Doctor, but I’d like to revisit the series to give more love to David Tennant’s Alec Hardy. Rather than do all-new write-ups, I’m going to repost my old episode reviews with Tennant-related additions. Plus, possibly some other additions—as I’m writing these up for my queue, I’m still deep in my Wicked era, so the fact that Jonathan Bailey is in it motivates my rewatch, and Interview with the Vampire reignited my old Game of Thrones appreciation for Jacob Anderson. Who knows quite what we’ll end up with here, but it’ll be a hodgepodge of old and new writing.
Without further ado, onto episode 1 (again!)
*Written in 2017*
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.
*Written in 2024*
Before I get to David Tennant, I have to say this: I know it’s not exactly hard to find Doctor Who alum on British television, but there are so many past and future Who alum on this show. Besides Whittaker, Tennant, and Darvill, Olivia Colman briefly appeared in “The Eleventh Hour,” and Jonathan Bailey and Jacob Anderson both went on to guest star in the show, Bailey in “Time Heist” (which is one of my favorites from series 8) and Anderson as Vinder in series 13. And of course, David Bradley has stood in as the First Doctor (and William Hartnell himself!) multiple times now, most notably in An Adventure in Space and Time and “Twice Upon a Time.” So much Whoness! Is series 1 of Broadchurch really just a parallel Earth on Doctor Who? You be the judge!
When I was looking at Jonathan Bailey’s filmography post-Wicked, I couldn’t really recall him on Broadchurch, although his character’s name sounded familiar. I vaguely thought he might have played a reporter, and it turns out I was right. Olly Stevens is a young, hungry journalist at the Broadchurch Echo. Although he’s been taken under the wing of Maggie, the editor, Olly is eager to move onto a national paper. His ambitions can override his journalistic ethics, and he wonders if Danny’s murder might be the big scoop he needs to take his career to the next level. In the pilot, Bailey’s performance is non-showy but effective. I especially like a bit of business he does as Olly weighs a crucial decision—it’s a nice physicality that probably reflects his theatre experience.
As for Tennant, I remember that seeing him as Alec Hardy was quite the change back when the show first came out. I watched series 1 back when it came out in 2013, and I believe it was the first post-Who project I’d seen him in. Needless to say, Hardy is very different from the Doctor. He’s brusque and no-nonsense, focused on his work and maintaining a bit of a wall between himself and others, including Danny’s family and Ellie. When Ellie sees the body on the beach and realizes she knows who it is, Hardy barks, “Shut it off, be professional. You’re working a case now.” And when they break the news to Danny’s family, he’s not full-on dispassionate, but there’s definitely a distance there.
Hardy’s chief characterization so far is “numb” and “tired.” Before the discovery of the body, he’s quietly annoyed at working in a sleepy little town where nothing really happens, and once the investigation into Danny’s death gets underway, you can see that there’s more than just professional detachment involved. Hardy looks like a good stiff breeze would knock him over, and not just because of Tennant’s slender figure—he looks like he’s half wasted away, slouching and flat-voiced without any life in his eyes.
But. We’ve already seen that this isn’t callousness or jadedness. As Hardy approaches the body of a child on the beach, he freezes for a moment, muttering to himself, “Oh god, don’t do this to me….” He has to steel himself, urging, “Come on,” as he gets his control back. His ghostlike sense of being half-present is something he has to do to protect himself. It’s yet to be revealed what brought this about.
*Written in 2017 (with new David Tennant additions)*
Accent Watch
Jodie Whittaker – Another West Country.
David Tennant – Scottish. At this point, I’m not quite sure if it’s his Scottish accent or not. His voice sounds different to me, but that might just be because Hardy’s voice doesn’t have Tennant’s brightness and warmth.
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.
David Tennant – I would. I don’t remember being too struck by this performance when I watched the show before, but some of Tennant’s subtleties are jumping out at me more this time. I’m paying closer attention to what he’s doing, and my viewing experience is richer for it.
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.)
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