Bodkin answers the question 'what if you extended the perfectly good episode of Black Mirror 'Loch Henry' and make it into multiple episodes.'
You'll end up with an overly complex and drawn out story that should've been wrapped up in five episodes butbdrags on two episodes to long.
It is a bit like how Lost became overly complex and failed to wrap up storylines because they kept on adding stuff to keep the seasons going.
Bodkin has a good premise of three people with different characters. That are grouped together to make a true crime podcast about people who dissapeared during a pagan festival in Ireland 20 years ago.
A podcast maker who needs another succes to stay relevant, a journalist who will do everything to get to the truth and a woman who is just starting out and needs to learn the ropes.
That would be enough to make some story arcs where the podcaster learns that staying true to yourself is perhaps the best story, a journalist that learns that the truth sometimes isn't worth everything and a assistant who learns from the mistakes of both the others and discovers her own strength.
But allas, these story arcs are drowned in the pilling on of characters, their backstories, their schemes and relations to eachother.
Then there are backstories that don't really add to the story or are use in a way it doesn't add anything to the story. For example the wife of the podcaster travels to Ireland from the US to get some divorsepapers signed. She is there for one scene to talk about something the viewer already knew from the circumstances.
Towards the end it is just one plottwist after another to create a feeling of suspence.
Whodunnits are based on the idea that the viewer can figure out who did it for themselves and go 'i knew it!' when the big reveal is done. Or at least the viewer is given the chance to fantasize about how it all fits together.
With all the characters, storylines and plottwists available in Bodkin i was surprised that actual spirits from the Samhein festival weren't dragged on as potential suspects.
It wasn't all in all bad but i was glad it was over when the last episode ended.
It is a bit like how Lost became overly complex and failed to wrap up storylines because they kept on adding stuff to keep the seasons going.
Bodkin has a good premise of three people with different characters. That are grouped together to make a true crime podcast about people who dissapeared during a pagan festival in Ireland 20 years ago.
A podcast maker who needs another succes to stay relevant, a journalist who will do everything to get to the truth and a woman who is just starting out and needs to learn the ropes.
That would be enough to make some story arcs where the podcaster learns that staying true to yourself is perhaps the best story, a journalist that learns that the truth sometimes isn't worth everything and a assistant who learns from the mistakes of both the others and discovers her own strength.
But allas, these story arcs are drowned in the pilling on of characters, their backstories, their schemes and relations to eachother.
Then there are backstories that don't really add to the story or are use in a way it doesn't add anything to the story. For example the wife of the podcaster travels to Ireland from the US to get some divorsepapers signed. She is there for one scene to talk about something the viewer already knew from the circumstances.
Towards the end it is just one plottwist after another to create a feeling of suspence.
Whodunnits are based on the idea that the viewer can figure out who did it for themselves and go 'i knew it!' when the big reveal is done. Or at least the viewer is given the chance to fantasize about how it all fits together.
With all the characters, storylines and plottwists available in Bodkin i was surprised that actual spirits from the Samhein festival weren't dragged on as potential suspects.
It wasn't all in all bad but i was glad it was over when the last episode ended.