As always, no spoilers in my reviews.
The attraction that murder mysteries have to us as an audience is well-known. As such, to no one's surprise, the genre is not uncommon in televised entertainment. From the more classic approach of miniature investigations in each episode, like CSI, to longer-lasting and overarching bigger mysteries, like Sherlock or Luther, mystery dramas tend to do well. But is 'well' really good enough anymore? What makes a murder mystery lasting in our increasingly limited memory. Do we prefer the central characters developing, or do we instead give favor to a more complex mystery? Or, in rare cases, can we get both? As Jez Schafer and Alex Metcalf worked on Bodkin together, they must have had the same questions. But while entertainingly lighthearted and plain and simple fun, Bodkin is worthy of your time, while slipping away from memory.
Bodkin's primary elements fixate on a disappearance mystery, investigated by a wildly differing trio, aided by and worked against an array of support characters, while all being set against the backdrop of an idyllic and small Irish town. Our trio consists of famous podcaster Gilbert Power (Will Forte), wreck'em-up-styled journalist Dove (Siobhán Cullen) and newcomer-so-naive Emmy (Robyn Cara). Gilbert is a cheery and happy-go-lucky American, as typical as they come, while his assistant Emmy is a bit more realistically balanced. Dove is, more times than I'd want, an excruciatingly cynical and pessimistic reporter, with a somewhat understandable reason as to why she is the way she is. Bodkin also features many extra characters, of which David Wilmot, playing a fierce Seamus Gallagher, is the most noteworthy. Not saying the other characters are fuel for boredom, but... they just don't linger. Sadly, it is a returning feature for Bodkin, specifically in the first half of the show, to choose quantity over quality.
Don't get it wrong: Bodkin is entertaining television. As nearly each episode is formatted in a same manner, working from its last cliffhanger to the next, you'll be enticed to watch one more, 6 times in a row. It is however, not a very strong case for a compelling mystery drama, if it seeks to lean on cheap tricks and predictable endings. As the episodes go by, so does the mystery and its supposed revelations, but none of it really sticks. It goes onward to provide us with a satisying ending, albeit it a bit far-fetched at times. Then again, Bodkin was inspired by something overheard in a pub... That's to say, Bodkin does its thing as you'd expect from a murder mystery, pushing the story forward bit by bit, allowing for some room of character development and the occassional knee-slapper. But I can't help but feel it could've been a lot more than that, with just a little bit extra.
Instead, Bodkin tries to do too much, with too little effort. Inclining you wish to uphold high standards, character development is lacking truly shaping events, humor that was supposed to be dark is rather run-of-the-mill instead, and dialogue is predictable and of little substance. While the show juggles several storylines among an ever-forwarding central mystery, it sacrifices true art for a quick and mild success. As a concrete result, the stories together create a strange sort of pace, ultimately rushed down in simplicity and eager to leave not a trace of grandure, but of a fun and satisfying mystery. But if it is that lighthearted Saturday-evening entertainment you're searching for, make no mistake, Bodkin will deliver.
Bodkin receives a 7 out of 10.
The attraction that murder mysteries have to us as an audience is well-known. As such, to no one's surprise, the genre is not uncommon in televised entertainment. From the more classic approach of miniature investigations in each episode, like CSI, to longer-lasting and overarching bigger mysteries, like Sherlock or Luther, mystery dramas tend to do well. But is 'well' really good enough anymore? What makes a murder mystery lasting in our increasingly limited memory. Do we prefer the central characters developing, or do we instead give favor to a more complex mystery? Or, in rare cases, can we get both? As Jez Schafer and Alex Metcalf worked on Bodkin together, they must have had the same questions. But while entertainingly lighthearted and plain and simple fun, Bodkin is worthy of your time, while slipping away from memory.
Bodkin's primary elements fixate on a disappearance mystery, investigated by a wildly differing trio, aided by and worked against an array of support characters, while all being set against the backdrop of an idyllic and small Irish town. Our trio consists of famous podcaster Gilbert Power (Will Forte), wreck'em-up-styled journalist Dove (Siobhán Cullen) and newcomer-so-naive Emmy (Robyn Cara). Gilbert is a cheery and happy-go-lucky American, as typical as they come, while his assistant Emmy is a bit more realistically balanced. Dove is, more times than I'd want, an excruciatingly cynical and pessimistic reporter, with a somewhat understandable reason as to why she is the way she is. Bodkin also features many extra characters, of which David Wilmot, playing a fierce Seamus Gallagher, is the most noteworthy. Not saying the other characters are fuel for boredom, but... they just don't linger. Sadly, it is a returning feature for Bodkin, specifically in the first half of the show, to choose quantity over quality.
Don't get it wrong: Bodkin is entertaining television. As nearly each episode is formatted in a same manner, working from its last cliffhanger to the next, you'll be enticed to watch one more, 6 times in a row. It is however, not a very strong case for a compelling mystery drama, if it seeks to lean on cheap tricks and predictable endings. As the episodes go by, so does the mystery and its supposed revelations, but none of it really sticks. It goes onward to provide us with a satisying ending, albeit it a bit far-fetched at times. Then again, Bodkin was inspired by something overheard in a pub... That's to say, Bodkin does its thing as you'd expect from a murder mystery, pushing the story forward bit by bit, allowing for some room of character development and the occassional knee-slapper. But I can't help but feel it could've been a lot more than that, with just a little bit extra.
Instead, Bodkin tries to do too much, with too little effort. Inclining you wish to uphold high standards, character development is lacking truly shaping events, humor that was supposed to be dark is rather run-of-the-mill instead, and dialogue is predictable and of little substance. While the show juggles several storylines among an ever-forwarding central mystery, it sacrifices true art for a quick and mild success. As a concrete result, the stories together create a strange sort of pace, ultimately rushed down in simplicity and eager to leave not a trace of grandure, but of a fun and satisfying mystery. But if it is that lighthearted Saturday-evening entertainment you're searching for, make no mistake, Bodkin will deliver.
Bodkin receives a 7 out of 10.