# Broadchurch with David Tennant--I don't dare look **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152 "2013-03-06T04:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/1 "2013-03-06T04:08:09Z")
Okay, I did and got 11:46 in before pausing and taking a WTF? trip to Wikipedia. It was so . . . conventional. It’s apparently Twin Peaks without the insanity or Sherilyn Fenn. Nobody watched Twin Peaks because it was a gritty drama about a town torn apart over a young person’s death because programs like that are dull. And the casting is disappointing. Sure, Olivia Colman wants to stretch her wings and show she can do drama, but she’s funny, which is harder. Arthur Darvill, well, he needs a career and his character sounds interesting and I already know he has the range. But anybody can play an intense, dour Scotsman, and Tennant has shown he can do more. And I’ve listened to Double Income, No Kids Yet, so I know he can do boring and conventional, too. I mean, just what is it with British sitcoms that makes them so awful? But that’s a different thread. So please tell me if this will be worth watching, and why it’s not just filler for an hour slot for six weeks. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/2 "2013-03-06T04:15:04Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Sure, Olivia Colman wants to stretch her wings and show she can do drama You haven’t been paying attention to her [career](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannosaur_%28film%29#Awards_and_nominations) much, have you? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/3 "2013-03-06T04:29:03Z")
Um, I operate under certain geographical limitations and never heard of her until a year ago. She hasn’t made a splash on US TV, and by the looks of that movie I would never see it in a million years, though the other day my head was turned by its poster so I researched it. I don’t do “people coming to terms with stuff” movies, books, or TV and radio shows,which should be obvious because I made it less than twelve minutes into Broadchurch, though I had been looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/4 "2013-03-06T05:33:48Z")
I haven’t seen it either, but it was quite prominent on my radar so I made the common and wrong assumption that everybody else had the same exposure to it that I did. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/5 "2013-03-06T10:52:33Z")
Goodness, you should have seen Olivia Coleman in Jimmy McGovern’s ‘Accused’ - unbelievable performance (performances, actually - stunning work by all involved): > **[Accused](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accused_%28TV_series%29#Series_2)** > > Accused or The Accused may refer to: As for Broadchurch, ITV drama innit - they may hit the bullseye once in a while but it’s more luck than judgement. Having said that, the BBC put something called ‘Mayday’ up against it and that’s struggling as well, though for very different reasons. Seriously, if you want outstanding drama, hunt down S1 and S2 of Accused. ---
**Author:** ![Virgil\_Tibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Virgil\_Tibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgil_Tibbs)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/6 "2013-03-06T11:14:30Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Sure, Olivia Colman wants to stretch her wings and show she can do drama, but she’s funny, which is harder. So you bollock on about Olivia Coleman, reading into her motivations and career plan, but when challenged you start pleading ignorance (Americanness). And you don’t do “coming to terms with stuff”. Pointless. And please do start a thread about how awful British sitcoms are. ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/7 "2013-03-06T19:05:58Z")
I was planning to watch “Broadchurch” as a newly-converted David Tennant fan, but the recent BBC series “Spies of Warsaw” was slow-paced enough that I couldn’t even finish the last episode. Any comparisons with that? I had saved getting into Doctor Who for a time of need, and the long Sherlock hiatus is it. So far I’m through series four, and once the specials DVD comes from the library, that’s the end of Tennant’s Who gig. I started with Eccleston as Nine, and loved him, so was surprised to like Tennant even more. Especially when I heard him in his native Scottish accent (my favorite accent of all). Do you have any other recommendations for works with David Tennant? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/8 "2013-03-06T20:09:34Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#): > > Do you have any other recommendations for works with David Tennant? Blackpool was pretty decent, I thought. It was shown as Viva Blackpool in the US. He also played the title role in Casanova, which was his first collaboration with Russell T Davies, and led to him getting the Doctor Who gig. ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/9 "2013-03-06T21:14:59Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Blackpool was pretty decent, I thought. It was shown as Viva Blackpool in the US. He also played the title role in Casanova, which was his first collaboration with Russell T Davies, and led to him getting the Doctor Who gig. Thanks. I can’t find Blackpool, even in the extended library network, but the Casanova DVD is available at my local. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/10 "2013-03-06T21:30:10Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#): > > Do you have any other recommendations for works with David Tennant? His _Hamlet,_ opposite Patrick Stewart, was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/11 "2013-03-07T00:25:41Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > He also played the title role in Casanova > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > His _Hamlet,_ opposite Patrick Stewart, was awesome. These. He does intense, and a bit off the wall, awfully well. > [@Virgil\_Tibbs](#): > > So you bollock on about Olivia Coleman, reading into her motivations and career plan, but when challenged you start pleading ignorance (Americanness). Guilty as charged. ETA: But I really like her as a comic actress so I will give her drama a a try, as long as it isn’t… > [@](#): > > And you don’t do “coming to terms with stuff”. Nope, not at all. Which may cut me off from some fine dramas, but it also keeps away After School Specials and Chick Flicks. A fair trade, I’d say. > [@](#): > > Pointless. That’s my middle name. Don’t wear it out. > [@](#): > > And please do start a thread about how awful British sitcoms are. You don’t really want to start that, do you? Because for every _Fawlty Towers_ there’s a dozen _On the Buses._ ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/12 "2013-03-07T14:34:11Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#): > > Do you have any other recommendations for works with David Tennant? There was a one-off drama, ‘Recovery’ where he played a man removing from a brain injury. Very moving, as I remember. It was the first time I’d noticed him, pre-Who. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/13 "2013-03-07T15:47:23Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > His _Hamlet,_ opposite Patrick Stewart, was awesome. Kind of agreed. Tennant was definitely pretty good, the whole production was excellent: Readily available from your usual ‘unofficial’ internet resources, and presumably elsewhere. Fwiw, it was this production: > **[Hamlet (2009 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_%282009_TV_film%29)** > > Hamlet is a 2009 television film adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2008 modern-dress stage production of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, aired on BBC Two on 26 December 2009. It was broadcast by PBS' Great Performances in the United States on 28 April 2010. > Directed by Gregory Doran, it features the original stage cast of David Tennant in the title role of Prince Hamlet, Patrick Stewart as both King Claudius and the ghost of Hamlet's father, Penny Downie as Queen Ger... ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/14 "2013-03-08T00:51:40Z")
Not all that unofficial: [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kuF1-tyaAE) Ooh! Beckett Directs Beckett? And Godot! [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acXfUGO1f5c) I am happy. I’m happier: [Sesame Street - Monsterpiece Theater "Waiting for Elmo" - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksL_7WrhWOc) ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/15 "2013-03-11T20:58:11Z")
> [@BrokenBriton](#): > > Kind of agreed. Tennant was definitely pretty good, the whole production was excellent: Readily available from your usual ‘unofficial’ internet resources, and presumably elsewhere. Fwiw, it was this production: > > [Hamlet (2009 film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_%282009_TV_film%29) I just found the whole 3-hour RSC Hamlet production is also still available on the PBS website: [http://video.pbs.org/video/1473795626/](http://video.pbs.org/video/1473795626/) Don’t know if I’ll get to Broadchurch while it’s current as I can’t get the ITV player to work for me. The BBC player is no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/16 "2013-03-11T21:21:15Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#): > > Don’t know if I’ll get to Broadchurch while it’s current as I can’t get the ITV player to work for me. The BBC player is no problem. ITV player is pretty rubbish anyway, and I doubt they are going to invest much in it as all the UK broadcasters are supposed to be moving to a shared platform. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/17 "2013-03-12T10:12:10Z")
I got caught up with the 5-night BBC drama that coincided with the start of this (which turned out to be quite interesting and different). Will now catch up with this on the player - tbf, I’ve never had a problem with the ITV player. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/18 "2013-03-13T01:44:13Z")
ITV player, eh? _trying it_ That’s what I get for using my real postal code. _trying it with my company’s code in Slough_ Not that, either. The crafty Brits have seen through my cunning plan. And how are you supposed to pronounce “Slough?” “Slew?” “Sluff?” A Scottish “Slock?” A Welsh “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch?” ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/19 "2013-03-13T02:18:47Z")
Betjeman nailed it: > [@](#): > > Come friendly bombs and rain on Slough, > It isn’t fit for people now ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152/20 "2013-03-13T02:36:28Z")
“Slow?” I mean, “Slaw?” “ßlau?” I mean, Jesus, I can’t even spell it without going with a phonetic alphabet or German. English is a god-awful language. We should have gone with Iroquoian when we had the chance. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadchurch-with-david-tennant-i-dont-dare-look/652152.md?page=2)