GRACEPOINT
Universal/13th Street
Friday, 8.30pm
IF ever there was a de-ja-vu moment on television, watching the first episode of Gracepoint on Foxtel should have been it.
Here is a show completely remade for the American market – the brilliant Chris Chibnall-written (Doctor Who/Law and Order UK) thriller Broadchurch – starring former Doctor Who actor David Tennant. This was a huge hit in the UK – 10 million viewers tuned in to find out who the killer was. The ABC screened it here to good numbers. But instead of screening that in the US, Fox decided to remake it.
This time Tennant, a Scot (who fans will tell you has had a couple of dodgy attempts at American accents in the past but manages to nail it this time), is Emmett Carver a detective new to town, trying to solve the murder of a young boy in a small coastal Californian. His partner Ellie (this time played by Anna Gunn) is as local as can be.
The first episode is pretty much word for word the same as Broadchurch and yet it feels fresh.
Tennant himself has likened the experience as working with a different repertory theatre company and has said it didn’t feel like a “remake” or “rehash”.
This is a show with the same star, the same writer and the same director (at least for the first few episodes) set somewhere else. We have been warned that it has a different ending and, well, as it’s a thriller and the whole point of watching the mini-series is to find out who did it, it needs to end differently.
There are new characters too (one played by our own Jackie Weaver – the actress the rest of the world has just discovered) and from episode two it veers away from the Broadchurch we fell in love with. The idea of the remake is to tap into the huge audience who didn’t see the first one – give it a flavour that is more American and more importantly make more money. Fox’s remake gives them control over the production which they can then sell internationally for a much larger profit than would come from leasing the original and just selling ads. So – don’t kid yourself – this is all about the bottom line. But maybe we are the winners – here is a clever re-imagining of a gripping mini-series and chance for a different take.
But why show it here when we have already had Broadchurch? Are we the test market before they unleash it on the UK? Who knows but whatever it is, the American remake, shot in Canada with a Scottish star is actually pretty good.
There were no cringe worthy moments (not like watching the unbearable remake of that other classic Tennant mini-series Blackpool – I still haven’t forgiven Hugh Jackman for being involved in that). The setting and actors give it a different feel – sure it was familiar, but not. The story now diverges from the second episode – which will be the litmus test – but if they keep up the standard there is no reason why this can’t be a big hit in the US and maybe even here.
– Tania Phillips
