Well acted, good Brit procedural, except for the sub-plot that the main character's career is in question and his boss plays the idiotic heavy who can't see his value. The stories don't need that, and the sooner that part goes away, the better. Just stick to solving complex mysteries without mucking with the main characters.
18 Reviews
It's a strong debut episode.
Sleepin_Dragon16 March 2021
A stag night goes wrong for the intended groom, he's the subject of a joke by his stags, but the joke is taken too far.
It's nice to see some grown up drama return to ITV, this first episode of Grace was a strong start I thought.
Very nicely made, and very well acted, Simm, although perhaps not the character from the book that I visualise, did a fine job. This beats the likes of Van Der Valk I thought.
It's fairly accurate from the book from what I remember, a story that is multi layered, full of twists and turns, and pretty gruesome.
Strong start, 8/10.
It's nice to see some grown up drama return to ITV, this first episode of Grace was a strong start I thought.
Very nicely made, and very well acted, Simm, although perhaps not the character from the book that I visualise, did a fine job. This beats the likes of Van Der Valk I thought.
It's fairly accurate from the book from what I remember, a story that is multi layered, full of twists and turns, and pretty gruesome.
Strong start, 8/10.
A solid first episode
Tweekums16 March 2021
This series is centred on Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. As is often the case in such series he has his problems; his wife disappeared some years before and his superiors find him a liability after he consulted a medium in a case. This has led to him being put in charge of the cold case unit.
As this opening episode gets underway a group of men are enjoying a stag night in Brighton. Later the van they were travelling in crashes leaving three of them dead and a fourth dying... strangely there is no sign of the groom. DS Glenn Branson asks DSI Grace to help with this unusual case. The only people who might know anything appears to be the best man; he missed the night out because his plane was stuck in Jersey, or the missing man's fianceé. We learn what has happened to the man quite early on, without going into details, this raises the tension considerably. As the story continues there are many twists and turns and further deaths before the case is solved.
I really enjoyed this opening episode. It can't be denied it was more than a little far-fetched but that didn't bother me as it moved at a good pace and the tension was kept high once we learnt where the missing man is. John Simm does a fine job, as expected, in the title role and is ably supported by Richie Campbell as DS Branson, the rest of the cast are pretty decent too. There are some faults of course; having a protagonist who does not have the support of his superiors is more than a little cliché and it is hard to believe Grace would have risen to such a high rank if he wasn't supported. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre; I look forward to the next episode.
As this opening episode gets underway a group of men are enjoying a stag night in Brighton. Later the van they were travelling in crashes leaving three of them dead and a fourth dying... strangely there is no sign of the groom. DS Glenn Branson asks DSI Grace to help with this unusual case. The only people who might know anything appears to be the best man; he missed the night out because his plane was stuck in Jersey, or the missing man's fianceé. We learn what has happened to the man quite early on, without going into details, this raises the tension considerably. As the story continues there are many twists and turns and further deaths before the case is solved.
I really enjoyed this opening episode. It can't be denied it was more than a little far-fetched but that didn't bother me as it moved at a good pace and the tension was kept high once we learnt where the missing man is. John Simm does a fine job, as expected, in the title role and is ably supported by Richie Campbell as DS Branson, the rest of the cast are pretty decent too. There are some faults of course; having a protagonist who does not have the support of his superiors is more than a little cliché and it is hard to believe Grace would have risen to such a high rank if he wasn't supported. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre; I look forward to the next episode.
Dead Simple
Prismark1015 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I am sure it was just a few months ago. I watched a crime drama where a detective whose own wife is missing, is now searching for a missing person. It led to the classic line, he can't find his own wife, what chance has he got of finding my husband!
Discounting the BBC showing Bloodlands at the same time as this. Which involves a detective whose wife disappeared over 20 years ago.
Grace has John Simm playing Roy Grace. His wife walked out six years ago and no one has seen her since.
Grace has become a bit of a pariah in the police force. His boss does not like his maverick methods such as using mediums and spiritualists.
However his old protege DS Glenn Branson brings Grace back to the fold in a missing person case.
Michael Neward, a property developer and due to get married has disappeared on a rowdy stag night with his friends in Brighton.
The rest of them died in a road traffic accident. Except one person who could not make it on time. That is Mark who is also Michael's business partner.
His fiancée, Ashley is distraught and Mark has no idea of Michael's whereabouts.
A young man with learning disabilities makes contact with Michael through a walkie talkie. It seems Michael was buried alive as a prank by his mates. They would had returned a few hours later but they died in the car crash.
In essence this would be a race against time to find Michael but the mystery soon deepens. A shadowy figure later removes a breathing tube that was attached to the coffin. Then a ransom demand is made.
Adapted from a series of novels. There are several depths to the mystery and a lot of deception involved. The location shooting in Brighton makes the seaside resort an integral part of the show.
The presence of Simm made this an enjoyable watch. You do sense that there are plot holes larger than then one Michael is buried in. In essence a few twists and betrayals are purely needed to make the story move forward and a bigger picture to emerge.
Discounting the BBC showing Bloodlands at the same time as this. Which involves a detective whose wife disappeared over 20 years ago.
Grace has John Simm playing Roy Grace. His wife walked out six years ago and no one has seen her since.
Grace has become a bit of a pariah in the police force. His boss does not like his maverick methods such as using mediums and spiritualists.
However his old protege DS Glenn Branson brings Grace back to the fold in a missing person case.
Michael Neward, a property developer and due to get married has disappeared on a rowdy stag night with his friends in Brighton.
The rest of them died in a road traffic accident. Except one person who could not make it on time. That is Mark who is also Michael's business partner.
His fiancée, Ashley is distraught and Mark has no idea of Michael's whereabouts.
A young man with learning disabilities makes contact with Michael through a walkie talkie. It seems Michael was buried alive as a prank by his mates. They would had returned a few hours later but they died in the car crash.
In essence this would be a race against time to find Michael but the mystery soon deepens. A shadowy figure later removes a breathing tube that was attached to the coffin. Then a ransom demand is made.
Adapted from a series of novels. There are several depths to the mystery and a lot of deception involved. The location shooting in Brighton makes the seaside resort an integral part of the show.
The presence of Simm made this an enjoyable watch. You do sense that there are plot holes larger than then one Michael is buried in. In essence a few twists and betrayals are purely needed to make the story move forward and a bigger picture to emerge.
Better than average
rbwilkie20 March 2021
Having read all of the Roy Grace books I was looking forward to this. On the whole it was well done and pretty true to the book but sad they have omitted the un-PC Norman Potting. It's not Line of Duty standard by any means but was a good way to while away a couple of hours and will look forward to the next episode.
Much better than I expected
petertobin-7203915 March 2021
For some reason I wasn't expecting very much from this. It was probably because I knew what the main plot device was and thought that it might all be a bit melodramatic. I persevered though, partly because I like John Simm and partly because it was set in my home town. In the end, it was very melodramatic but I really enjoyed this. Brighton & it's better half Hove looked great and the story built out around the main plot device worked well even though you can't help wondering how Michael can be so unlucky. I found the continuity issues annoying as a local and the ending could have been a little better crafted but all in all, two hours well spent.
Tense first episode
benthornton-1094214 March 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed this new TV drama, based on the book by Peter James. I'm not a reader so look forward to watching the rest of the episodes, sadly no binge watching box set available. Good strong cast, loving the locations.
Follows the book
masc-2105916 March 2021
Read the book, then watch.
dispecta8 May 2021
They've crammed a huge amount of info into 87 minutes and didn't make it work. I can only imagine if you haven't read the book, you are lost.
That having been said, I think they've got the characters right and they've stuck to the story fairly well. We'll see how the series develops.
That having been said, I think they've got the characters right and they've stuck to the story fairly well. We'll see how the series develops.
Excellent
coxxy-5233314 March 2021
Not my favourite
dakjets5 April 2021
Not very good, not very bad
Most things here are average:
Introduction
Action
investigation
Clarification
A plus is that this is not as obvious as first assumed, a few surprises. The challenge with a crime movie like this is that it has to be engaging for us to bother watching. It's not enough to be ok, at least not for me. Maybe I have too high expectations, English crime TV has created such high expectations with fantastic series. This is not one of them.
Brilliant
johnnersheep15 March 2021
Very average
mivvi-8046015 March 2021
Nothing new here, ridiculous story line it's about time someone came up with a new angle on these cop shows. It's also let down by very poor casting John is ok not great, there are some scenes that actually made me laugh I'm not sure that was the idea
Another crime programme? For ITV it's 'Dead Simple'
studioAT15 March 2021
ITV do this type of programme well, and they must know it too, because they do them endlessly.
This one is helped by the fact it has John Simm in the lead, and he is a very good actor, who can do this sort of thing in his sleep.
I'm sure this will do well.
This one is helped by the fact it has John Simm in the lead, and he is a very good actor, who can do this sort of thing in his sleep.
I'm sure this will do well.
A Missed Opportunity...
canndyman25 March 2021
When a stag-night prank goes horribly wrong, there are fatal consequences.
'Dead Simple' is the first book in Peter James' excellent Roy Grace detective series, and I must admit I was intrigued when I heard it was going to be dramatized for TV - sadly though, it failed to sparkle in the way the books do.
John Simm is a good actor, but he's woefully miscast here as Grace - and this pretty much lost me from the start. Grace to me feels taller, more solid and had more presence - a quiet confidence and efficiency at doing the job he loves. Why go for a 'name' actor? Sorry, but it was a big mistake.
Other characters are miscast too, and the disproportionate 'woke' characters feel forced and artificial, and give the whole thing a sense of tokenism and a jarring unreality.
The grittiness and tension of the book is largely lost - what was a real page-turner and a highly-original story just feels flat and empty. This story sadly just looks and feels like any other bland and formulaic modern TV drama, most of which I avoid these days.
It really does seem like a missed opportunity to do this landmark book real justice - it needed a more skillful and intelligent adaptation than this to bring the story to life, and especially to focus on the claustrophobic agony of its victim.
The only bits that worked for me were when Grace reflected on his missing wife Sandy, and how it was still affecting his life 6 years on - and of course those atmospheric Brighton locations, where all the books are set.
Sad to day then, as with most of ITV's output, it's not really worth bothering with. Better to stick to the books and use your imagination instead!
'Dead Simple' is the first book in Peter James' excellent Roy Grace detective series, and I must admit I was intrigued when I heard it was going to be dramatized for TV - sadly though, it failed to sparkle in the way the books do.
John Simm is a good actor, but he's woefully miscast here as Grace - and this pretty much lost me from the start. Grace to me feels taller, more solid and had more presence - a quiet confidence and efficiency at doing the job he loves. Why go for a 'name' actor? Sorry, but it was a big mistake.
Other characters are miscast too, and the disproportionate 'woke' characters feel forced and artificial, and give the whole thing a sense of tokenism and a jarring unreality.
The grittiness and tension of the book is largely lost - what was a real page-turner and a highly-original story just feels flat and empty. This story sadly just looks and feels like any other bland and formulaic modern TV drama, most of which I avoid these days.
It really does seem like a missed opportunity to do this landmark book real justice - it needed a more skillful and intelligent adaptation than this to bring the story to life, and especially to focus on the claustrophobic agony of its victim.
The only bits that worked for me were when Grace reflected on his missing wife Sandy, and how it was still affecting his life 6 years on - and of course those atmospheric Brighton locations, where all the books are set.
Sad to day then, as with most of ITV's output, it's not really worth bothering with. Better to stick to the books and use your imagination instead!
Awful
greysteve16 March 2021
Quite simply one of the worst detective shows I have ever seen. Zero character development, a plot that was laughable ( and that's being kind) and clichéd characters from the angry ACC to the maverick cop and his trusty and caring sidekick. Certainly not for me. Extra star for Brighton scenery though.
Dissappointing anticlimatic
comps-784-382657 October 2021
We started watching this and at first it was a 'bit slow' but it steadily built up atmosphere and anticipation.
The it just seemed to come together in a bland glibness which left little impression.
Stereo typical senior officer covering for brilliant but tortured detective - yawn, been done more than 1000 times before
Absurdities like the abducted person still has access to his phone, which is powered up - remarkably the police are unable to trace
I've given a 5 because it started well for the first half.
Thereafter a mediocre unoriginal script is revealed. Cosmetically it looks good on the surface, but there is no substance.
Very unsatisfying and dissappointing.
The it just seemed to come together in a bland glibness which left little impression.
Stereo typical senior officer covering for brilliant but tortured detective - yawn, been done more than 1000 times before
Absurdities like the abducted person still has access to his phone, which is powered up - remarkably the police are unable to trace
I've given a 5 because it started well for the first half.
Thereafter a mediocre unoriginal script is revealed. Cosmetically it looks good on the surface, but there is no substance.
Very unsatisfying and dissappointing.
Dead On Arrival
Warin_West-El8 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
My first impression was to say, the skeleton of the story is solid but how the writers fleshed out the drama was poorly done. Then I read some of the reviews and they mentioned this story originated from a book. THAT'S THE SKELETON which is solid. However, I had to fast-forward through at least two slow and unnecessarily long dialogue scenes.
The walkie-talkie gag just didn't work on screen. How does a mentally-slow young man manage to walk around in an active crime scene without being quickly rounded up? Moreover, how did the young man manage to find the walkie-talkie nearly instantaneously AND PUT IT IN HIS KNAPSACK without anyone seeing him do that. How was it no one questioned why he was walking around with a knapsack and forced him to open it up for inspection? And that's just ONE of MANY holes in the plot.
I found this episode angering and disappointing because this story had a few good twists that could have been really interesting had it not been for the filmmakers bungling how the plot unfolded and how the actors were directed.
The walkie-talkie gag just didn't work on screen. How does a mentally-slow young man manage to walk around in an active crime scene without being quickly rounded up? Moreover, how did the young man manage to find the walkie-talkie nearly instantaneously AND PUT IT IN HIS KNAPSACK without anyone seeing him do that. How was it no one questioned why he was walking around with a knapsack and forced him to open it up for inspection? And that's just ONE of MANY holes in the plot.
I found this episode angering and disappointing because this story had a few good twists that could have been really interesting had it not been for the filmmakers bungling how the plot unfolded and how the actors were directed.
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