Unexciting and dreary (Ian Selbie)

A book/film etc, usually finishes with a climax, but Shetland on television was six hours of slow, dreary, worse-than-amateur acting with an unexciting, disappointing last dreary long hour.

The viewer was expected to accept that it was all set up on the orders of one young female with mental health problems and the drug baron and crooked female lawyer walked free.

Still, the mainland viewers will have enjoyed the Shetland landscapes.

Ian R Selbie
17 Twageos Road,
Lerwick.

COMMENTS(8)

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  • iantinkler

    • March 7th, 2016 13:08

    I never ceases to amaze me, what people watch on TV . Ian selbie “Shetland on television was six hours of slow, dreary, worse-than-amateur acting with an unexciting, disappointing last dreary long hour.” If it was that bad whyever did you watch it? After all ” the Shetland landscapes.” you so enjoyed are not that far from your front door.

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  • roy chamberlain

    • March 7th, 2016 14:34

    my family loved it, the scenery reminds us of being there enjoyed the story enjoyed seeing friends at the airport, well worth theb watch sad it was interrupted for sport though

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  • Mathew Donaldson

    • March 7th, 2016 20:01

    That was your view Ian but not that of many others, to me soaps have always been boring and dreary but I dont state so on any website as I know there are many people out there who enjoy soaps and I realise that people are different and people have different tastes. So if you think Shetland is that bad then don’t watch it and rather than giving it a bad name on the local website find something more constructive to do with the six hours or simply switch over to another program.

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  • Haydn Gear

    • March 8th, 2016 10:21

    Can it be assumed Ian that you yourself watched Shetland on TV since you know so much about it? Or are you up to your usual tricks (and there are many, many of them) of displaying your undoubted expertise on every subject under the sun? I know that you like to have your cake and eat it, but either you watched it (like all those you criticise ) or you didn’t, thus negating your right to pass judgement. As Matthew said, if you don’t like what you see, switch to another channel or turn the box off altogether.That shouldn’t be too difficult for you.

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    • Henry Condy

      • March 8th, 2016 11:19

      Haydn, I found the first series mindnumbingly boring, I thought panoramic vistas of Shetland would be incorporated in the series , thus acting as a tourist advert for Shetland, what did we get Jimmy Perez gazing manfully from the bow of the Bressay Ferry, this series had a better story and I must say I enjoyed it , but to finish the story with a mentally unbalanced girl being the master criminal was a bit much for me

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  • Haydn Gear

    • March 8th, 2016 14:17

    I agree with you 100% Henry. I saw the first part of the initial episode and off it went. Personally, I’m not into soaps but a good and well acted drama with a few episodes is a different matter. Happy Valley set in West Yorkshire with Sarah Lancashire in the lead role captures so much of the locality as well as telling a good tale. Having lectured in Yorkshire for many years , I cannot speak highly enough of its flavour of authenticity. Even though the title Happy Valley must have been dreamt up as an irony, it is no match for the dreary Shetland.Having enjoyed times in Shetland, and Foula in particular, the TV sequences would have put me off rather than attracted me to visit the isles.

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  • IanR Selbie

    • March 16th, 2016 11:23

    I didnt watch it intentionally but whilst my wife watched it I was reading but you cant help but look up or hear it and incidently I am very far from being the only dissenter with the public but unlike me they dontsay what they think inprint

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  • Robin Stevenson

    • March 16th, 2016 13:11

    I have to say Mr Selby, I think your comments are a bit unkind?… Ok, I agree that the first 2 series were kinda ‘river city-ish’, but I [personally] really enjoyed the 3rd series, the producers obviously raised the bar and the acting and actors – I thought – were excellent.

    The success of ‘Shetland’ seems to be going from strength to strength, I only hope that the standard for series 4 remains as good as series 3 or – perhaps – even better still?

    Besides, putting Shetland on the world map through a series like this, can surely only be a good thing for Shetlands tourism and economy?

    [Although, having said that, there seems to be a murder almost every week? ;)]

    REPLY

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