They say there's only six degrees of separation between you and anyone else in the world, but sometimes it's not even that. Sometimes the most brutal evil you can imagine is already in your world. Sometimes he's just across the street. Durham County is an emotionally powerful six one hour dramatic series that revolves around Detective Mike Sweeney and his family as he hunts a serial killer he's certain is the guy across the street. You'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the cop and the killer or between them and you. They have a shared history, one that goes all the way back to high school. You think you can leave your past behind. But you can't… Based upon the 2007 comments about suspense between episodes, when the series replayed in 2008 I recorded all six episodes so the missus and I could watch it all in one Sunday afternoon sitting. This felt very much like an afternoon soap opera with a murder twist that stole some bad plot lines from '24'.<br/><br/>First of all there were just too much bad history with Mike in this town for him to have moved back there - any sane human would have found a job where there was less history. Then there was so much bad blood between Ray and Mike. In a small town where you have a history, wouldn't you check out the neighbors before you buy a new house - even if it is a bargain? Then comes the '24' factor. HERE BE SPOILERS! We stopped watching 24 because there were just too many scenes where a danger/effect could have been averted if the character just did as they were told. ("Wait for me here and don't move", "Stay in the car", "Call me right away if he/she …" and so on.) Same thing here - Mike tells his wife to avoid Ray because he's a crime suspect. What does Audrey do? She invites Ray into the house and let's him wander, she accepts a gift of lingerie from Ray, she asks Ray to do a home chore that Mike said he would do even though he's too busy to get to it right away. And Mike is not without fault - if had admitted up front to knowing Nathalie and why he could have avoided suspicion and subsequent problems later. SPOILERS OFF <br/><br/>The too many loose ends that created the tension in the first couple of episodes became tedious in the remaining episodes. If this had been more than six episodes we likely would have given up and skipped to the ending which was far too quick and left too many issues unresolved.<br/><br/>After that rant, why did I rate it a 7? Most of the technical aspects were excellent. The filming, the pacing, the music and the acting was great - especially by Laurence Laboeuf playing Sadie. We really believed the actress was closer to the 16 years old or so of the character. The sound was generally good but there were a couple of scenes where I was glad the program was recorded as the character's speech was so muffled I had to back it up and turn on closed captioning to catch what was being said.<br/><br/>Overall, it was an OK viewing and if one has four or so hours to watch it ad-free I would say go for it but if it was a full season of 13 to 16 episodes the story needs more life and less "soap opera suspense". Now like most Canadians out there were terrified to start watching a Canadian television series since they don't always last very long and we are grateful when they do. Though usually were stuck with lame comedies like Little Mosque On The Prairie (don't get me started on that cheese) and Corner Gas (sorry, but not funny). I love The Movie Network because so far they've come out with shows i've really enjoyed. Slings and Arrows was probably the best example of that. One of my favorite shows ever. The movie network is kinda like our HBO.<br/><br/>Last week I watched the series premier of Durham County. First of all the setting creates such a spectacular backdrop for the show. If you were expecting some happy suburb where the sun is always shinning then I suggest you turn the channel to Desperate Housewives. In Durham County the sky is gray and the view from the backyard is of a electrical plant (I don't quite know the right terminology. The show opens with a the strange sight of two school girls getting murdered in a forest of some sort. Then it cuts to our very first glimpse of Mike Sweeney, a homicide detective who moved with his wife and daughter to Durham after the murder of his partner in a drive-by shooting. His wife we soon guess is a recovering breast cancer patient. This is revealed when she is getting ready for a welcome-to-the-neighbourhood party and uses wigs and fake breasts. Their teenage daughter Sadie is typically rebellious but I like her in the way that that's not all their is to her character so far.<br/><br/>We are introduced the neighbours, Ray and Traci Prager and their teenage son Ray Jr. We sense immediately that there is something wrong with Ray Sr. He is a very intense man who can be loving to his wife one second and violent and demanding the other.<br/><br/>The set-up I think is great. I can't write a proper review right now, but i'm really exited to see what happens. I'll definitely be watching tomorrow's episode or taping it. The premise is great, the characters so far intriguing and a strange mysterious atmosphere that I love. SO WATCH IT!
Gethnen replied
369 weeks ago