The Body Farm (TV Mini Series) Episode #1.2 (2011) User Reviews

A steady improvement on the opener

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 10 August 2015]

I was definitely harsh on the opening episode I found it incredibly pedestrian, the second offering is more appealing, it feels more professional. Lone cop DI Hale once again engages Eve and team with evidence of a single severed hand. They seek possible suspect Harold Penton, who has allegedly assaulted the victim, but initially encounter his butler Jimmy West, played by the velvet voiced Gary Lewis, he does have one awesome accent. We are continually treated to talk of decomposition and treated to the usual host of creepy crawlies, so the usual clichés continue. Hale continues throughout in an obnoxious manner, I am still kind of struggling to see how a DI works solo, why is there no hint of any other police? Who is Hale accountable to, if anyone? They are trying very hard to shock the viewer, with the usual host of gory looking cadavers. Oggy is the single most irritating character in the series, Mike seemingly has no personality, Rosa I'm starting to like, but again it feels like Tara is keeping the show on its feet single handed. We get two actors that are normally excellent value for money, Adam Kotz and Michael Byrne. The latter has had a fantastic career, and appeared in Waking the Dead's 'In the sight of the Lord,' a very strong serial in which Byrne was particularly good. This is a much better, much more coherent and far improved episode to the first one. The outcome is a little vague, but all in all, very good.

Better than the first

[musickrev · 7/10 · 23 February 2023]

As others have noted, not up to "Waking The Dead"'s best, which means that the story drifts to the wrong side of melodrama too often. That said, the characters, even when they hew to stereotype, are nicely acted and some, like the cantankerous and impulsive D. I. Hale, are compelling. This second episode was an improvement on the first, making for good if not excellent TV drama. The plot was not exceptional, but it did allow for a nuance of interpretation that added to the interest. As I always find in these types of shows, the actual forensic investigation was the most interesting part as the puzzle pieces come together. As a procedural, it lacks believability on many levels but that's not uncommon in police dramas, and you can overlook that if the rest of the drama is strong enough. It's close here. Direction is OK, although I do find the frequent use of short flashbacks to tell the backstory to be irritating.

Passes the time but is hardly must see TV

[Tweekums · 5/10 · 21 September 2011]

The series continues much as it started with lone policeman DI Hale bringing a case to Dr Lockhart before the two of them along with Lockhart's team solve a suspected murder with no other police involved. This week Hale brings a hand, which has been brought into the police station by a member of the public. The fact that it was found near the estate of a very wealthy recluse who had previously been accused of a sexual assault gives Hale the excuse he needs to expect his prejudices about the rich… not to say that the man wasn't suspicious though. A search of the grounds makes him even more of a suspect when a body is found. The body belongs to a heroin addicted rent boy who went missing from a drop in centre that was funded by the Reclusive Penton so perhaps Hale was right to suspect him from the start… or perhaps there is another suspect who has yet to be considered?

This episode passed the time well enough Keith Allen continues to entertain as the obnoxious Hale and Tara Fitzgerald puts in a good performance as Eve. The rest of the regular cast are okay even if their characters are annoyingly cliché. Unless things pick up drastically I can't see this series lasting anywhere near as long as 'Waking the Dead'; it is hard to believe that this is a spin off of that excellent show.