TV Review - Gracepoint, Episode 1

by Jen

I haven’t seen Broadchurch, which makes me a minority amongst my David Tennant-loving friends.  I don’t know why I haven’t seen it, as apparently it is exactly my thing - a hard-hitting crime drama, complete with quaint English countryside and delightful British accents.

However, my ignorance of Broadchurch is apparently going to enhance my enjoyment of Gracepoint, as everyone I know who watched (and loved) that show is baffled by the first episode.  They all seem to feel that it is essentially a do-over, with American accents (even from the British actors!) and locales.

Personally, I quite enjoyed the first episode, and it definitely left me wanting more.  I admit I was not excited about Tennant’s American accent, but it’s still David Tennant on my screen and I’ve seen him do much worse… (Secret Smile, anyone?)

Many others at GG Inc. were terrible distracted by his "nasal American accent," "patchy beard," and "swoopy emo hair."

But, Tennant is not the only one who makes this series worth watching.  Anna Gunn as Detective Ellie Miller looks to be an extremely sympathetic character, and when I saw the old man at the kayak rental place all I could think was, “Is that Nick Nolte?!”  And IMDB verified that it is indeed Nolte, playing the part of Jack Reinhold.  Susan Wright’s character was creepily captivating, even though she didn’t say a word throughout the course of the first episode.

So how and why did this twelve year old boy die?

And what secrets are hiding in Gracepoint? 

Already we can see the parents’ marriage apparently beginning to unravel, and even Ellie’s son seems to have something to hide - why else would a boy begin deleting his hard drive moments after finding out his best friend is dead?

Stay tuned as the mysteries of Gracepoint  play out in this ten episode mini-series!