Temple (mini-series) [Sky]

cdgalwegian

Described as a “darkly comic thriller”, Temple is a Sky original production set in the secret world beneath London and is written by playwright Mark O’Rowe. The eight-part series is adapted from a Norwegian drama called Valkyrien. It follows a surgeon working in an illegal underground clinic in London. Leading the cast is Mark Strong who will play surgeon Daniel. He will be joined by Game of Thrones’ Carice van Houten, who is best known for plating Melisandre in the HBO series.

On Sky One tomorrow.

is_that_so

Was curious about this. Based on Valkyrien you say? That wasn't the best at all but Mark Strong usually gives a good account of himself.

cdgalwegian

is_that_so wrote: »

Was curious about this. Based on Valkyrien you say? That wasn't the best at all but Mark Strong usually gives a good account of himself.

Yeah, doesn't really give impression of "darkly comic", nor does setting, but Mark Strong is usually dependable, so certainly worth a punt.

Always Be Closing

Gonna give this a go tonight

cdgalwegian

Watched the first two episodes. Quite literally an underground operation, which is a bit of a silly premise, but it is enjoyable. Mark Strong puts in a good performance as a man in desperate circumstances. Story unfolds cleverly, with flashbacks giving backstory; still unsure if falling between two stools where going for comedic tones, but definitely worth keeping up with.
Mark O'Rowe who wrote and produced is an Irish playwright and screen writer (Intermission, among others).

Agent Coulson

Very paint by numbers below average for me even Mark Strong can't say it from being below mediocre.

cdgalwegian

I think this should have dropped the attempts at humour and just gone dark- really dark; after all, the tagline is "Good men do bad things for Love". Watched 6 episodes of 8 now. Definitely better, but took a while to get there, which considering it is billed as a mini-series (on IMDb) wasn't the best choice, in terms of pacing, as knowing it was going to be a series could allow for slower build-up. So here, the stakes didn't really get high (and hence nor did the pace) until episode 5, when it shifts up a couple of gears. It turns out be a pretty good premise for a series, but for reasons outlined, there might have been high drop-off in the first few episodes.
Weirdly, Mark Strong's character does seem a bit wooden to me (the throwing-chair-through-glass-wall scene in trailer is only real bit of emotion he really shows), and though I haven't liked Daniel Mays' acting before, he's really good in this.
At this point, from a slow enough first half, now looking forward to last two episodes.

cdgalwegian

Ended strongly.

Assuming you've already seen it, no way this is a one-off mini-series

Humour became sparser as episodes went on, and was better for it. As Agent Coulson pointed out, it is paint by numbers, but it gains momentum into a decent show.

If this really is a series, and not a mini-series, and went darker, a second series could be really good.

Agent Coulson

Renewed for a 2nd season.

stargazer 68

We enjoyed it and glad it's renewed but thought there would be more cases - its supposed to be an illegal clinic but there were only 3 or so patients. Hope it picks that part of it up a bit more

cdgalwegian

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Renewed for a 2nd season.

Cool. Despite its faults, quite enjoyed it, though why IMDb had mini-series in the info I don't know. Definitely had second series written all over it.

Agent Coulson

Season 2 drops tomorrow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8rTy4PQLGU