So, I was recently trawling Netflix and noticed a show called Inside Man with pretty cool premise for a show: a death-row inmate who assists people on the outside in solving mysteries / murders - and it stars Stanley Tucci and, for the whovians out there, David Tennant. Well, colour me compelled.
And so, I began the series and thought it would be an easy watch, considering it is a mini-series with only four episodes. The first episode began reasonably with the introduction of a syrupy-sweet mass-murderer with an infallible memory and a relatively dour single murderer played by Tucci. We're introduced to the first candidate for his assistance which he turns down almost immediately as he had solved the mystery but he wouldn't assist as he didn't satisfy Tucci's selection criteria. Over the course of the rest of the episode, the writers toy with us and, at the point the solution is revealed, a far too-long-a-bow needs to be drawn for the solution to even be viable for what is an incredibly contrived scenario.
And this was the first episode - the hook. Colour me mildy irritated.
Alongside this side story (at that point in time), we're also introduced to a scenario where Mr Tennant, a vicar, traps a woman in his basement due to another set of contrived circumstances which culminates in your brain needing to run in reverse for it to make even a modicum of sense. Even after all that, I forced myself to sit through the next two episodes - but had to give up prior to the conclusion because, Jesus Christ, the writers on this show are complete imbeciles. Over the course of three episodes I witness that:
- the writers don't understand how smart phones work
- the writers don't understand how computer file datestamps work
- the writers don't understand how human interaction works
- the writers grossly misunderstands how policework actually works
- the writers only create contrived scenarios that were solely written to make Tucci look smart
- the writers keep creating additional contrived scenarios that were solely written to keep Tennant from digging his way out of the original horribly contrived scenario
- the writers feel that by including the message in their storyline that they get a free ride (they do not)
It turns out that the writers is actually just one: Steven Moffat. Looking over his history, he has a few accolades - including the maligned Doctor Who and Sherlock so, I guess, he writes what he knows; although, Holmes did become incredibly stupid by the last few episodes. Based upon recent writing credits, I can only assume his recent filmography is chronicling his accelerating decline into senility, as it's the only thing which makes any sense in the end. For some reason, I do not recommend this show.
