Ben OsborneYork based ITV drama Eternal Law has so far attracted less than complimentary reviews in the media and suffered a further blow last night as the supernatural law drama lost 1 million viewers in the second week. The show from the team that created the highly popular Life on Mars was beaten in the ratings war by a BBC repeat of New Tricks.
What was worse for the show was that it lost a further 1 million viewers while the programme was actually on air, starting with 3.72m viewers in the opening 15 minutes and ending with 2.89m (12.42%) in the final fifteen minutes.
Critics have roundly slated the show with Tom Sutcliffe in The Independent describing the plot of the first episode as “bonekickingly ludicrous” and highlighting the “embarrassing mismatch between the intensity of Sam West’s acting and the triviality of the drama he’s serving.”
Sam Wollaston in The Guardian didn’t know what to make of it; “I wasn’t really sure if I was meant to be laughing, or moved, or charmed or what – and ended up being none of the above. Just baffled. Silly, I think.”
The Metro didn’t have “the foggiest what point it was trying to make” and summed up that it “made precious little sense and exerted zero emotional pull.”
Gerard O’Donovan in The Telegraph wasn’t impressed, describing it as “far too tricksy, flimsy and saccharine to be wholesome”, and was critical of the characters saying, “none of the characters have anything like the depth required to make us care what happens to them.”
Despite wanting to like Eternal Law, Vicky Parry right here at One&Other was “left feeling slightly cold” after the first episode and also had reservations over the “questionable acting.”
So is it too late for the angels to save the day? Last night’s episode did little to suggest that the series will improve and although I wasn’t one of the million who turned off during the show, this was more to do with a sense of loyalty to York and by the fact that I had to write this article. Will I be watching next week? Well miracles do supposedly happen so I won’t completely rule it out.
But enough of the negativity, lets enjoy Eternal Law for what is by far the best character in the show… York.
We think this is Café Rouge on Low Petergate? Anyone got any other suggestions?
The Minster Gardens featured heavily again, here as the location for a dramatic picnic scene.
Zak heads for that motorbike shop next to Superdrug… you know the one. Helpfully “For Sale” is written in the window just so you know it’s one of those shops that sells things.
And he’s off. Zak heads the wrong way down Low Petergate… lawyers eh?
A concerned and apparently confused father rushes his child to the Museum shouting “Where’s A&E?”
Why is York so quiet? Stonegate isn’t this quiet at 4am let alone during the day.
If you hadn’t got that Richard is a dark angel (or a lawyer), you were left in absolutely no doubt when the drama reached fever pitch as he pushed a man in the river. Dark angels can be so mean.
Smoking cigars while sat on the Minster is neither big or clever. It wasn’t even new years eve for god’s sake.
So next week the only people left watching will be relatives of the cast and York people who want a laugh!
This week's plot was bonkers. Anyone who runs into the Castle Museum asking where A&E clearly isn't fit to be a parent. Even if you can suspend your belief and pretend it's not the Castle Museum - who has ever seen a hospital that looks like that with a huge flight of stairs and no disabled parking outside?
I'm starting to think Gist is very creepy. I was totally unnerved when he turned up in the kids bedroom asking him if his daddy cried. Not sure what that was all about? And that final chat on the Minster Tower about how if the angels weren't here that things would get pretty bad on earth. Umm... somehow I think we'd do just fine if all theses characters did just fly off. They'd be less chance of motorbike accidents down Low Petergate for a start!
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like