Must Watch reviews: Ridley
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week, Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell join Naga Munchetty to review Ridley.
This one is the second series of a detective show on ITV starring Adrian Dunbar from Line of Duty as a former detective who was forcibly retired after his wife and daughter died in a house fire.
What does the team make of it?
What do the Must Watch reviewers think of Ridley?
Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell give their view on Ridley.
Scott: “It's not a must watch for me. I mean, here's the thing that in the same way that we're talking about Amazon's obsession with shows about assassins, ITV has got an obsession and always has done with crime.
It does the general things fairly well"
“I mean it's one of the most popular genres that there are, it is actually one of the most popular genres that sell abroad as well. America particularly loves it.
“So, you always have to have like a thing about your police procedural or your detective show to try to make it stand out from all of the others and it really feels sometimes as if there's a dartboard and they throw a dart at the dartboard and whatever it lands on is very much the angle of this show.”
“The second dart landed on the fact that he can sing and about an hour and a bit in, we had him singing for three minutes and it initially confused me until I realised that pretty much happens every single episode I mean, I think...it does the general things fairly well.
For it to be a must watch, it has to be exceptional. I just don't think that it is"
“I mean, it does, for normal kind of feature length episodes, a storyline where you are sort of playing the detective at home, you're able to follow every point of the story, it's just not - I think - exceptional enough when on the same channel you've got ‘The Tower’, ‘The Lock’, ‘Malpractice’, ‘The Bay’, ‘Karen Pirie’, ‘Professor T’, ‘Vera’, ‘Endeavour’, ‘DI Ray’, ‘Code of silence’, ‘Protection’, ‘Grace’ and Irvine Welsh's ‘Crime’.
“There are already quite a lot of crime related shows just on this broadcast alone. So, for it to be a must watch, it has to really be exceptional. And I just don't think that it is.
“However, it is fun seeing whether Adrian Dunbar is going to accidentally or inadvertently say one of his famous catchphrases from Line of Duty because it becomes so close to saying “bent coppers”, but never quite saying it, or he says, “organised crime” instead of quote “OCG”. As a sort of a way to keep, like, to tide you over until there may be or may not be another series of Line of Duty. And if you're just a fan of him, you've got a lot to look forward to. But beyond that, I'm not so sure personally.”
Naga: “Hayley?”
The various plot points were either a bit simple or a bit far-fetched"
Hayley: “I agree with Scott. And actually, I was convinced we hadn't reviewed this before. But when I started watching series two, I remembered we had. Scott, do you remember this? We watched series one in August 2022. So that's kind of my review summed up. It's fine. It's just forgettable and basic. And that's not enough to sustain my interest for the 90 minutes per episode (because they're all self-contained stories).
“The various plot points were either a bit simple or a bit far-fetched. In the episode at the beginning of series two, I think if I was working undercover and had infiltrated a crime gang, I would probably turn off the notifications on my phone rather than have messages pop up so that anyone can read them. And since she didn't, the plot got to move on a little quicker than it would have done. That's kind of the level that we're dealing with.
“And like Scott says, each episode has him singing in a bar between shifts at the police station, which it feels a bit unnecessary and is clearly put there for people who have a crush on Adrian Dunbar. So, I'm mentioning that because that might be you and might swing the decision on whether to watch it or not.
“Like a lot of ITV detective shows, I would say this is something to watch on a rainy day when you have a hangover. But if you're a crime show fan, you'll probably find this a little simple for your taste."
Scott: “I think if you've got a crush on Adrian Dunbar, you're in the right place.”
I think if you've got a crush on Adrian Dunbar, you're in the right place"
Hayley: “Yeah, exactly.”
Naga: “I found it really dull.”
Ridley airing on ITV and STV Sunday 24th and Monday 25th August at 8pm and also steaming on ITVX and STV Player.
But before all that, why not contact Scott and Hayley with the shows you’ve been loving, loathing or lamenting on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.
This week, the team reviewed Butterfly and The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox.
Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening on 蜜芽传媒 Sounds.
As always, we like to include your reviews - on shows you love, loathe or lament.
Message @bbc5live on social media using the hashtag #bbcmustwatch or email mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.
Ruthie got in touch with us…
“I think I recall you saying you would be discussing subtitles, a hobby horse of mine.
“I didn’t realise quite how much I relied on them until watching ‘Bookish’ on Now. There were no subtitles so I gave up after two episodes. My hearing is fine but I find subtitles help me focus on the dialogue.”
And here’s an email from Lynn…
“I wrote to you previously with some crime / Nordic Noir recommendations as my viewing habits seem to be mostly the same as Hayley’s - including struggling to get through even one episode of a reality show.
“I came across “Crime” on ITV, which is an older Irvine Welsh series and it was great - dark but with also some laugh out loud moments.
“Also has the required very tortured lead detective character.
“Having also enjoyed ‘Department Q’ and more recently ‘Karen Pirie’ and ‘Annika’ it does seem that there is a very small pool of Scottish actors … much the same as in Scandinavian and Antipodean series!
“Love the show!”
