There’s a monster in Loch Ness, but not the one you are thinking of. It’s a serial killer with some peculiar tastes and habits. This TV series from Britain’s ITV network exploits the obvious monster theme. Likewise, the small Scottish community in the story markets the Loch Ness monster myth and legend to tourists. Underneath the hype is an intriguing mystery, slowly unfurling, with beautiful scenery and images, as well as a town and characters with secrets to hide.
DCI Frank Smilie (John Sessions)
The Loch Ness TV series takes some familiar narratives and uses them well. One murder and evidence of a second is all it takes for the regional police to send in outside help. The small town, local cops may – or may not – be in over their heads. Enter DCI Lauren Quigley (Siobhan Finneran from Happy Valley), a matter-of-fact investigator with a connection to the local DCI, Frank Smilie (John Sessions). They both bring dry humor and tension to the mix.
Central to the story is policewoman Annie Redford (Laura Fraser). She is first cop on the scene when the first body is found, and her investigative skills catch the eye of DCI Quigley. Annie is eager and ambitious, but her teenage daughter hangs out with a group of prank-minded kids. It becomes a problem for Annie when their antics are tied to evidence of a second murder.
Profiler Blake Albrighton (Don Gilet)
If that’s not enough, Quigley calls for the help of well-known psychological profiler Blake Albrighton. DCI Smilie may not be the only one to wonder if Blake’s primary motive is helping to solve the case or generating more publicity for himself.
Loch Ness is filled with beautiful scenery. The Scottish landscape and small town character are used to full advantage. These are contrasted with artfully staged imagery and closeups of autopsies and organs. Along with characters and a promise of more secrets to reveal, the camerawork hooked us on Loch Ness.
Acorn is airing the Loch Ness TV series only a week or so behind its British broadcast on the ITV network. That means it’s being released the old fashioned way, one episode per week, starting June 19, 2017. Based on the first episode, it’s one of the better series Acorn has to offer, but we don’t know if the quality of the first episode will hold throughout the series. Look below for updates as the show progresses.
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Loch Ness TV series trailer
Loch Ness TV series updates
Episode 2 (June 26, 2017) – It’s been a week since the series premiere on Acorn TV, and without a recap at the beginning of the hour, it takes a few minutes to remember who is who. There are a dozen or more central characters. This episode is not as strong as the first, but it does bring Annie back into the investigation. The last two scenes assure that we’ll be back to watch episode 3 next week.
Episodes 3 – 6 (July 24, 2017) (Spoilers ahead!) Loch Ness regained momentum with episode 3. Episode 4 basically sent us on a tangent. It was interesting, but did little to lead toward finding the killer. Episode 5 pulled a lot of pieces together. It fell into a standard thriller story arc, with Annie and others racing to stop the killer before he committed one last murder. At the end, most of the cops were satisfied the case was resolved. A couple of comments hint otherwise.
It was easy – we thought – to guess where episode 6 was headed. It returned to the standard thriller ending, with a couple of particularly good twists in the last few minutes. We are left hoping for Loch Ness season 2. DS Annie Redford deserves another challenging case to solve.
Thanks – I saw this as upcoming Acorn offering and just glossed over it thinking it was just some Loch Ness myth type story. Its on my to watch-list. Glad you guys are back.
Thanks Evelyn! Good to be back!
Chet –
I watched the first episode of Loch Ness – scenery alone is worth the watch.
Its imo really well done – lots of suspense. Can’t wait until the next episode.
Just completed all 4 episodes in one sitting, couldn’t stop watching after the first episode. When can we expect more? Great show!
Episode 5 is available today! The final episode, next Monday, July 24.
It’s a good show, Netflix really has ts production value in place. I don’t know the name of the actress, but she was the ladies maid on Downton Abbey. I CAN’T STAND HER. She is nasty and sarcastic. It isn’t necessary to play the role exactly like the bitch on Downton. I just don’t like the actress. She rather ruined the show for me. Otherwise, I really liked it.
I wanted to like this show, but I could not. The characters were so unlikeable and had strange motives. Seriously, what was the deal with the pregnant daughter being hidden while her mother pretends to be pregnant? It’s not the 1950s! Plus why was she so determined to have another child, she looked too old, plus she already had a daughter? Didn’t explain why she wanted a baby so bad, very odd! Then you have a mother keeping her son in an induced coma while his brother assumes his identity. When he finally wakes up, the first thing he does is assault someone and run? When police approach him he intentionally falls off a cliff? What was his motive for all of that? It wasn’t clear that he knew everything that was going on, he was in a coma after all. Every character was so unlikable, especially the moody teenage daughter who practically has her phone glued to her hand throughout the series, except when her life is in danger! Very annoying! When the character of Annie is tracking a phone, it only activates when she is out of the car! Then, she races back to track the phone in her car and her car dies! Seriously, her car had stalled several times before, you’d think she would have taken it to a mechanic by that time! It all seems so contrived and the characters were one dimensional. The best part of this series was the scenery, the rest was just rubbish.