Waste of time

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The characters are quite good and this series has potential. I hope they will grow in the next season and that there is a next season more importantly. We are BritBox devotees and this one could well be a keeper.

I loved Episode 3 Charolotte's Web and Episode 4, Madhouse in Bletchley Circle San Francisco. Just as there is a depiction of overt racism and disdain for aggressive women that is beautifully depicted for this period piece these attitudes are still in existence and subtly control our society today. How hard it must have been for women in the 1950s who were intelligent but shut down by their fathers, brothers, husbands and at times even their mothers. I was really disappointed by the first critique I read of the series. It had to be written by someone who has not been exposed to or felt the pains of racism and sexism. Women and people of color have come a long way since the 50s but we still have a long way to go.

I was expecting so much more from the latest series, having enjoyed the previous two. This time, only Millie (Rachael Stirling) and Jean (Julie Graham) from the original cast appear, which is a shame in itself. Now they zoom off to the US on the track of a killer who they believe struck back in the 40's. How they afford to do this is a mystery in itself! Meeting a wartime American colleague (Iris - Crystal Balint) and her friend Hailey (Chanelle Peloso) - who must have been all of 15 during the War - they track down the locations of the next murders and body drops by some means not explained - apparently, they just look at a map and point.... This story line is very weak, glossing over the solving of the riddle and leaving the viewer mystified. At the end, Jean says she'll return to the UK, but Millie is staying in California, so that will leave only the one Bletchley woman for the remainder of the series. I doubt that it will improve, but I live in hope!

I say, 'give it time to develop'. I thought the sense of period was excellent, with only a couple of 21st century clichés creeping in, but to be honest, the script writers are probably far too young to realise that 'their language' is not what was used over half a century ago. We have to suspend disbelief a little when we watch any TV fiction and this isn't that far off in its portrayal of the 1950's.I thought the standard of acting was extraordinarily high and feel that this has the potential to develop as well as, say, Endeavour as a series as the cast gradually beds in . . . and who's to say that old cast members won't reappear as the episodes unfold? Sometimes, slow burners turn into the fiercest blazes.