Review by chrisklus-01022

When I saw investment for this series, I was really looking forward to another good British police drama. And in many ways Inspector Ellis is that. When we meet DCI Ellis she has been called in to take over a murder and disappearance case in a police station that needs a shake up. Where she comes from and what her role is is quite unclear for quite a while and then she hooks up with a DS who becomes her sidekick. The plots are quite interesting and novel. Episode one I found to be complicated and complex and there were times when it was hard to see what the relationships and connections were between the various parties. The other episodes were well plotted. The scripts are well done with some very interesting dialogue. But everyone constantlycalling each other by their work titles was a bit obsessive. There was some very interesting camera work at various stages particularly long shots panning around the subject. What I found hard to get into with the main character. Though she has a black woman DCI can be easily accepted. But her stern demeanour and stoic personality don't seem to be fitting the role. I was always hoping to see some emotion in her face. Moreover, her appearance does not do the role justice with the odd hairstyle, the long frumpy coat and the clunky boots. Overall, the acting by all the characters is very good, especially her sidekick DS. In fact, though, I was ready to turn the program off in episode one because I had so much trouble getting into the lead character, I really enjoyed watching her sidekick DS.

It's for these reasons that I gave the show only a seven. With a few changes it would've deserved a much higher rating.