Ridley - General Discussion

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, 12catcrazy said:

Hard to believe that Ripley was going to go traipsing off to the US with this woman who he knew for like a week! 

I was telling him he could just take a vacation and visit her in Florida, he didn't have to move there.  But I knew she was involved somehow and it wasn't going anywhere.

[possibilities]

Somehow I missed this when it aired this weekend, but I caught it on pbs.org today. It's very confusing hw they number the episodes, though. They say this is E6, but I would swear they've only aired 3. 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by possibilities

[dleighg]

I think they go in pairs; maybe they show them back to back, like 1-2, 3-4, 5-6?

[statsgirl]

It seems like PBS is splitting up the original four episodes into two each.

The first set was The Peaceful Garden which was the farmer found dead and the young girl who had been missing for more than a decade; the second set was Hospitality with the dead maid. now these with missing Luke and one more story to go.

I don't know how Eve expected to have a relationship with Ridley when she knew that she had killed Julie. Did she think that he was never going to find out?

[proserpina65]

Ugh, Ridley so should not be involved in this case.  And stealing evidence better have serious consequences, cause that is messed up.

I guess medical confidentiality rules are different in the UK because no way would police be able to look at a counselor's patients' records in the US without filing for a court order.  Which would likely be denied except in rare cases.  Confidentiality can die with the patient but not the counselor.

Edited to note: do British homes not have smoke detectors?

Edited July 31, 2023 by proserpina65

[possibilities]

Also, what is this bullshit that thy threw their informant under the bus? And Ridley and his negligent supervisor don't feel guilty about that?

[DonnaMae]

On 7/19/2023 at 9:27 PM, zoey1996 said:

It sort of acknowledges what's been mentioned here, that he isn't a very good singer.

I think he's just fine.  I doubt he's trying to be another Frank Sinatra.

[AZChristian]

There were LOTS of things that bothered me in last night's episode.  I'm beginning to not like Adrian Dunbar as much. 

He was associate producer on these episodes in addition to starring in them.  There were too many questionable practices that should not have been "glorified" in the show.  There are enough problems with the relationships between authorities and accused criminals without making it look so easy for someone who isn't even a cop to have access to things that should require search warrants, etc.

Not pleasant to watch.

[statsgirl]

It's looking like the biggest problem with this show is the character of Ridley.

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, statsgirl said:

It's looking like the biggest problem with this show is the character of Ridley.

And that everybody enables him in his bad behavior. It's not enough to whinge about it if you don't do anything to stop it, Farnum and Farnum's boss! That makes you a willing accomplice!

Also, I didn't appreciate that the second they found out that the victim was gay, they started off on a theory that he was screwing a patient. 

And the definitely homophobic parent of the first suspect suddenly starts suggesting something similar and they believe her? She has a conflict of interest because she's trying to exonerate her bullying kid!

Pfeh!

[zoey1996]

11 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

I think he's just fine.  I doubt he's trying to be another Frank Sinatra.

Oh, I think he’s fine too, but several posts upthread were critical of his singing.

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

Oh, I think he’s fine too, but several posts upthread were critical of his singing.

His voice is okay, but it's jazz and I hate jazz.

[AZChristian]

Watched the final episode.  They seemed to get worse as the season progressed.  Done.

[Mondrianyone]

Would somebody please open up the door already???

Okay, his vocal performance tonight was probably the best of the ones we've heard so far, but this song was so awful. According to the article linked earlier, he and the producers fell in love with this writer's songs. For the life of me I don't know why. (And I love jazz.)

[zoey1996]

I really liked this last episode! It pulled together some loose ends for me, and the resolution was satisfying. 

I also liked the singing and the song. So the boat got finished, and Alex seems to be moving on. I'm actually looking forward to another season.

[sempervivum]

The plotline was so predictable/cliche. Our hero's hand trembles as he tries to decide whether to avenge his family by shooting the perp, but-no!- his honorable nature wins, and the SWAT sharpshooter does it for him. Geez. And of course, despite being shot mid-body and bleeding like a pig, our hero makes a quick and complete recovery!

(Cue inept jazz singing).

 

[12catcrazy]

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

The plotline was so predictable/cliche. Our hero's hand trembles as he tries to decide whether to avenge his family by shooting the perp, but-no!- his honorable nature wins, and the SWAT sharpshooter does it for him. Geez. And of course, despite being shot mid-body and bleeding like a pig, our hero makes a quick and complete recovery!

(Cue inept jazz singing).

 

Sempervivum, you said it all.  The entertainment writers are worried about AI taking over their jobs - well, AI could have probably written something more interesting and less cliched. 

 

14 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Would somebody please open up the door already???

Okay, his vocal performance tonight was probably the best of the ones we've heard so far, but this song was so awful. According to the article linked earlier, he and the producers fell in love with this writer's songs. For the life of me I don't know why. (And I love jazz.)

And I'm another person who loves jazz (I actually listen to a very good jazz radio station all day while at work) and I'll say that Gregory Porter  (or Billy Porter) has  nothing to worry about re Adrian Dunbar's vocal talent.  And yeah, that song was just so bad that neither Frank Sinatra or Willie Nelson could have made it sound good.    But then again, how many people love Britney Spears and she couldn't really sing if her life depended on it, so people like what they like, I guess.  

[Rickster]

I thought the last two episodes were OK, but dragged out the plot which could have been resolved about 1/2 an hour sooner. Did not appreciate the fake out that made you think he was was going off to join his wife. The less said about the singing the better (there was one I liked in one of the middle episodes, but I can’t remember which one it was).

I was puzzled by the setting of the the series, which at times seemed very rural and desolate but sometimes more urban than you would expect in a small town. The apartment building being one example.

The show definitely needs better writing.

[proserpina65]

Is it wrong of me that I wanted Ridley to die?

There for a moment I thought there were going to be actual consequences for him fucking around with evidence.  I should've known better.  That resolution was lame.  And the number of people who couldn't grasp the idea of someone being willing to go to prison to protect his younger brother - 😕

28 minutes ago, Rickster said:

I was puzzled by the setting of the the series, which at times seemed very rural and desolate but sometimes more urban than you would expect in a small town. The apartment building being one example.

It was filmed in the Greater Manchester area, some it of pretty rural, some of it in the small city of Bolton, which has about 194,000 residents.  There are definitely council estates (what we Americans call public housing of "the projects") in that area.

Edited August 7, 2023 by proserpina65

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

And the number of people who couldn't grasp the idea of someone being willing to go to prison to protect his younger brother

Especially when his life was in danger anyway, because he was being threatened by someone he'd informed on, and not protected from being murdered by said criminal and/or his  minions.

I'm annoyed that Farnum, the female officer on standby, is the one who shrieks and lunges after him, while her male colleagues stand stoically by.

I also wondered why Ridley interrupting the chain of custody had no impact on the usefulness of the evidence, but I don't know how British law works in this regard.

 

[DonnaMae]

17 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Would somebody please open up the door already???

Wasn't that song ridiculous?  I think his voice is just fine, but he could have found a better song to sing.

[statsgirl]

17 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Okay, his vocal performance tonight was probably the best of the ones we've heard so far, but this song was so awful. According to the article linked earlier, he and the producers fell in love with this writer's songs. For the life of me I don't know why. (And I love jazz.)

If you're going to introduce a new song, and in this case a bunch of new songs, either the song or the singer has to be top-notch. In this case, both were only so-so.  "Open the Door" seemed to me to be the best of his singing but there is a reason why Eve singing  "What'll I do?" keeps replaying in my head while I can't get through Ripley's songs fast enough.

And the ending was so cheesey. After 5 7/8ths episodes of him unable to move on from his dead wife and daughter, suddenly he's finished the boat,seeing a therapist and taking on his jazz club partner on the way to a new relationship?

36 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I also wondered why Ridley interrupting the chain of custody had no impact on the usefulness of the evidence, but I don't know how British law works in this regard.

Didn't Cal confess to someone (Ridley? Jack?) that he had set the fire? Plus he was dead so there wouldn't be a need for a trial.

There really should have been consequences for Ridley taking the drive but this show really gives Ridley a free pass for just about everything.

You should be doing better, show.

[howiveaddict]

Count me in on those who did not like the song last night.  It reminds me too much of the lazy writing of today's pop music.  Repeating the same thing over and over with no substance to the song.  

[possibilities]

I realize you can't try a dead suspect, but if there was going to be a chain of custody issue, Ridley should have been more worried about having caused it potentially tanking any case that could be brought, because at that point the suspect was not dead. 

I suppose it's not the only time a cop show has handwaved a major due process issue, but it bothered me anyway.

 

[statsgirl]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Ridley should have been more worried about having caused it potentially tanking any case that could be brought, because at that point the suspect was not dead. 

Ridley doesn't care as long as he gets what he wants. Another reason the character is not endearing himself to me.

[proserpina65]

19 hours ago, possibilities said:

I also wondered why Ridley interrupting the chain of custody had no impact on the usefulness of the evidence, but I don't know how British law works in this regard.

I'm hoping that it would've resulted in the evidence being thrown out had the murderer gone to court, but since he was killed, it didn't matter.  At least I think he was killed, I was only half paying attention by then.

 

[sempervivum]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

At least I think he was killed, I was only half paying attention by then.

Yeah, his head basically exploded when the SWAT guy shot him.

[Mondrianyone]

At least he was spared having to listen to that song.

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, sempervivum said:

Yeah, his head basically exploded when the SWAT guy shot him.

I was clearly looking at my computer at that point, not the tv.  Thanks for clarifying.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 6/26/2023 at 1:15 AM, WendyCR72 said:

I have never heard of these characters, but it sounds like something I'd like. Will have to check listings. The write up ironically sounds a bit like the premise for Michael Crichton's most-recent Bosch/Ballard book, Desert Star, too! (Great book, by the way.)

Funny you should say this, because I just now thought he seemed like a Bosch character because he was playing jazz LPs in the intro!  I have watched only 5 minutes so far.  I’ll be back after I finish the rest.  I started watching because I saw it starred Hastings the gaffer from Line of Duty, which I just finished. I love all the Bosch books and the shows. 

Edited March 13 by EtheltoTillie

[DanaK]

PBS's pressroom page is indicating Season 2 will start airing Sunday September 15 at 8pm ET

https://pressroom.pbs.org/programs/r/ridley-season-2

[EtheltoTillie]

On 7/11/2023 at 8:58 PM, Mondrianyone said:

Sorry in advance if this is a stupid question. It may have been addressed and I just missed it. But do we know how Ridley, on a retired cop's salary, is able to afford a beautiful lakefront house with lots of shoreline and also own a jazz club? I'd like to sign up for that retirement plan.

Well, think of Harry Bosch’s amazing hillside house, which he won in some kind of settlement if I recall correctly. This series does copy Bosch quite a bit. 

[dleighg]

4 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Well, think of Harry Bosch’s amazing hillside house, which he won in some kind of settlement if I recall correctly. This series does copy Bosch quite a bit. 

nah, he was a "consultant" on hit movie (based on one of Connelly's early books with Harry: The Black Echo). They sometimes show the movie poster in his fancy house.

[EtheltoTillie]

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

nah, he was a "consultant" on hit movie (based on one of Connelly's early books with Harry: The Black Echo). They sometimes show the movie poster in his fancy house.

Thanks, I couldn't remember the exact circumstances. 

[Mondrianyone]

Yeah, that answer ^. I hadn't noticed a lot of copying from Bosch, but maybe it slipped below my radar. Probably fortunately for us, Harry just plays jazz on vinyl rather than singing.

I would give a body part for that house and that view, though. Harry's, I mean, not Ridley's.

[possibilities]

My listings say the show is airing S2E1 on 9/15 and I can't remember if we've already seen season 2, or if this is really new eps.

[chitowngirl]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

My listings say the show is airing S2E1 on 9/15 and I can't remember if we've already seen season 2, or if this is really new eps.

New episodes!

[zoey1996]

Watched it tonight. New episode. 

[Daff]

Why does it take Ridley and Carol so long to catch on? They’ve got 1/3 of the “errand” boys dead to rights, he and dead Ryan are now closely connected to MRS. Stud Farmer, yet they persist in implicating “squeaky clean” MR. Stud Farmer. She’s the one quacking like a duck! The van didn’t kill Ryan, so what color is her vehicle?

[12catcrazy]

6 hours ago, Daff said:

Why does it take Ridley and Carol so long to catch on? 

Because they need to drag this out for at least three episodes...

It will be interesting to see if that young woman "undercover" makes it out alive.  She is playing with fire and doesn't seem to have enough experience to really know what she is doing. 

It seems that Ridley and Bar Lady maybe had a fling and it didn't amount to anything solid.  Any thoughts on whether her new beau is going to be one of the bad guys (my guess is that he is, and if he isn't, will probably be killed off to clear the way for Ridley and Bar Lady again).

Finally - Thank God, no singing! 

[possibilities]

They seem to want us to be confused about what is happening. Who did the robbery? Who killed the robber? Was Ridely fed wrong info on purpose, or was that a goof? And which of theses people are in cahoots vs just being manipulated by the others?

The suspects:

Jewelry store owner

Horse Lady

Horse Lady's husband

The Gang/individual members thereof

The Girlfriend/Informant

Dead Guy's Grandfather

I can't tell if this is the kind of show that gives deliberate misdirects for a shocking ending, or if it's the kind of show where they want to make the viewers feel smart by revealing everything before the detectives figure it out.

 

Edited September 16 by possibilities

[EtheltoTillie]

All the episodes have dropped on PBS Passport.  I may binge watch them, but as with the other recent shows, I miss the opportunity to comment.  I may comment with spoiler tags.  I can't come back weeks later and comment as I forget what happened. 

[Daff]

On 9/16/2024 at 3:33 PM, 12catcrazy said:

Because they need to drag this out for at least three episodes...

It will be interesting to see if that young woman "undercover" makes it out alive.  She is playing with fire and doesn't seem to have enough experience to really know what she is doing. 

It seems that Ridley and Bar Lady maybe had a fling and it didn't amount to anything solid.  Any thoughts on whether her new beau is going to be one of the bad guys (my guess is that he is, and if he isn't, will probably be killed off to clear the way for Ridley and Bar Lady again).

Finally - Thank God, no singing! 

Tasha isn’t doing this in any official capacity, she’s merely Ridley’s CI. Since she seems to be playing both sides, I suspect it won’t end well for her. Another casualty for which Ridley can carry more angst and guilt.

[proserpina65]

On 9/18/2024 at 2:16 PM, Daff said:

Tasha isn’t doing this in any official capacity, she’s merely Ridley’s CI. Since she seems to be playing both sides, I suspect it won’t end well for her. Another casualty for which Ridley can carry more angst and guilt.

Based on the second episode, it seems like she WAS doing this in an official capacity.

I debated watching since I didn't really enjoy the first season but I decided to give it another try.  First episode was okay and had no singing!  Second episode, though . . . ugh.  It really annoys me that Ridley is just supposed to be a consultant and yet he manages to take over every case like he's in charge.

The cop's son is clearly going to get into trouble before the end of the series, given that neither she nor her partner is paying the least fucking bit of attention to him while they're busy oohing and ahhing over the baby.  That's not going to turn out well.  And I really hated her comment (at least I think it was hers) about Ryan's mother and how "they took her baby away from her" as if she sympathized with her.  Of course they took the baby away from her, she was a junkie and they make notoriously bad mothers.

Edited September 23 by proserpina65

[possibilities]

I'm not sure why I'm not enjoying it, but I'm not. 

[alias1]

I felt bad for the CI.  Her boyfriend is a lowlife and I guess she thought she could redeem him somehow.  At least he didn't kill her. 

Ryan's mother, on the other hand, is not only a lowlife but a murderer.  She killed her own son because "he deserved it." (?)   Maybe I'm too naive, but I found that plot twist a little hard to believe.  

I'm drawn to keep watching, but I get that people have problems with the show.  Something is just lacking. 

    

 

[12catcrazy]

This episode (and series) was meh.   And our luck ran out with the singing (it might just be in the ear of this listener, but I think this guy's singing is awful.  Josh Groban has nothing to worry about).

Ryan's mother was beyond awful.   Why not confess to hubby and say that you had an out of wedlock child at 18 and gave him up.   This is not 1950, but then we wouldn't have had a show.  

Methinks we will be seeing the jewelry store owner again.  Gifting Bar Lady with that emerald bracelet seems really over the top (unless its just a nice fake, and then it would be okay), so we know that he's going to turn out to be a rotter.  

The PBS Sunday night block of shows is the thing in my house so I'll keep watching Ridley, but can't say that I look forward to it in the way I look forward to "Moonflower Murders" or some of the other shows.  

[Daff]

On 9/23/2024 at 9:21 AM, proserpina65 said:

Based on the second episode, it seems like she WAS doing this in an official capacity.

I debated watching since I didn't really enjoy the first season but I decided to give it another try.  First episode was okay and had no singing!  Second episode, though . . . ugh.  It really annoys me that Ridley is just supposed to be a consultant and yet he manages to take over every case like he's in charge.

The cop's son is clearly going to get into trouble before the end of the series, given that neither she nor her partner is paying the least fucking bit of attention to him while they're busy oohing and ahhing over the baby.  That's not going to turn out well.  And I really hated her comment (at least I think it was hers) about Ryan's mother and how "they took her baby away from her" as if she sympathized with her.  Of course they took the baby away from her, she was a junkie and they make notoriously bad mothers.

You’re right. That’s part of what’s wrong with the writing on this show. All the dialogue about the trustworthiness of the rookie should have been revealed in the first episode. Instead, they led us to believe Tasha was simply meddling on her own, at Ridley’s request. Carol’s dialogue implied she didn’t even know who Tasha was. 

[DonnaMae]

On 9/23/2024 at 10:34 AM, 12catcrazy said:

but I think this guy's singing is awful. 

I think his voice is fine, but why can't he sing a decent song?  That song was so boring.  

[proserpina65]

Oh god, the singing!  Make it stop.  Both Adrian Dunbar's voice and the song sucked.

I don't get why the husband was arrested.  It's not illegal to drive away from one's house nor is it illegal to refuse to answer the questions of people who are not actually the police (or the police themselves, for that matter).  And a good solicitor would keep any rope evidence obtained in his garage from ever seeing the light of day in court.

I seriously doubt it's him anyway.  Sure, he's got secrets, but he's too obvious.  I think it's either the sister-in-law or the former cop's boyfriend.