Hinterland - General Discussion

[Llywela]

7 minutes ago, DJG1122 said:

You are right. There are no subtitles. Netflix must have edited them out. I would have enjoyed the bilingual one. For all you UK folks, Wales is breathtakingly beautiful.

You are definitely losing scenes, in that case. Bah humbug, Netflix! There's no need to do a hatchet job just because a few scenes are in another language with subtitles! Your viewers can cope, honest!

The show does a good job of making Ceredigion (that's the county in which it is set) look gloriously bleak. I might try to defend it by saying that the sun does come out in Aberystwyth occasionally - except that it's never happened when I've been there!

Edited April 22, 2017 by Llywela

[DHDancer]

Spoilers!!

Well, Llywela, you were right: satisfying conclusion.

Spoiler

(assuming I've seen the end with Robert Owen's demise).  I did feel sorry for Prosser in the end as he carries the bag for all the past wrongs.  I kept yelling at him not to murder Owen but alas he didn't hear me.

I did enjoy the last two episodes much more than the first two in this season.

[Xarquol]

On 22/04/2017 at 8:36 AM, Llywela said:

You are definitely losing scenes, in that case. Bah humbug, Netflix! There's no need to do a hatchet job just because a few scenes are in another language with subtitles! Your viewers can cope, honest!

No, there really are three versions. I just checked the bilingual S01E01, found a scene in Welsh, then went to find it on the Netflix version, and sure enough, there it is in English. I was surprised how similar the two scenes felt. Having read the subtitles just seconds earlier, it seemed like I was watching exactly the same scene again, as if they'd spoken English the first time too, which of course they hadn't.

Another thing that surprised me is how much *more* Welsh there is in the bilingual version now compared to the first season. As noted above, these days it's in English if Mathias is present, otherwise it's in Welsh, but in the first episode, I found several scenes in English when Mathias was elsewhere, that could have been in Welsh. Perhaps the producers wanted to ease the BBC Wales/Four audience in gently.

Thinking about it, it's not surprising that they film the whole thing in both languages, even Netflix aside. As I understand it, they film each scene in English first, then Welsh, mostly to help the crew, many of whom are not Welsh speakers. They therefore know what to expect in the Welsh take even though they can't understand it.

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Series 3 on BBC started this past Wednesday.  Interesting format: 30 mins before "the news" and 30 minutes afterwards.  I like that they've kept welsh conversations in welsh and just sub-titled them.

That's the same format the show has always used on its BBC airing - the S4C version (which is 100% Welsh) shows the whole episode as a single entity. I've no idea why the Beeb insists in splitting them in half!

It's unfortunate that they have to chop the episode up on BBC Wales. I think that's simply because they can't opt out of the national news at 10pm. The subject matter means they can't start it before 9pm, so at 90 minutes they either have to chop it up, or start it at 10.45pm. Chopping it up is probably better than not having it end until after midnight. I suppose they could join it back together for iPlayer though. The good news is that when it's on nationally on BBC Four in a few weeks, there is no reason for it not to be in one piece.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Xarquol
Improved context quoting

[DJG1122]

Season 4 is on Netflix in the US

[Llywela]

Do you mean season 3? There isn't a season 4, they only made three seasons.

[DJG1122]

Yes. I just turned on Netflix to check and it is season 3. Sorry, my bad. 

[DJG1122]

WOW! Just WOW! What a season finale! (Series finale?) Loose ends satisfyingly tied up. I still like Prosser even though he killed two people. He was torn between his duty as a cop and direct orders from a superior. He chose badly but we are all guilty of that at some point. 

One quibble though. I have never heard of a pedophile abusing both girls and boys. Don't they usually favor one or the other? 

[Llywela]

1 hour ago, DJG1122 said:

One quibble though. I have never heard of a pedophile abusing both girls and boys. Don't they usually favor one or the other? 

It was a paedophile ring, iirc (been a little while since it aired over here, so my memory is hazy) - there would be members who favoured both, therefore the ring catered for both.

[DJG1122]

Now that I think about it, they did say 'ring' although we saw Matthias arrest only Prosser and the Medical Examiner who buried Dr Vaughn's body. Okay, I'm ready for more Hinterland and more Shetland. More Wallender, Miss Fisher and Murdock. 

[ShelleySue]

On August 10, 2017 at 5:05 PM, DJG1122 said:

Okay, I'm ready for more Hinterland and more Shetland. More Wallender, Miss Fisher and Murdock. 

Don't forget more Vera.  The latest season is on Acorn now (YIPPEE!!!).

Can someone please help me?  Richard Lynch, who plays Powell looks very familiar to me.  I looked him up on IMDB and he hasn't been in anything else that I've seen.  So he must look like another actor.  Does anyone else think that he looks like an American actor?

[BindsTheTuna]

On 8/14/2017 at 8:28 AM, ShelleySue said:

Don't forget more Vera.  The latest season is on Acorn now (YIPPEE!!!).

Can someone please help me?  Richard Lynch, who plays Powell looks very familiar to me.  I looked him up on IMDB and he hasn't been in anything else that I've seen.  So he must look like another actor.  Does anyone else think that he looks like an American actor?

He looks like a young Ciaran Hinds to me.

[mamadrama]

I JUST found this show and am really getting into it. I lived in Ceredigion for several years (attended the University of Wales in Lampeter for my MA). I think it's funny that the show is called "hinterland" which basically means desolate, barren place. I mean, if they think that applies to Aber then I wonder what they would've thought of Lampeter? Aberystwyth is where we always went when we wanted to go to someplace that was "happening." :-)

[Llywela]

21 minutes ago, mamadrama said:

I JUST found this show and am really getting into it. I lived in Ceredigion for several years (attended the University of Wales in Lampeter for my MA). I think it's funny that the show is called "hinterland" which basically means desolate, barren place. I mean, if they think that applies to Aber then I wonder what they would've thought of Lampeter? Aberystwyth is where we always went when we wanted to go to someplace that was "happening." :-)

Hehe, I know - Aber isn't exactly the back of beyond. But although the police headquarters is in Aber, much of the show takes place out in the 'wilds' of rural Ceredigion, so maybe that's what they are referring to with the title? The Welsh title of the show is 'Y Gwyll', which means 'the dusk'.

If you're enjoying Hinterland, you might want to look out for S4C's latest drama, which is currently airing on S4C under the title Un Bore Mercher and, like Hinterland/Y Gwyll before it, is due to air a bilingual/English version on BBC Wales sometime after Christmas under the name Keeping Faith. A lot of the same faces appear in it (Welsh TV industry not that big) and I'm enjoying it a lot - more, if I'm honest, than I enjoyed Hinterland. Eve Myles stars as Faith Howell, solicitor, wife and mother, partner in her husband's family law firm, a woman who seems to have it all - until the day husband Evan leaves for work and never arrives. With her seemingly perfect life crumbling around her ears, Faith slowly comes to realise how little she knew the man she has shared her life with for the last 10 years. I'm watching the Welsh version, currently four episodes in, and really enjoying it!

[mamadrama]

On 11/29/2017 at 9:23 AM, Llywela said:

Hehe, I know - Aber isn't exactly the back of beyond. But although the police headquarters is in Aber, much of the show takes place out in the 'wilds' of rural Ceredigion, so maybe that's what they are referring to with the title? The Welsh title of the show is 'Y Gwyll', which means 'the dusk'.

If you're enjoying Hinterland, you might want to look out for S4C's latest drama, which is currently airing on S4C under the title Un Bore Mercher and, like Hinterland/Y Gwyll before it, is due to air a bilingual/English version on BBC Wales sometime after Christmas under the name Keeping Faith. A lot of the same faces appear in it (Welsh TV industry not that big) and I'm enjoying it a lot - more, if I'm honest, than I enjoyed Hinterland. Eve Myles stars as Faith Howell, solicitor, wife and mother, partner in her husband's family law firm, a woman who seems to have it all - until the day husband Evan leaves for work and never arrives. With her seemingly perfect life crumbling around her ears, Faith slowly comes to realise how little she knew the man she has shared her life with for the last 10 years. I'm watching the Welsh version, currently four episodes in, and really enjoying it!

That sounds great! I live in the US so sometimes it takes a couple of years for us to get British programming. I will keep my eye out for it, though. 

[Tnbella7]

Hi there.  I just have found this show (after binge watching Broadchurch and Shetland).  One thing I have noticed on this show, and I am only 3 shows in, just finished the one with the body in quarry, is why do they make the lead detectives staff idiots?  Obviously it is hard to commit suicide with a shotgun and if a van was stuck in the woods for 6 months, it would be weathered and the tires would be flat.  I don’t know what the benefit to the story is.  Just to highlight how brilliant the outsider brooding detective is?  I don’t like it when characters are written so they are stupid.  Naive I can understand, but purposely dumb I don’t get.  What are your thoughts?  Am I just being too hard on it?

[sugarbaker design]

On 12/2/2017 at 12:33 AM, mamadrama said:

That sounds great! I live in the US so sometimes it takes a couple of years for us to get British programming. I will keep my eye out for it, though. 

Don't know where you are but in the NY/NJ/CT market it's playing on WLIW.

[mamadrama]

3 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Don't know where you are but in the NY/NJ/CT market it's playing on WLIW.

I'm in the mountains in the south east, about as far away from civilization as one can get...If it's not on Netflix or Hulu, I generally don't get it. :-)

[ali59]

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Can someone please help me?  Richard Lynch, who plays Powell looks very familiar to me.  I looked him up on IMDB and he hasn't been in anything else that I've seen.  So he must look like another actor.  Does anyone else think that he looks like an American actor?

I think he looks like Paul McGillion.

Edited March 15, 2018 by ali59

[Sylviad]

I  watch the   show, I find it very dark though, I keep wanting to see at least one person smile at least :) I am enjoying it though in a strange way. 

[luvmylabs]

On 3/24/2018 at 12:27 PM, Sylviad said:

I  watch the   show, I find it very dark though, I keep wanting to see at least one person smile at least :) I am enjoying it though in a strange way. 

My thoughts exactly.  Moves kind of slowly, but still sort of fascinating.

[Nash]

So that’s what happened to the Welsh language element on Netflix. Idiotic decision. I mean, no one batted an eyelid at the Russian dialogue in The Americans....so this means that Hinterland has welsh, welsh/english and english only versions? Is that some kind of record? I know they filmed each scene twice, often in quite horrible weather. 

[Llywela]

14 hours ago, Nash said:

So that’s what happened to the Welsh language element on Netflix. Idiotic decision. I mean, no one batted an eyelid at the Russian dialogue in The Americans....so this means that Hinterland has welsh, welsh/english and english only versions? Is that some kind of record? I know they filmed each scene twice, often in quite horrible weather. 

Yes - I knew there were Welsh and bilingual versions, I've seen both, but I hadn't realised there was an English-only version for sale abroad - I'm kind of disappointed about that, I really loved that there was a bilingual version, it's the first time I've seen a show really attempt to portray how bilingualism works in Wales, the kind of bilingualism I hear around me every day. But I get that they wanted to make international sales and maybe weren't brave enough to try to sell something featuring the Welsh language, which is pretty marginalised even here in the UK and would be seen as obscure overseas, I guess.

There have been two more shows made in the Hinterland style (both Welsh and bilingual versions) now, btw - Un Bore Mercher/Keeping Faith I mentioned upthread, but there is also Craith/Hidden, in which a body shows up of a young woman who has been missing for years, leading to the unravelling of a much deeper and darker case - the show follows both the police investigation and the downward spiral of the perp, and takes time to explore all the people affected by the case. Atmospheric and creepy, I really enjoyed it.

[Nash]

The odd thing is that I saw e1 of s2 in the welsh version and loved it but for some idiotic reason thought it was a one off drama and didn’t follow up on it. 

I can see a spoiler above, so I guess I can say that having just finished s3, that I feel quite vindicated at never having trusted Prosser from the start; I always suspected he was guilty of something, I just wasn’t sure what. 

[TeslaNewton]

Hidden was incredible. I enjoyed it so much that I'm now doing a binge re-watch of Hinterland. I want to see it straight through with all of the threads weaving in and out.

[nelle97]

Does anyone know what happened at the end of episode 1, season 1. What did Posser do to the murdered girl's father in the cell-the last scene. He was a former police officer who was fired/let go. Do they ever follow up on that? (I'm only one episode into season 2)

[mledawn]

I'm just finished the first half of this show (all of Series 1, two eps into Series 2) and am really enjoying it. All the characters are fantastic, the writers have done well to lure me in on their backstories. What's the story between Sian and Mared - they're so crusty. What's up with Lloyd? And of course now, two eps into Series 2, we know what the story is with Mathias. Prosser is sketchy af obviously, but what's up with him? 

I had a friend whose family was Welsh and I loved her Nana's accent. I'd never heard anyone else with a Welsh accent so an entire show in that lovely lilt is amazing, and of course the scenery is gorgeous. Still hoping Mathias cuts his hair, but obviously that's low priority...

I found an interview Richard Harrington did with Graham Norton and he mentions they planned the whole show arc, which is awesome. He also mentions there are apparently 4 versions of the show - full Welsh, mostly Welsh with some English, mostly English with some Welsh, and the International version on Netflix outside the UK which is completely in English. Whaaaaat!? That's wild.

Edited March 11, 2019 by mledawn
Adding link to Graham Norton interview

[NJRadioGuy]

I'm coming in very late to this thread but I have a question, and it will be incredibly spoilery for those who haven't finished it yet. 

Spoiler

In the very last scene in the final episode we see Tom staring into the Atlantic looking at a picture of his two girls. Didn't that picture burn up at the very end of the season 2 finale when his trailer was torched?

I loved this show, and watched one 90-minute episode every night. The cinematography and music were just perfect, and the sound mixer deserves a BAFTA award for how to properly use the 5.1 Dolby Digital format. Just beautiful.

Count me as a big fan of brooding, sullen detectives in mystery series and Tom plays the role with aplomb. As others have said earlier in this thread, I wish they'd have given some extra dimension to DS Owens and Lloyd. They're both young, attractive and no-doubt have interesting personal lives that would build the overall story.

Also as others have chimed in, regarding product placement, it was a bit annoying. Both leads were almost always dressed in exactly the same outfits. His jacket was Canada Goose, but hers wasn't, I don't think. I forget what the patch said but I'm pretty sure it wasn't CG. Regardless, don't they have other clothes? She had two different red jackets (one with the fur-lined hood, one without). The Land Rover (or was it a Range Rover?) didn't bother me at all either. We bought a used two year old 4x4 luxury SUV for about 40% off the new sticker price, and if you buy 3 or 4 years it's about half the price. But the bigger question is why would they be driving their personal vehicles to crime scenes? What if they get involved in a traffic accident--who's responsible? There would be huge liability risks if it was the officers' own cars. My guess is they're police agency vehicles that they're assigned as part of the job.

Now I've never lived in the U.K. or Europe, but am I correct in assuming that even today, British homicide detectives are all unarmed? One would think that chasing people who've actually committed murder in the past would involve a level of risk that a regular plainclothes detective might not face. Seems surprising that at least one member of the squad didn't carry a firearm. And you'd think that in training for the job, they'd teach their officers how to disarm a suspect if he's within arm's length (it's surprisingly easy once you learn how--albeit with incredible risk)

Also, and this seems to apply to most EU/UK mystery shows, don't the pleece over there need signed warrants to enter premises? Certainly on this side of the Atlantic that would invalidate the entire case if the lead investigator entered the premises.

And on the same note, you have a potential suspect in the interrogation room. His solicitor is sitting beside him, yet the suspect is being grilled like a cheese sandwich by the detectives. Do suspects in the U.K. not have the right to refuse to answer questions? In the U.S., in real life, if they get you in the box, all you have to say is "I want a lawyer" and that's it. They can't ask you anything further. And no attorney worth his retainer would ever allow a suspect to answer a single question (unless the person is more witness than suspect and they guarantee no charges in exchange for testimony against the primary actor(s)). Of course, in real life, if they've got you in the interrogation room they've already got enough to charge you most times; they're just looking for you to incriminate yourself as icing on the cake. Either way, you're getting locked up once the interview's over 🙂

[Joan Carol]

I like Hinterland and am watching the entire series Which wasn’t available to me before. The only thing is that I find the episodes move so slowly, and it’s such a shame that Wales is so Dingy all the time...no sun and so sparse, the are in which it is filmed.  Also, none of the guest characters are nice to the police.  Everybody is curt and rude.  The one episode when Mari was found in the bathtub dead, I cried at Harrington’s beautiful and thoughtful acting.  He appears to have been falling in love with her.  So sad.

[lightninggirl]

On 7/23/2020 at 10:01 AM, NJRadioGuy said:

The Land Rover (or was it a Range Rover?) didn't bother me at all either. We bought a used two year old 4x4 luxury SUV for about 40% off the new sticker price, and if you buy 3 or 4 years it's about half the price. But the bigger question is why would they be driving their personal vehicles to crime scenes? What if they get involved in a traffic accident--who's responsible? There would be huge liability risks if it was the officers' own cars. My guess is they're police agency vehicles that they're assigned as part of the job.

Now I've never lived in the U.K. or Europe, but am I correct in assuming that even today, British homicide detectives are all unarmed? One would think that chasing people who've actually committed murder in the past would involve a level of risk that a regular plainclothes detective might not face. Seems surprising that at least one member of the squad didn't carry a firearm. And you'd think that in training for the job, they'd teach their officers how to disarm a suspect if he's within arm's length (it's surprisingly easy once you learn how--albeit with incredible risk)

Also, and this seems to apply to most EU/UK mystery shows, don't the pleece over there need signed warrants to enter premises? Certainly on this side of the Atlantic that would invalidate the entire case if the lead investigator entered the premises.

And on the same note, you have a potential suspect in the interrogation room. His solicitor is sitting beside him, yet the suspect is being grilled like a cheese sandwich by the detectives. Do suspects in the U.K. not have the right to refuse to answer questions? In the U.S., in real life, if they get you in the box, all you have to say is "I want a lawyer" and that's it. They can't ask you anything further. And no attorney worth his retainer would ever allow a suspect to answer a single question (unless the person is more witness than suspect and they guarantee no charges in exchange for testimony against the primary actor(s)). Of course, in real life, if they've got you in the interrogation room they've already got enough to charge you most times; they're just looking for you to incriminate yourself as icing on the cake. Either way, you're getting locked up once the interview's over 🙂

DCI Mathias drove a Volvo SUV. Mared drove a Mitsubishi SUV/hatchback. Many inspectors (and higher) drive their own cars in the UK and are given an allowance due to the on-call nature of their positions - murders don't always happen from 9am to 5pm. You'll notice that in other UK-based crime shows, individuals with a rank of inspector (roughly detective or lieutenant in the States) won't drive a marked police vehicle.

In the UK, most police haven't been armed since WWII. There are tactical units that are armed but there is significant training that armed officers have to go through in order to carry. Obviously, the use of firearms is going to be plot-driven and written into the show, so it's not always going to follow stipulations given by the Home Office.

If an officer/inspector in the UK is in pursuit of a suspect, he/she does not need a warrant to enter the premises. Obviously, it helps that the majority of the doors were unlocked that they had to get into. 😉 

During an interrogation in the UK, if the suspect has consulted or hired a solicitor, then that solicitor must be present if he/she is available. The suspect typically will consult a solicitor prior to the interrogation and the police must give him/her the opportunity to find and/or hire a solicitor. The solicitor, just like in the States, can caution his/her client not to answer any question that might incriminate him/her, so the suspects do not have to answer all questions posed.

[NJRadioGuy]

On 8/4/2020 at 5:29 PM, lightninggirl said:

In the UK, most police haven't been armed since WWII. There are tactical units that are armed but there is significant training that armed officers have to go through in order to carry. Obviously, the use of firearms is going to be plot-driven and written into the show, so it's not always going to follow stipulations given by the Home Office.

I guess I figured that at least one member of the detective branch would be firearms qualified in case things went wrong when they went to investigate; especially if they were going to a location where backup response times could be measured in hours.

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DCI Mathias drove a Volvo SUV. Mared drove a Mitsubishi SUV/hatchback. Many inspectors (and higher) drive their own cars in the UK and are given an allowance due to the on-call nature of their positions - murders don't always happen from 9am to 5pm.

That's interesting. I can only think what would happen if a copper failed to maintain his vehicle properly and the brakes went out causing a civilian death as a result. 

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You'll notice that in other UK-based crime shows, individuals with a rank of inspector (roughly detective or lieutenant in the States) won't drive a marked police vehicle.

Ditto here. Investigators will be assigned their own unmarked departmental units to take home (sometimes only if they're on call), or if they've driving their personal car to the office, they'll roll out in a pool vehicle to a scene, etc. But the ones I knew were assigned a department unit for personal use, and had to have it serviced in the departments' motor pool. These had lights, siren, and mobile radios installed. Often these radios were secured (encrypted) and custody of the vehicle was critical.

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If an officer/inspector in the UK is in pursuit of a suspect, he/she does not need a warrant to enter the premises. Obviously, it helps that the majority of the doors were unlocked that they had to get into. 😉 

I would think it many rural communities that door locks probably haven't worked in decades, and keys are left in car ignitions. That still should not have given them the right to go inside, lock or no lock. I'm not sure about British law, but within the U.S. anything that came about from that kind of thing (entering or searching a premises without a warrant signed by a judge) would be inadmissible under the "fruit of the poisoned tree" doctrine. Of course, anything that can be seen in plain sight through a window or a physically open doorway would be fine. 

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During an interrogation in the UK, if the suspect has consulted or hired a solicitor, then that solicitor must be present if he/she is available. The suspect typically will consult a solicitor prior to the interrogation and the police must give him/her the opportunity to find and/or hire a solicitor. The solicitor, just like in the States, can caution his/her client not to answer any question that might incriminate him/her, so the suspects do not have to answer all questions posed.

Indeed, similar to here. But the whole "if he/she is available" thing is odd. As for the last part, I wonder what sort of criminal defense solicitor would ever allow his or her client to talk to the police, with or without him/her there. You can bet anybody with the I.Q. of a small soap dish or greater would basically tell investigators to pound sand. Yet in virtually every British or European detective series you always see the interviewee being interrogated and his/her solicitor just sitting there and taking notes, silently, and without stopping the client or advising him that answering isn't in his best interest, etc.

After being cautioned there is absolutely NO benefit to giving any kind of statement to investigators except on the advice of counsel. Ever. Period. End Of Sentence—and likely the beginning of one if this is ignored. I just wasn't sure if this was actually allowed under UK or EU law since as I said, this is done in every TV detective series I think I've ever seen.

As an aside, one of my retired investigator friends turned me on to The First 48 on A&E. If that's available where you are, and you're interested in real homicide investigations, you should check it out. About a third to half the suspects they get are morons who agree to answer questions (i.e. refuse legal counsel) so they can "clear their name." That rarely ends well for them. The rest stop the interrogation by asking for an attorney and that's that. But in all but a very, very few cases, the detectives have enough evidence for an arrest warrant anyways, so even if they don't say a word they're still getting charged and going to lockup. My buddy was saying in about 25+ years on the job he only had a handful of suspects come back with their lawyers and make statements, and usually they ended up being accomplices who the prosecution agreed to drop charges against if they'd testify in full as to what happened.

[Startrek]

Questions:

Who raped Catrin at the home?

Who killed Will and why mother jumped?

[mledawn]

Doing a rewatch of the series as I'm working from home and it's nice to have in the background. A few things stood out for me this time that I don't remember the first go-round. 

How did Mared suspect Mathias had slept with Gwen in the first season finale? She was all suspicious-looking when he left the station, and then when he came back. But Mathias had been traipsing off by himself the whole time so what was it that made her ask?

I liked the little Easter eggs of seeing the photo where you could see the devil in the woman's skirts in the background when Mathias is speaking with Branwen in S2 E3.

Also just to add to the car discussion, Mathias' Volvo is not cheap at all but they sure make it sound cheap on the show! My dad used to have an S80 and that thing purred, definitely not the racket Mathias' car is dubbed with.