"Vera" is a British crime series in the vein of "Blue Murder", except that the female chief inspector here is single and has just about no personal life; her partner is a much younger man, married with three kids, so their relationship is strictly on a business / mentor-student level. The series is very well-made: photography, music, camera-work are all exemplary. The mysteries are hard to guess. The acting is excellent by the regulars as well as the guest stars. Brenda Blethyn creates a very real character as the grumpy but compassionate Vera, and David Leon is solid as her low-key partner who is eager to learn from Vera, but eager to help her be more open to people as well. Paul Ritter plays (very well) a forensic pathologist with a macabre sense of humor. The series is very sad, dark and depressing: it dwells on the feelings of loss of those close to the murder victim(s) in each case, and usually there is not much catharsis at the end; the resolution of the cases often leaves most people involved in an even worse spot than they were at the start, before their secrets and sins were exposed. It's definitely not a program to watch when you need something to lift your spirits. I'd also recommend letting some time pass between watching the episodes instead of watching them one after the other like I did, because otherwise they may start to feel a little formulaic in the second season.
Review of Vera
