ianlouisiana Review of The Coroner

The Coroner (2015–2016)

Verdict on "The Coroner":- Death by overdose of clichés...

[5/10 · 19 November 2015]

..and the standard BBC "country" accent,the use of which here is even more widespread than in the infinitely superior "Doc Martin". Oh,and overacting,with the coroner's mum and her appalling pub landlord fellah who rolls around the set gurning as if he is auditioning for the part of Long John Silver in a panto version of "Treasure Island",setting the pace.. How wise Miss C.Goose was to not attempt the West Country vernacular. Three generations of women in the coroner's family are present so far,without a male member in sight(oops!) which is a pun aimed at the same level of humour on show so far. A gay undertaker in episode two,had he turned it down a bit,might have been played by Dick Emery 40 years ago. In place of a plot we have a tired old piece of hackwork involving the coroner and a detective who used to be her lover and who has a penchant for winking at inopportune moments that is rather annoying.Mr M.Bardock,last seen burning to death in "Casualty" - I name and shame you! Miss Goose looks extremely elegant when she is all coronered up,but the enigmatic qualities her face is capable of portraying are put on the back - burner for the duration. The coroner's officer,who,back in the day, used to be a PC, is a surfing dude who looks as if he has washed up on the wrong side of the Atlantic. Oh,and he is averse to dead bodies,not perhaps the best career choice then. Guest stars abound,mostly from other soaps,do their familiar thing take the money and run. But......for all that,there is something endearing about "The Coroner" perhaps the Herculean task Miss Goose has taken on to lift it above the primordial soup of afternoon soaps that makes it passable afternoon viewing while your I -pad charges up. It doesn't aim very high,bless it,and it just about reaches it's target of refugees from Freeview who are fed up with adverts for ambulance chasers and PPI recovery.