Vexed is, overall, an amusing, dumb comedy detective series. Both seasons have the same male star, Toby Stephens, as an idiot detective, but different female partners (Lucy Punch and Miranda Raison). These two partners represent two different approaches, the second of which is less interesting.
Season one is about two terrible detectives. They don't take the job seriously. The male is a pig whose only real interest is sex, the female is marginally smarter, and they tend to just stumble on the solution to the crime.
This worked very well, the episodes are very funny, and there's a lovely rudeness to the whole endeavor.
Season 2 replaces the bad female detective with a good female detective, young and pretty and a forensics nerd with self-esteem issues. So now it's one pigish detective being lectured by one nice detective. It's not bad, but it's a more conventional approach and comes across as the producers playing it safe, with the detectives actually solving the crime through some level of competence and the male becoming just slightly more competent (though no more professional). Perhaps the producers just thought a younger, prettier actress would help the ratings?
Anyway, season 2 is still generally enjoyable, with amusing dialogue and generally inane cases, just like the first season, but it lacks the edge of season 1, and the final episodes are quite weak. I would give season 1 an 8 rating and season 2 a 7, and since season 2 has twice as many episodes the show gets averaged out to a 7.
I would highly recommend watching the three episodes of season 1. And I'd say go ahead and keep watching through season 2.
Season one is about two terrible detectives. They don't take the job seriously. The male is a pig whose only real interest is sex, the female is marginally smarter, and they tend to just stumble on the solution to the crime.
This worked very well, the episodes are very funny, and there's a lovely rudeness to the whole endeavor.
Season 2 replaces the bad female detective with a good female detective, young and pretty and a forensics nerd with self-esteem issues. So now it's one pigish detective being lectured by one nice detective. It's not bad, but it's a more conventional approach and comes across as the producers playing it safe, with the detectives actually solving the crime through some level of competence and the male becoming just slightly more competent (though no more professional). Perhaps the producers just thought a younger, prettier actress would help the ratings?
Anyway, season 2 is still generally enjoyable, with amusing dialogue and generally inane cases, just like the first season, but it lacks the edge of season 1, and the final episodes are quite weak. I would give season 1 an 8 rating and season 2 a 7, and since season 2 has twice as many episodes the show gets averaged out to a 7.
I would highly recommend watching the three episodes of season 1. And I'd say go ahead and keep watching through season 2.