Mark Strong played cop Frank Agnew in both Channel 4’s Scottish version of “Low Winter Sun” and AMC’s Detroit remake, with the actor switching Agnew’s accent from Scottish to American.
Now much the same thing has happened with David Tennant, who played the British lead detective on ITV’s “Broadchurch,” and now plays essentially the same character with a different name and an American accent in Fox’s serviceable new California remake of “Broadchurch,” retitled “Gracepoint.”
Both “Broadchurch” and “Gracepoint” are about police detectives trying to solve the murder of a preteen in a small coastal town. Both series remind me a lot of the Rosie Larsen seasons of AMC’s “The Killing,” and I think “The Killing” superior to both “Broadchurch” and “Gracepoint” – but I still find Fox's “Gracepoint” plenty watchable.
Anna Gunn (“Deadwood,” “Breaking Bad”) is strong as the Tennant character’s new partner, and an extra-grizzled Nick Nolte (“Luck”) is lurking about as a whale-loving wharf rat.
... if many of the casting choices range from questionable to disastrous and the sense of place never coheres, you end up with a weird photocopy containing little atmosphere and less emotional resonance. … even if I hadn't seen the U.K. drama, I'm pretty sure I would have found this adaptation a problematic slog. …
... Forget its curious pedigree. “Gracepoint,” a smoldering drama about a homicide in a small California beach town, is pretty good television. …
... Carver and Miller are overly burdened with odd-couple status — she beams, he glowers; she thinks he's inhumane, he thinks she's a light-weight, etc. With the exception of Danny's mother, Beth, played heartbreakingly by Virginia Kull, the rest of the roles hover closer to caricature than character. …
... If you give it a few episodes, quite a lot of the “Broadchurch” sensibility indeed conveys and can be enjoyed all on its own, but the series still feels like a community-theater version of something better. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... Of course, most Americans never saw “Broadchurch.” For the murder-mystery fans among them, “Gracepoint” is fine, but they’d be better off seeking out the superior “Broadchurch.” …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... Even if you never saw the BBC America drama “Broadchurch,” there’s no compelling reason to watch the second-rate American knockoff …
... Whatever. It’s hard to see Tennant as an American, even while his accent is fine. And the pilot so closely resembles the original, it renders the endeavor redundant, especially if the writers don’t alter the big reveal. …
... lacks some of the grim allure of its British predecessor, but it's complex and ominous all the same.…
... I'll say that after watching the first seven episodes of Gracepoint, it's worth a look. If it's your first look. Otherwise, perhaps not. It takes many episodes for the plot ever to diverge, and for the most part, any changes aren't for the better. (And that's especially true for most of the casting.) …
... too slow, too disconnected from its supposed California setting, and too indifferently — and in some cases, badly — cast. As for its length, if there is a good artistic justification for adding two more hours to a story that was perfectly told in eight, Gracepoint does not provide it. …
... while it’s hard to pinpoint, “Gracepoint” can’t help but feel as if something significant has been lost in translation. …
9 p.m. Thursday. Fox.
