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The BBC Bodyguard TV show is pretty damn fantastic and some of the best TV I have seen in a while

Toriko

Toriko

Member
Dec 29, 2017
7,663
Damn it is soo very good. The show is a masterclass in building suspense and is phenomenally directed. You are never quite sure of where the story is heading and while the ending is not the greatest it still never fails to be absolutely gripping. Would highly recommend!




100% at the tomatometer for those that care about that sort of thing

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/bodyguard/s01/

Watch it ppl!
 
RatskyWatsky

RatskyWatsky

Are we human or are we dancer?
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,931
It's coming to Netflix in the US on Oct 24 - I'm looking forward to it!
 
Mr Delabee

Mr Delabee

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,163
UK
It's been a while since I've had my heart in my mouth but this show tipped me over the edge, so god damn tense at times. That first ep is a strong one to continue the series on and it only gets better.

Also when the series ended (at least in UK) it had a BBC trailer for Line of Duty which back in 2019, I cannot wait for that also. That's another cracking show if no one has seen it, check that out too it's from the same writer.

Edit- just noticed it says that in the trailer.
Watch Line of Duty.
 
Timbuktu

Timbuktu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,228
Mr Delabee said:
Also when the series ended (at least in UK) it had a BBC trailer for Line of Duty which back in 2019, I cannot wait for that also. That's another cracking show if no one has seen it, check that out too it's from the same writer.
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I wouldn't say no one have seen those, Bodyguard has been massive for BBC for some reason and Line of Duty has been popular in the UK for years, though not at this level.

Bodyguard builds very good setpiece scenes but the acting and the plot overall is pretty ordinary. The ending is a bit rushed and lazy IMO, even though we had an extra 15mins. I also can't help but associate the Home Secretary in the show with when Theresa May was in the role. Some of the higher government meeting scenes remind me of the thick of it, I wish they injected some humour into the ridiculousness of the situations.
 
Salty_Josh

Salty_Josh

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,942
Mr Delabee said:
It's been a while since I've had my heart in my mouth but this show tipped me over the edge, so god damn tense at times. That first ep is a strong one to continue the series on and it only gets better.

Also when the series ended (at least in UK) it had a BBC trailer for Line of Duty which back in 2019, I cannot wait for that also. That's another cracking show if no one has seen it, check that out too it's from the same writer.

Edit- just noticed it says that in the trailer.
Watch Line of Duty.
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Explains so much. It feels like the first and last episode of every series of line of duty is the same level of tension as in each episode of this show. I prefer line of duty of course, but this definitely shares a lot if not all of the same themes. (The main character even says the same "... die in the line of duty..." line as one of the characters in the first series of Line of Duty)
 

Sloane

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,244
First two episodes are good, second two episodes are okay, last two episodes are silly as fuck. It's a decent watch overall but, yeah, I'd start with Line of Duty.
 
IDreamOfHime

IDreamOfHime

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,411
The ending was a mess, i knew they were gonna fuck it up as there seemed no way to put so many loose threads back together...but that last episode sure has hell jumped the shark.
Still recommended though, some super tense scenes peppered throughout the season.
 
MassiveNights

MassiveNights

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,434
This show completely sucked after episode 1 and failed to recover after one of the twists in episode 3 (I think). As a huge fan of Line Of Duty (aka the GOAT British drama) I was left disappointed.

Richard Madden is awful in it and the overuse of "ma'am" is nauseating.
 
iiicon

iiicon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,917
Canada
I felt it was Line Of Duty without any of the nuance and had one of the worst endings to a series I can remember. Very disappointing.
 
ibu

ibu

Member
Oct 28, 2017
108
iiicon said:
I felt it was Line Of Duty without any of the nuance and had one of the worst endings to a series I can remember. Very disappointing.
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I agree with this... the first couple of episodes were not bad. Before swiftly descending into a farce of epic proportions. The pacing was off due to the six episode limitation and it would have been better to build up to the conclusion with a couple more episodes for this reason.

The main takeaway was that even Muslim women can be engineers... though Nadya's personality change was great on camera it was squeezed into an episode that was trying to include too much without maintaining the tension effectively.

Also Keeley Hawes was much better utilised in Line of Duty. She was incredible in that.
 
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It’s Time To Go

It’s Time To Go

Member
Dec 2, 2017
20,573
If you like that, you'll love Line of Duty, it's written by the same guy and it's fantastic.

And yes bodyguard was brilliant. Been ages since there was a series like that where I didn't go 'oh of course that was the ending' cos it was so unexpected.
 
halcali

halcali

Banned
Nov 7, 2017
6,317
Hong Kong SAR
The ending left me feeling a bit ''cold'', but that's just an opinion, as I know a lot of people liked the ending.

Overall, the show is very good. I never knew what would happen, or who was doing the bad deed(s)
 
Gibson

Gibson

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,270
'Line of Duty' and 'Bodies' are much better! Same direction and writer. I would highly recommend them, they are examples of superior British drama.
 
Croc Man

Croc Man

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,546
It had some great highs and was a masterclass in building tension.
Just a shame it didn't all come together to pull off something truly special, still really good though.

Line of duty is still the best though, the bodyguard interviews just weren't the same (tbf they shouldn't be).
 
Gibson

Gibson

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,270
'Bodies' is harder to find but it's also worth seeing. Extremely dark (and surprisingly gory for a hospital drama). It's really compelling with some top class acting.
 
Ducarmel

Ducarmel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,363
Yeah going to echo what the majority are saying. It started out great and the conspiracy got me hooked but they fumbled it in the end, it got "24" level crazy. I still liked it but when it comes to making my top 10 tv show of the year it will be left off.
 

BeerMan

Using an alt account to circumvent a ban
Banned
Aug 4, 2018
221
Thought it was ultimately pretty stupid and racist.

It's gotten quite a lot of flak for being racist. Presenter on BBC called it out for being racist, and some collumns on Guardian and The Independent.

In The Line of Duty is great though.
 
AgainstTheCurrent

AgainstTheCurrent

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,481
United Kingdom
BeerMan said:
Thought it was ultimately pretty stupid and racist.

It's gotten quite a lot of flak for being racist. Presenter on BBC called it out for being racist, and some collumns on Guardian and The Independent.

In The Line of Duty is great though.
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How was it racist?

Having an Islamic bomber is just realistic. I did think it was stupid that a bomb maker would be sent on a suicide mission though.

It had some fairy anti-racism sentiments about the power of governments, and with the ethnicities of the police forces too.
 
Kuro

Kuro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,538
This was an interesting watch but did anyone else think
that Madden's character was the mastermind behind it all. He gave off a really off kilter crazy guy kind of vibe and the way it was shot made me convinced that he was orchestrating all this to bring down a bunch of politicians who had it out for each other just to turn around that whole using soldiers like pawns thing.
 
Ducarmel

Ducarmel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,363
Kuro said:
This was an interesting watch but did anyone else think
that Madden's character was the mastermind behind it all. He gave off a really off kilter crazy guy kind of vibe and the way it was shot made me convinced that he was orchestrating all this to bring down a bunch of politicians who had it out for each other just to turn around that whole using soldiers like pawns thing.
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Seems like they implied he need psychological help in the end. As for being a mastermind he had a connection to the sniper but there was nothing connecting him to the bombings. Also why sabotage the assassination and act surprise when he found the sniper.

I actually thought maybe it was her own party via the P.M. who orchestrated it.

Thats why I described the show as being 24 in the end when it actaully was a mole, a gangster character just doing business and islamic terrorist
 
Winstano

Winstano

Editor-in-chief at nextgenbase.com
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
1,828
Such a good show. "Edge of your seat" is such a cliche but it's accurate for this. Some of the complaints with the ending are really easily explained as well, so many people moaning about things that are very simply shot down:

"What was Longcross doing? Why did the Secret Service get involved?" - Because they were involved in a plot to bring down the Prime Minister with compromising information. The desperation to retrieve that had nothing to do with the assassination.

"How did Nadia get in touch with the criminals?" - It's the criminal underworld. Pretty sure connections can be made.

Brilliant stuff
 
Brotherhood93

Brotherhood93

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,772
It was absolutely superb. As others have mentioned if you enjoyed Bodyguard then Line of Duty is a must watch too. There are few writers as good as Jed Mercurio at creating tension and suspense.
 
DefectiveReject

DefectiveReject

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
117
England
Opinions, everywhere.

It was a good show. For a drama made on a fairly small budget on the BBC.
It got people talking, it got people hooked, regardless of the few people on here it was widely found to be a good show.
 
Timbuktu

Timbuktu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,228
Ducarmel said:
Seems like they implied he need psychological help in the end. As for being a mastermind he had a connection to the sniper but there was nothing connecting him to the bombings. Also why sabotage the assassination and act surprise when he found the sniper.

I actually thought maybe it was her own party via the P.M. who orchestrated it.

Thats why I described the show as being 24 in the end when it actaully was a mole, a gangster character just doing business and islamic terrorist
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I did like that people within the government and Tory party (I assumed it was Tory, can't remember if it was stated explicitly) were all too busy screwing each other over, which is why it sort of reminded me of The Thick of it.

If they do go for another season, it would stretch credulity if Budd is still a bodyguard and all this drama happens around him again instead of it just being mostly standing around and planning itineraries.
 
Vert boil

Vert boil

Member
Oct 27, 2017
946
blackpool, england
The show fell apart as it went along, it was ludicrous how long it took some plot points to be resolved and the last episode was truly appalling.

At best it was temporarily a fine tv show. Shows like Gomorra or The Bureau deserve to be ginned up a little due to them being good for an Italian or French production, Bodybuard doesn't deserves any praise. It's sub-par for even ITV or Sky.
 
Triggerhappytel

Triggerhappytel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,000
Won't read too much as I'm only two episodes in, but my wife and I are enjoying it so far. The scene with the bomber on the train, or the van driving at the school, or the sniper on the rooftop were all incredibly well directed and very tense. A shame to hear it unravels towards the end but we'll definitely watch it all.
 
Sasliquid

Sasliquid

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,292
Just finished it, it was pretty good but the ending kinda shoots itself in the foot because
muslims we're behind it all anyway and also it comes off as pro snoopers shit
 
Bobson Dugnutt

Bobson Dugnutt

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Oct 25, 2017
6,052
First three episodes are great wonderfully tense stuff, then after that it ties itself in knots trying to keep the mystery going.

I look forward to seeing more of David Madden though, dude is like a Scottish Dominic west, a very watchable actor

pretty cool I suppose that they *don't open if you haven't watched it all yet*

actualy killed of Julia
 

Deleted member 18951

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Oct 27, 2017
5,531
Bonkers last episode apart it's the best and biggest show the BBC have had in years. Don't know if Line of Duty is on American Netflix but that is an incredible series that gets better as each series goes by, created by the same guy as well, Jed Mercurio.
 
BringBackSonics

BringBackSonics

Member
Oct 27, 2017
44,942
Seattle
Just finished series one last night, good characters, I like madden's character and how broken he is, twists and turns kind of reminds me of 24/homeland had a baby.

Hopefully we get a series 2.
 
DrKelpo

DrKelpo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,861
Germany
Question about the last episode
maybe I missed it, but what exactly were the reasons Budd's boss worked with that mafia dude? She did say something about blackmail, right? was that it?
 
TheUnseenTheUnheard

TheUnseenTheUnheard

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May 25, 2018
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Not going to lie, I thought this was going to be a reality TV show about security guards. I'm glad its not.
 
TechnicPuppet

TechnicPuppet

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Oct 28, 2017
10,808
I was really annoyed at how the characters acted near the end. Really unrealistic. Still enjoyed it though.
 
TheBaldwin

TheBaldwin

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Feb 25, 2018
8,276
The actual ending ( like the last minute plot twist ) i thought was horrendous, and these types of shows always just reek of mild islamaphobia, but maybe that was just me finding something out of nothing

The rest of the scenes were tense and well acted. Have always loved are tv show approach of 4-8 episodes
 
Thordawgg

Thordawgg

Member
Nov 5, 2017
716
Just saw this on Netflix Aus and gave it a shot, loved the intensity of the first episode. Anybody else watching this at the moment?
 
Cardon

Cardon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
407
Chicago
Been watching this and I dig it a lot. Great tension throughout that doesn't feel forced.

Madden is also great. Never watched GOT so I don't have a barometer to judge his talent, but in some scenes you can really sense his seething anger or tension and it reminded me a lot of Patrick Mcgoohan in The Prisoner.
 
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