Riviera (2017)

On its second series, it is still drenched in yachts, helicopters and beautiful people being filthy rich and looking furious about it, and has at its heart a mystery -- that no one in the show has said: "But these characters are all dreadful. Who would care if they had all been blown up on that yacht, preferably painfully?" Indeed, to call some of them two-dimensional might offend cardboard cutouts.

Stiles made for a curiously unengaging protagonist. Blank-faced and monotonal, she was presumably intended to be enigmatic, but instead sucked the life off the screen. Indeed, amid all the pampered beauties and stubbly playboys, it was hard to find anybody to like, let alone root for.

It's not unwatchable; even a mediocre mystery can keep you watching until the end, even through 10 hours, and often enough there’ll be a satisfying personal exchange or well-mounted action scene. The setting is spectacular, without any help from the camera.

Not only is the expository writing that Jordan alluded to heavy-handed, the less on-the-nose parts of the dialogue never seem to connect to any emotional aspect when two characters are talking. Some scenes make sense and some look like they were either chopped up in editing or written (and then translated by someone else) on the spot. There is a stiffness to almost every interaction between characters.

Like its opening credits, a dizzying kaleidoscope of villas and fine arts, Riviera spends as much time luxuriating in wealth as it does telling its story, which is a shame because the plot twists intrigue. [15 Sep 2017, p.68]

If you like watching rich people sashaying around with a vague mystery as an excuse, Riviera might do, but be warned the dialogue and scenes are often flat--giving you time to ponder the scenery and costumes--and the mystery takes a while to flesh out.

This is one of the worst shows I have watched on television since Dragnet! To call it two dimensional would be praise indeed. The script is puerile, the theme is totally vapid and all the characters are execrable; the only aspect of some value is the beautiful scenery of the Riviera itself, particularly the aerial photography. Three stars to the helicopter pilot and shoot the rest. Please God, cancel the third series.