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The Loch is a new ITV drama which opens with fantastic, stunning views of Loch Ness and a murder mystery in which the only culprit who can be ruled out is the monster underwater… maybe.
The victims in this one including a man whose body is weighted down in the drink, plus another having fallen off a cliff with a broken CD in his possession and having had his pre-frontal cortex section of the brain yanked out through his nose while he was still alive… Ewwww!
The permanently-scowling Laura Fraser (The Missing Series 2) is brought in to investigate as DS Annie Redford, although she has a reason to be annoyed, since her daughter, Evie (Shona McHugh), is amongst three students setting out a carcass of an animal on the ground, along with entrails, as part-animal rights protest and part-claim of Nessie’s body. Joining her are sarcastic DCI Lauren Quigley (Siobhan Finneran) and hot shot cop Blake Albrighton (Don Gilet), and there’s support from John Sessions as Quigley’s Chief Inspector boss, Frank Smilie.
Overall, based on the first episode, this is an okay whodunit, but nothing massively new, with various individuals looking shifty when they might be perfectly innocent. Due to bodies turning up with parts missing which may or may not be surfacing in other nearby areas, plus it’s like ITV’s trying to do another Nordic Noir – particularly The Bridge, not only for the grisly bits, but also for having a pleasant area to fly a drone across. However, as a drama, it’s a bit too Nordic-lite.
Given the slow start to this series, I would’ve preferred a double-episode to kick it off with, in order to fully get a handle on the mystery, since waiting a week for the second episode is a bit annoying.
June 18th Update: I have now seen the 2nd episode and… well, it bored me silly with its drama-by-numbers approach. I’m closing this Loch forever.
The Loch is also being promoted in some countries as Loch Ness, but in the UK it begins tonight on ITV at 9pm, and then later on the ITV Hub. The series is available to pre-order on and DVD, and click on the packshot for the full-size version.
Episode 1: 5/10
Director: Brian Kelly
Producer: Alan J Wands
Writer: Stephen Brady
Cast:
DS Annie Redford: Laura Fraser
DCI Lauren Quigley: Siobhan Finneran
Blake Albrighton: Don Gilet
Don McGrellish: George Anton
Leighton Thomas: William Ash
Craig Petrie: Alastair Mackenzie
Alan Redford: Gray O’Brien
DCI Frank Smilie: John Sessions
Ken Patterson: Moray Hunter
Mhari Toner: Simone Lahbib
PC Jason Denny: Murray Fraser
Jordan Whitehead: Oliver Greenall
Dr Simon Marr: John Heffernan
Dessie Toner: Conor McCarry
Kieran Whitehead: Jack Bannon
Isla Marr: Cherry Campbell
Iain Sutherland: Ron Donachie
Jonjo Patterson: Keiran Gallacher
Angusina McGrellish: Victoria Liddelle
Sarah McKinnon: Lisa Livingstone
Kirsty Petrie: Shereen Martin
Dessie Toner: Conor McCarry
Niall Swift: Jordan McCurrach
Evie Redford: Shona McHugh
Michael Yuill: Jim McMeekin
Nicole Patterson: Jenny Ryan
Crawford Baxter: Euan Stamper
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.