Inside Man has divided TV viewers across the nation and we understand exactly why – here are my reasons in this review.
When I first heard about Inside Man, written by Sherlock creator Steven Moffat and with an all-star cast including the wonderful David Tennant, I couldn’t have been more excited.
But the show has been a big disappointment, and that has a lot to do with David Tennant’s character and storyline.
I’m only enjoying the show when watching Stanley Tucci as Jefferson Grieff, the death-row prisoner who solves crimes.
Here’s why I think Inside Man would have been better without David Tennant…
Inside Man review: Why David Tennant’s character is the worst…
Listen, I have nothing against David Tennant or his acting chops!
I actually think this might be one of his best performances, but I couldn’t care less about his character, Vicar Henry Watling.
The show can’t seem to decide to make him a hero or a villain, and I don’t know whether to root for him or hate him!
I don’t even understand Henry’s motivations – sure he wants to protect his son Ben but does that really require keeping a woman in his basement?
It’s pretty preposterous whichever way you look at it!
His attempts to protect Edgar don’t make much sense either and it’s made his whole storyline frustrating to watch.
Why would a man – vicar or not – protect a paedophile?
Steven Moffat is a great writer and has penned some of my favourite shows, but this aspect of Inside Man bores me every time it comes on the screen.
I physically roll my eyes every time Henry Watling and his wife make another decision which makes absolutely no sense.
And every time they come on the screen, I just want to get back to Stanley Tucci’s Jefferson Grieff!
Which leads me to the real star of the show…
The show only needed Stanley Tucci’s character Jefferson Grieff…
Stanley Tucci absolutely shines as Jefferson Grieff.
The concept of a prisoner who solves crimes from death row is SO much more interesting than a vicar hiding child porn – and a woman in his basement.
In the first episode, we saw an intriguing case about a Senator who received $253.55 into his bank account from an anonymous account every time he slept with his wife.
The twist involved his secretary misreading “the rapist” as “therapist”, and accidentally paying the husband instead of the counsellor every time.
In Inside Man episode 2, Jefferson brought journalist Beth Davenport into one of his cases.
And it was so much more interesting than anything we saw from the vicar and his cellar.
We met a mother and daughter who were trying to locate their missing husband/father, and I was far more interested in that case!
I didn’t want to go back and watch Henry and Mary Watling take turns weirdly badgering Janice in the cellar.
Jefferson sent Beth to watch over the case, and it was far more smartly written than anything we’ve seen on the UK side of the BBC One show.
The twist in the case came when we realised that the wife, far from being heartbroken over the disappearance of her husband, had actually killed him!
Jefferson’s cases keep me on the edge of my seat.
I want to theorise and find out the answers behind the mysteries, but I’ve given up on Henry Watling and his antics!
Inside Man review: Did we really need David Tennant’s character?
The show finds its quirkiness with all of Jefferson’s contacts and cases, and becomes an absolute bore fest every time we watch Henry Watling’s storyline.
From Barney at the repair shop to Jefferson’s buddy Dillion in prison – these are the best characters!
All the characters on the UK side are draining and absolutely miserable!
Sure, there’s a darkness to Jefferson and his side of the world… He did, after all, murder his own wife.
But there’s that great Steven Moffat dark humour that’s completely missing from the UK storyline.
Stanley Tucci shines as Jefferson Grieff and, while David Tennant gives a great performance as Vicar Henry Watling, he just can’t compare to how great Stanley is in this role.
I’d far rather watch a whole show where Jefferson Grieff uses his criminology expertise to solve cases.
We really didn’t need the vicar’s storyline at all!
If there really needed to be a UK aspect of the show, British journalist Beth Davenport (Lydia West) surely provides that.
And she could have brought in more cases from our side of the pond that didn’t drag on for four episodes.
In fact, Jefferson Grieff could easily carry his own spin-off show!
Read more: Top 5 Steven Moffat shows ranked ahead of the all-new Inside Man
Fans agree that the series doesn’t need David Tennant…
I’m not the only who thinks David Tennant’s character Henry brings the series down.
Plenty of fans have taken to Twitter to say they’d rather just watch Jefferson Grieff.
This viewer writes: “I am in two minds about Inside Man.
“I find the US scenes fascinating and compelling.
“But I just don’t believe the UK scenes.
“And that’s a criticism of the writing not of Tennant and Wells etc.”
That’s exactly it!
Steven Moffat has chosen some great actors to star in the UK side of the show, but the writing just isn’t enough to see them shine.
This fan wants a Jefferson-only show too… They write: “I’d be quite happy with an off-shoot of this drama with just Tucci solving crimes and disappearances.”
BBC are you listening?
Inside Man continues on Monday October 03 2022 at 9pm on BBC One. Episodes are also available on BBC iPlayer after airing.
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