Scarpetta

An engrossing depiction of horrific femicide, dysfunctional families and the lies that can change perceptions. Gliding seamlessly between the present and the past, the show follows Dr. Kay Scarpetta (a fantastic Nicole Kidman). .... “Scarpetta” is excellent storytelling. Even as the narrative grows more complicated, the show manages to keep the audience grounded in the crimes and Kay’s methodology.

Although Kidman’s performance and the show as a whole falter a bit in the final episodes, McEwen never does. Family and colleague interactions and clever dialogue engage more than the crime-solving aspects of “Scarpetta,” partly because gratuitous shots of nude female corpses cheapen that aspect of the show. But action-oriented scenes have their merits.

A pretty good version of something we've seen before, but still: nothing exactly new.

Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis star in a miscast, misshapen, misbegotten crime series that ends as a crime against the great Patricia Cornwall novels that spawned it.

The show cuts between the two tracks metronomically, giving them roughly equal time, and there is a lot of evidence to keep track of; cellphone checkers may find themselves lost pretty quickly. What you can’t miss, however, is how the contemporary story has been conceived as histrionic soap opera. .... The early timeline, by contrast, is rational and reasonably absorbing, a straightforward (if grisly) procedural mystery that is not insultingly silly by the standards of serial-killer drama.

Overstuffed. .... A treat amid all the narrative disarray is watching Mr. Parrish and Amanda Righetti (the younger Dorothy) mirror the mannerisms and vocal tics of their older selves. Unlike so much here, their technique is both subtle and effective.

The direction and cinematography is often eerie and atmospheric, and again, the performances are really good for the most part. The way that the characters speak to each other, though, is so egregiously distracting and genuinely dumb that it makes the entire enterprise just feel absurd.

I wasn't sure of the casting choices when announced, but overall I'd say they did a decent job especially with Dr. Scarpetta. I'm not familiar with the later books so a lot of the "present time" storyline and status quo didn't make sense at first but didn't take away from enjoying the series. The pacing and dual past/present storytelling reminds me of American Horror Story, so it wasn't as confusing or hard to keep up with as some people have stated as I'm used to that kind of production. The only things I didn't enjoy was the added focus on Dorothy, and that Pete and Benton didn't quite match their personas and descriptions from the books. There's of course some changes from the books and you can't please everyone, so it's not a "perfect" adaptation, but it's definitely an enjoyable watch whether you're a fan of the books or just coming into the world of Kay Scarpetta through the show.

Me pareció una serie interesante, pero algo irregular. Tiene buen suspenso y una historia que engancha por momentos, aunque se siente muy desordenada y con momentos muy convenientes. No está tan mal, pero pudo ser mucho mejor.

Longtime Richmonders know that Patricial Cornwell (#2 female author in the world) used to live here and placed the mysteries of the titular forensic pathologist in Virginia. (Sadly, this was shot in Tennessee). Turns out this series is a pretty standard crime drama, but what sets it apart is the amount of time devoted to the dysfunctional family at the center. Nicole Kidman and Rosy McEwan hold the title role in 2 different time periods (Kidman in present and McEwan 28 years earlier). Jamie Lee Curtis and Amanda Righetti are cast as her sister and so on. As a result, the first eps seem muddled and confusing as we try to figure out who’s what when. The mystery later unfolds with the expected twists and although the end solves this season’s killer, it’s left with a cliffhanger. Meanwhile, much time is spent with this group, none of whom are especially likable. Kidman/McEwan have a shutdown persona (typical for Kidman), while the over-the-top performance by Curtis gets extreme until she moderates later in the show. The writers let the ball drop by using current phrases like “off the table” and “optics” in the past and staging one scene in a 1998 cinema with recliners, which didn’t show up for another 20 years. The series has some merit, especially using some new technology (which gets shuffled aside without completion). Considering the cast, this could have been better. Instead, it’s competent, but not exceptional. NOTE: Cornwell shows up in the first ep swearing in Scarpetta.

Very forced, as always, wokeness, a black niece, gay, Jamie Lee Curtis badly acted, Nicole a grimace with those lips, horrible, the only one who save the day is Bobby Cannavale, the character a bit silly, it's not his fault, it's the script, waste of time and electricity.

Wanted to like this more - I like Bobby and Nicole as actors - Jamie Lee Curtis is just bad. Never read the books, but like these type of dark crime mystery/crime dramas - but so much wokeness - This really could be so much better, but it just gets in its own way