The Gulf (TV)

 I've always wanted to watch a good British/Australian/New Zealand TV series because they're often short, compact, and very powerful. The Brokenwood Mysteries is a good Kiwi series but its length is a bit exhausting. I continued to google and found a new TV show - The Gulf.

I started expecting this show to be one six-part series on a single crime. It turned out to be a six-episode series with three story plot with each spanning over two continuous episodes. This means the show has everything I enjoy - short, compact, powerful. Technically it's similar as one episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries, except that The Gulf has a much serious tone, not exactly humorous, serious investigative work, and authentic suspense.

The Gulf started strong - Jess, the main female character, woke up from an accident of which she had no recollection of. Harding, her ambitious subordinate who she apparently wasn't very fond of initially, greeted her and sort of needed to investigate what happened.

The first story revolves around the finding of a boy who the police thought died five years ago but couldn't find the body and closed the case. The second story is about a missing girl from Perth who had a party in New Zealand. The third and last story is about the ex-cop on the island killing a Maori guy as alleged self-defence of home intrusion.

The third one was the most boring in my opinion, but it opened my view to an open and ongoing social unrest in New Zealand about how the Maori is treated. The minority is often not treated as equal everywhere, and New Zealand shows very rarely discuss it. Or at least I haven't come across one that does. 

I liked the first story the best, but I loved the ending. There are many questions that haven't been answered, and I'm hopeful that the newly aired season 2 will shed some lights on it.

Who knows Jess's secret?

What's Harding's relationship with his father got to do with anything and how did the lady know?

Part of the acclaim has got to do to the lead two actors. Kate Elliot's acting is powerful, she's an amazing actor. Acting like she did wasn't easy and not common. I've watched a lot of shows but not many plays a character as strong as she does. The struggle she displayed in the show about the memory loss and the slow resurface of lost memories and the painful dealing with her daughter and her colleagues and subordinates were captivating and she made the experience somehow relatable. Ido Drent's acting was good but his struggle over his internal demon part appeared true, although other than that he simply played a rebellious character.

Anyway, I like this show. I can't wait to watch season 2. I just hope it's available in Netflix - in Malaysia or Singapore.