SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Mike Boyd I wasted only 36 minutes before I stopped watching. I did waste a lot of ratio downloading the whole series as it was recommended by a friend. I wish I hadn't.I really don't understand how people can give it a 7 or even a 10. I mean to say, what other series do you watch? They must be absolute rubbish if you think this stuff is worth a 7 or 10.The script is pathetic, the jokes not funny, the "clever" stuff they do isn't, and the plots are silly. OK, I've watched only 35 minutes of the first episode, but you'd think the producer would put all his best stuff in the first program to get you interested. Clearly he didn't.If you went to watch something that is similar, except it is much better, try "Person Of Interest". Now that series does this sort of stuff but infinitely better.Someone else said that it is not the actors, it is the script that makes this so bad. I beg to differ. It is both.

benjamin_ashworth By Any Means tries to be clever using what the writers think are twist endings in each episode, but they fail to understand how twist endings actually work. Instead of planning ahead and weaving clues into the storyline, they have each episode meander around until the last five minutes where they suddenly show you a load of storyline that was previously missed out. An ending you stood no chance of seeing coming is then pulled out of a hat to a great fanfare of victory for the heroes. It's the laziest style of writing since the, "It was all a dream," ending.Whilst the idea of a police force that can set criminals up and give them a good hiding without worrying about the due process of collecting evidence or about human rights might seem like a good idea briefly, it's an insult to all that's just and decent. I can forgive it to some extent on the grounds that it's obviously just fantasy but it is set in the real world. It's not a mysterious future or a sci-fi reality or anything like that. It should, therefore, be believable and realistic.The characters also aren't likable. They betray those vulnerable people they are supposed to protect and, in some cases, get them killed in acts of violence that are shocking for the sake of it and, instead of just showing how bad the bad guys are, show how weak the good guys are.The BBC has invested in far better written dramas in the past and can still show some good stuff now. There are writers out there who can put together a genuinely well thought out plot. It needs to take a long hard look at what it's spending its money on and provide something that gives people's minds a workout instead of "brain out" television that people who don't want to think about what they're watching believe is clever because they don't quite get it.

ianlouisiana Headed by a warm maternal Miss G.Mckee(there's a sentence I never thought I'd write)a group of plucky schoolchildren straight from CBBC drama dept.bring "justice" to those previously denied it. Take stuffy repressed Middle -England as portrayed by Enid Blyton and give it an "Edgy,urban,gritty"spin,take away the posh accents and the "horribly white"environment and you have what 2013 looks like in the imaginations of the Highate Mafia. As a change from helping old ladies to cross the road,our little boy and girl scouts bring down those nasty men the silly bumbling constable can't catch.Those of you old enough can imagine Mr George Woodbridge huffing and puffing along a leafy Surrey lane wiping his brow as Wiliam Brown and the Outlaws run off having broken the vicarage window with a catapult. Add another ten minutes to the show so how these clever - clever smug youngsters managed to snare their prey which has been obvious all along and indulge in some creaky camera angles that have been a cliché since "The cabinet of Dr Caligari" and lo and behold,"By any means" appears on our screen. As the show is not meant to be serious there's no point in debating the moral issues of due legal process,privacy laws,phone hacking etc. Just say "News International" would bite its own hand off to employ the lot of them.

SpadesVulture I really like Warren Brown, and I really like spy-style shows, so this one ticks a lot of boxes. I didn't know it was meant to be a comedy, so I guess all the laughs for me were genuine. It's a bit like Jonathan Creek crossed with Spooks, with all the hi-tech undercover save the day spy stuff laced with the light-hearted feel, and the 'how did they do that?' at the end. Don't see why people should just flat out pan the show. If the actors had a laugh whilst doing it, good for them - can't do the serious roles all the time after all. It's light hearted, but that doesn't make it a waste of licence fee - I can think of a whole lot of other dross that wins that award hands down.If it's not for you then fair enough, but that doesn't devalue the show for other watchers who are enjoying it. I personally am hoping for another series or two.