User reviews

Happy Families? Definitely not, they are a family of secrets, lies, deception and hypocrisy, so when seventy year old Vivien falls in love with a man just eighteen months after the death of her husband, her children are worried.

It is a very good series, for my money the best ITV have given us for a little while.

The best episode is the finale, the unveiling as it were, it's excellent. The storytelling is great, and done in such a way that you simply have to watch the next episode.

Terrific cast, all perform superbly, you can't put a pin between Francesca Annis and Imelda Staunton, the pair are terrific.

Were left hanging at the end, with a possibility of a second series, I hope it's left at just the one.

Very good, 8/10.

I didn't expect so many harsh reviews. At least the number average is pretty good. I like the actors, liked the acting, appreciated the subtle building up of distrust all around. Yes these grown kids were a little damaged and askew in their own lives - it's 18 months since their dad passed. The boyfriend was pushing pretty hard and the mom was moving pretty fast. I was able to get on board with the story, and really enjoyed it. Not a perfectly satisfying ending, but many of them aren't. Not a huge investment of your time, and has lots of good points. I recommend it!

This really kept us wanting to watch more. Very classy actors. Imelda Staunton's character should get her own spin off show. I wanted her on screen all the time.

This is the new Brit genre of ensemble soap-thriller. Frustrating for some viewers, fun for others. Really good cast-Stephen Rea is great as usual, oozing creepy charm as everyone's prime suspect-and everyone-guilty-of-something back stories all around. The only letdown is an abrupt end four episodes in, more of a tease that leaves you feeling a few more episodes were needed, not another season.

The framework lets know you right away that some tragedy had struck, then it goes back in time to show you what leads up to it. This cast a whole pall over the soap-opera as the backstory unfolds. This is a conceit which has gotten overused recently and I do not enjoy it. You may.

Feel like I wasted my time with this one. It was obvious where this was headed, I was hoping for some big twist but there wasn't one unfortunately. Plus it left too many things open and unresolved. Average viewing. Extra point for Imelda Staunton's acting cos she's really good.

Very watchable, well written and well acted. I binge watched all four episodes in one evening and loved every minute. The ending I had guessed from episode one, but there are still many loose ends to be tied up. This leaves it wide open for a second season. Cant wait.

Yes, the acting is good and the scenery nice, but who would want to interact with that bunch of kids. I'm not sure I care to see another season. I guess the intrigue is interesting. Was the husband really going to knock her off? But what I don't understand is how that nice, loving mother produced 3 insensitive, sniffling, selfish and self-destructive children. Would want to be friends with them, never mind be married to any of them.

Watching a great show. Every character in it is someone I know or lives down the street from me. The writers deserve an AA++. Actors are superb and the story moves along at an comfortable pace. Why can't more TV be like this. I really like the adult children. Two of them in different bodies and names used to work with me. I have a good idea how this will end but I'm slowly enjoying it like glass of good wine. Thank you PBS. You put commercial TV to shame even though they have billions to throw around.

If you are a sucker for British tv-series like me, "Flesh and Blood" is highly recommendable. It has all the right ingredients: Interesting and psychological complex characters, an intriguing plot, and last but not least great acting.

The plot centers on Vivien, a recently widowed mother of three adult children,. Vivien longs for love and affection, and she is ready for new adventures.. When Mark, a retired surgeon and widower, comes along, she decides to marry him. Her children are not happy about it, and when Vivien also plans to sell their childhood home, a lovely house by the sea, the siblings decide to investigate Mark's past life. Was his first wife's death really an act of suicide, and what if their new stepfather only is after their mother's money?

In contrast to Vivien's sudden happiness the three siblings are going through a bad patch. The oldest sister has neglected her marriage for her new job as a hospital manager, and her husband has left her. Jake, the brother, is deep in debt due to gambling problems, and is fighting hard to get his family back. The youngest sister has a long term affair with her boss, who has promised to leave his wife, and marry her, but will he ever do that?

The main character of the drama, however, is not a member of the family. It is Mary, the loveable, but prying next door neighbour, played by the excellent Imelda Staunton. She is an old friend of Vivien, and perhaps her feelings for Vivien are more than just friendly? Anyway, Mary is not happy to lose her old friend either. Will things work out in the end? My lips are sealed.

Really disappointing drama. The story build up was slow and failed to really implement any sense of tension. Predictable also.

Nothing answered, nothing gained? What a waste of time. If you need background noise, then maybe. This could have been so much better. Total waste of time.

I am not too keen on household dramas, but as I value Imelda Staunton and Stephen Rea, I gave it a go... The events appeared and developed with a distress (yet not as profound as in Nordic Noir), and in spite of the police not revealing the one who got hurt, avoiding he-she mentioning even, I realised soon that things were not as the creators attempted to lead the viewers´ attention, and the main "vice" and the motives behind were clear to me before long. Depiction of the issues of all family members was sometimes a bit much for the 4-episode series, and generation gap and unwillingness of children to see their parent remarry are no novel topics as well.

As for the performances, the "older" generation (Staunton, Rea, Annis) excel the "younger" one, although all the main characters and versatile and realistic and there are no underperformances... Bearing in mind the very last scene, one could envisage Season 2, but it is probably not the case here, at least I have not heard any hints.

"Only" 7 points as I hoped more of a thriller and less predictable moments.

Like a lot of serialised dramas, although this was a good watch with a well-known cast, it ended with more questions than it did answers. I almost always try not to build up to some catastrophic ending because rarely is there one and this was by no means an exception but I still enjoyed the tension. It's just a shame the ending didn't honour all of the lead up.

... as each episode unfolds, the suspense created gradually over the course of the drama makes me wish desperately for more...The writer(s) have crafted an outstanding mystery, vivid and original. The flawed characters could be real people, and I find myself making judgements about how and why they have so many problems in their lives. In short, I love it...and today's ending left me transfixed and shocked, and, of course wishing for more RIGHT AWAY...GOTTA WAIT, darn it! That's okay...I know it's part of the fun and excitement of a good story well-told.

By the end of the third episode, almost everyone has got motive, and they are all warped humans as well, except the pot-someking falsely accused of being a philandering spouse and dad. He's the only one on an even keel, so am thinking, since the others are kinda obvious suspects, plus there is no butler, it would be a real kick in the nads if it turns out Mr. Goody-goody is in fact SOB who did the deed. But then that would be kinda over-egging the story. Well, what am saying, this show has a good pace, which is naff, but it sure keeps ya guessing. And with all the lead characters well-drawn and great performances all around, my spider sense says 8 stars.

What better way to warm you up on a cold winters night than a murder mystery set on the Sussex coast in the height of summer. Francesca Annis is a recently widowed mother of a dysfunctional family who seem more worried about there inheritance when the mother meets and falls in love with retired surgeon played by Stephen Rea. All the children have relationship problems of there own, and throw in to the pot a nosey neighbour from hell played superbly by Imelda Staunton and we have a delicious mix of mystery and mayhem spread over four nights. 8/10

This wonderful series was intriguing and left me gripped, I cannot wait for the next episode.