I am – Hercules!!
A five-hour British miniseries about the disappearance of a young wife and mother outside London, the BBC/HBO co-production "Five Days" takes place over days 1, 3, 28, 33 and 79 of the mystery. It stars both Oscar nominee Janet McTeer (“Songcatcher”) and Edward “The Equalizer” Woodward.
Entertainment Weekly gives it an “A-minus” and says:
Busy and gripping … The sheer number of plotlines can be overwhelming, but the images - flowers dropped on the side of the road, a dusty van sliding away — are relentlessly riveting. And the series only gets better from here. …
The New York Times says:
… riveting because it weaves the most familiar milestones of a major homicide investigation — the news conferences, police interrogations and family meltdowns — into a less predictable and intricately layered narrative that averts clichés without diluting the suspense. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… may still be ranked as one of the fall season's best series. … The strength of the series lies not in the whodunit elements -- it isn't hard to work out who's behind it, even if it isn't immediately apparent why -- but in its eye for local details and small human gestures. Screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes insists on the mundane underpinnings even of extraordinary human affairs …
The Boston Globe says:
… "Five Days" is like a deluxe installment of "Without a Trace." The miniseries is five hours long - one hour a week through the end of October - and so it's able to go five times as deep into the mystery of a missing mother of three. It has all the detail, and all the character depth, that an hourlong TV procedural can't possibly muster. … Written by Gwyneth Hughes, the script perhaps reaches too far and falls short. The whole is somehow less than the sum of its parts. And yet "Five Days" rewards with enough gripping moments to make it worth investigating.
Variety says:
Halfway through the premiere of "Five Days" -- a missing-person mystery, told over five distinct days in hourlong, once-a-week installments -- it's easy to become bored and irritated. By the end of night one, however, the show grows intriguing, and the second and third episodes are more engrossing. Then episode four begins to drag, and the fifth hour feels like filler until the inevitable reveal, which, alas, isn't equal to the build-up. HBO and the BBC can afford to gamble on this sort of collaboration, but stretching over five weeks simply injects too much stuffing into this character-laden souffle. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… an extraordinary, wrenching mystery … The fact that this is shot in southeast England and everyone has a British accent makes the HBO original no less immediate and relatable, with the tables turning and the subplots growing more deliciously convoluted with each passing installment. … holds you in its thrall from beginning to end, and the twists along the way are seemingly endless. A riveting ride, indeed. …
8 p.m. Tuesday. HBO.
The Complete Series, Including The Pilot,
Plus Loads Of Extras!! Shipping This Month!!
