I’d been waiting for Obituary to hit Netflix, so gave the first two episodes a look yesterday. I then got confused. New today was Bodkin. In a bout of déjà vu like bewilderment, I watched the first episode of the latter. A few moments in and I double-checked — yes, Siobhán Cullen was playing lead in both dark comedies.
To add to confusion, both shows are (mostly) set in small towns in Ireland. In both Cullen plays a journalist (obituary writer in one to be pedantic). In both there’s a mystery, everyone has secrets. To keep my state of confusion, I’ve now decided to flit between the two shows at once, just for the hell of it. I’ve seen a few of Obituary, one of Bodkin. Here’s my first impression. Context — I’ve spent some time in Ireland, both Dublin and Dingle, so both shows resonate with me based on that.
Obituary first thoughts
The setup for the show is clean — Elvira Clancy (Cullen) gets paid by the number of obituaries she writes, so basic economics leads her to start killing off “deserving” locals. There’s a lot more than just her struggles — a long unsolved murder seems to connect her best friend, her father and the newly arrived journalist who she is attracted to (he of course then goes out with Elvira’s best friend). There’s plenty of manic storylines, dark humour and classic small town, big secrets setup.
So far, so good and I recommend it.
Bodkin first thoughts
A Netflix show rather than RTÉ, I noticed early the show seemed heavily style (no, I can’t explain what I mean, just take a look at the credits). I then spotted it’s one of the Michelle and Barack Obama stable of Netflix titles (their first drama, I read). Is that important? Don’t know. Basic story is of a podcast being made by an American with Irish ancestry in the small town of Bodkin. Cue comparisons with Only Murders….
Similarities to Obituary aside, Dove is a Cullen character with more edge (Ok, she swears more than murdering Clancy does), and the town of Bodkin is again populated by locals with secrets. Dove has a backstory we’ve yet to see tie in (I’ve only seen the first episode), she’s already been attack and told to back off, and every character’s first comments on hearing of a podcast is to query if anyone actually listens.
So far it’s a little chaotic, with a strange wolf thrown in just to add a drop of weirdness to the story. I’m less immediately grabbed, but fascinated by watching the two shows play out in parallel.
I’ll let you know how it went.
Symmetry Junction 