If there was one television series that I would say "oh you must watch" it would be Hinterland. The cast with characters so complex and worried you want to take them home and soothe their troubled brows, the tumbledown buildings in the bleakest of surroundings, the tin sheds of various shapes and sizes, the locations at times windswept but always so wonderful, the props and the way the first episode came back to haunt in series 2 and 3. Yes all of that and more.
What's it about? Oh well it's like this .....
DCI Tom Mathias, played by Richard Harrington (who my sister in law used to enjoy watching when he was out running in Merthyr according to Granny Valley) arrives in Aberyswyth after a stint in the Met, he's tortured, arrives with a back story and baggage so big that you're willing the truth to come out. He's not a happy chap, he's brooding, prickly and vulnerable. He's living alone in a caravan in Aberystwyth, what drives him and what will he turn up??
DI Mared Rhys (Mali Harries) is a local girl who knows everything there is to know about the area. At work she is cool, calm and doesn’t appear to take things personally, whilst at home she is juggling her life as a mother to a teenager girl, eager to be there for her yet keen to protect her from the world she works in.
DC Lloyd Elis (Alex Harries) is another local from a farming family. Passionate about his job, what I would call a methodical plodder who has a good eye and nose for things that help with the investigation.
DS Siân Owens (Hannah Daniel) works tirelessly to get the job done and isn’t afraid of anyone or anything.
Then there's Chief Superintendent Brian Prosser (Aneirin Hughes) who knows everything that is going on in the nick and the wider community. There’s something about him that makes him an unlikeable character and one has to wonder what he was privy to in his early years in service and quite what secrets he is keeping.
The unspoken cast member has to be the location! West Wales is bleak and beautiful, wild and wonderful, grumpy and gorgeous. Having watched the entire series for the plot I revisited it for research purposes when I was asked to take part in this year's Crickhowell Literary Festival.
Not only was the plot so gripping but the scenes and props were visions of beauty. Having holidayed in West Wales over the years I am that woman who stops and takes photos of the tin sheds and tumbledown buildings.
Everything about Hinterland gripped me. A woman in the bath on the beach, a dead girl found by young boys walking a white horse, Devil's Bridge, the coastline, the train station, the panoramic views of Aberystwyth, the characters, the plot, the underlying plot, the dark and sultry scenes, the angst, everything! So it came as no surprise that when I saw there was a book I bought it for my daughter's birthday, after all it was she who had first introduced me to the series.
Hinterland Ceredigion Landscapes features production photographs taken during the filming of Hinterland Series 1, 2 and 3, with photographs of set locations and Ceredigion landscapes by David Wilson.
David has had to put up with my excitement since Emma from Book-ish first asked me if I would like to be in conversation with Ed Thomas, Ed Talfan and David Wilson at Crickhowell Literary Festival on Saturday 7th October at 2pm in The Clarence Hall, Crickhowell (car park at rear). In a recent conversation with David I promised him I would calm down by 2pm on Saturday 7th October.
The producers and creators of the cult noir film thriller Hinterland are joined by photographer David Wilson to talk about the silent character in the hit TV show: the landscape of Ceredigion. As an introduction to the book being published by Graffeg in October this year, they will reflect on what the settings have brought to the show, and the impact the show has had on this quiet part of Wales.
Have you bought your tickets?
Comments