• The Serpent

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:01 pm**

Apologies if this has been discussed on here before but it has to be one of the most tense, creepy and disturbing series that has been aired for a while.
There's nothing particularly brutal nor graphic about it but the creation of tension and understated evil is incredibly effective.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:29 pm**

Have to agree it keeps you in suspense. I find some parts not easy to follow when they go several months back and forward but that's just me. Jenna Coleman is an excellent actress, it's a long time since she first appeared in Emmerdale.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:35 pm**

Best TV in ages, just got the book on Amazon as well

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:46 pm**

I'll look out for that. The bloke is pure evil.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:55 pm**

Finished watching it Sunday, only took me 8 days, as I just couldnt leave it. So many questions and what ifs after each episode.

Great watch, but what a sick and twisted man.

Watched the pembrokeshire murders yesterday too, only a 3 episode effort, but again couldnt not watch all 3 back to back.

On to vikings now after getting it recommended, its 59 episodes, so hope it's good!

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:57 pm**

evensteadiereddie wrote: ↑
Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:01 pm
Apologies if this has been discussed on here before but it has to be one of the most tense, creepy and disturbing series that has been aired for a while.
There's nothing particularly brutal nor graphic about it but the creation of tension and understated evil is incredibly effective.

Agreed ended up watching the whole lot over a weekend and enjoyed it.

Read that some people complained about Jenna Coleman’s French accent, imagine watching that and that’s what you took from it

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:00 pm**

beddie wrote: ↑
Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:29 pm
Have to agree it keeps you in suspense. I find some parts not easy to follow when they go several months back and forward but that's just me. Jenna Coleman is an excellent actress, it's a long time since she first appeared in Emmerdale.

She was good in it, though there was a point during watching the Serpent that it looked as though she’d developed a five o’clock shadow on the top lip! From that point on, I could do nothing but look at her moustache.

Unbelievable that someone could get away with so much, for so long and that authorities didn’t appear to give a toss about the missing long haired back packers.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:00 pm**

claretonthecoast1882 wrote: ↑
Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:57 pm
Agreed ended up watching the whole lot over a weekend and enjoyed it.

Read that some people complained about Jenna Coleman’s French accent, imagine watching that and that’s what you took from it

I couldn’t hear that for the moustache

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:04 pm**

MACCA wrote: ↑
Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:55 pm
Finished watching it Sunday, only took me 8 days, as I just couldnt leave it. So many questions and what ifs after each episode.

Great watch, but what a sick and twisted man.

Watched the pembrokeshire murders yesterday too, only a 3 episode effort, but again couldnt not watch all 3 back to back.

On to vikings now after getting it recommended, its 59 episodes, so hope it's good!

Vikings is magnificent telly.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:07 pm**

Agree The Serpent is excellent and genuinely disturbing. The tension in episode 3 when the French chap was trying to escape their clutches was really something.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:08 pm**

Only watched 4 episodes so far but been a bit underwhelmed with it tbh.

All the switching from past to future is a bit confusing and ruins any tension for me.

Jenna Coleman's character seems to spend most of the episodes staring wide eyed at some distant object while smoking a fag.

Will stick with it in the hope it improves but so far as a based on true life murder story re-telling it's not been a patch on The Pembrokeshire Murders imo.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:53 pm**

They are so different in so many ways. I thought TPM was a typical ITV effort relying on the same old formula we see time and time again.
I've not seen a series quite like "The Serpent" before.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 8:07 pm**

Its a cracking series although some of the acting is not brilliant.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:27 pm**

Vintage Claret wrote: ↑
Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:08 pm
Only watched 4 episodes so far but been a bit underwhelmed with it tbh.

All the switching from past to future is a bit confusing and ruins any tension for me.

Jenna Coleman's character seems to spend most of the episodes staring wide eyed at some distant object while smoking a fag.

Will stick with it in the hope it improves but so far as a based on true life murder story re-telling it's not been a patch on The Pembrokeshire Murders imo.

That's the only time I've heard anything bad said about The Serpent.
It's a brilliant series in my humble opinion.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:30 pm**

A disturbing story, perhaps they could have made it easier to follow the timeline.
Not the greatest direction or acting, but I think they got the point of it over.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:56 pm**

Watched 3 series of Vikings but gave up. I took on board some of the historical inaccuracies as artistic license but it got worse and worse and became as accurate as Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. Got fed up shouting at TV.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:40 pm**

Really good series (watched them all on demand) but the truth in real life is even wackier than it portrays in the series. The dutch guy is a true hero, without giving any spoilers away he made a real difference.

The serpent has often been rated the world’s most charismatic serial killer.

The funniest story not in the series is that the Serpent arranged a meeting with Boris when he was Spectator editor but sadly only sent a lacky and Boris ended up deciding the story was too hot for the Spectator at the time. A shame, would have made for some great caption competitions in future Private Eye front pages.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:17 pm**

Yes I've been following this every week, it is certainly well produced, and by and large the acting is decent, Jenna Coleman in particular is an enigma, one minute I find myself feeling sympathy for her character, then the next minute I think what the hell are you doing luring potential victims back to the complex, she goes between naïve and then driven in the blink of an eye.

The strange thing about Alain (is that his name) he switches identity that often I sometimes can't keep up LOL, is that he can be charming, but also deadly and cruel in equal measures. But that's been said of many serial killers over the years.

I do agree the constant changing of timelines is tough to follow, and you really have to pay attention, also it seems bizarre how nonchalant many of the officials were, even the folks in the embassies were dismissive of the missing backpackers, was this normal in that era.

The format is different to the standard fare, so some people will love it some will hate it, but in this instance it works as far as I'm concerned.

It must be good because even my dad has been watching it, and he very rarely watches dramas on telly, but it gripped his attention, so it must have a hook.

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:06 pm**

DCWat wrote: ↑
Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:00 pm
She was good in it, though there was a point during watching the Serpent that it looked as though she’d developed a five o’clock shadow on the top lip! From that point on, I could do nothing but look at her moustache.

Unbelievable that someone could get away with so much, for so long and that authorities didn’t appear to give a toss about the missing long haired back packers.

I don’t think Thailand is much better today.

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:10 pm**

tiger76 wrote: ↑
Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:17 pm
Yes I've been following this every week, it is certainly well produced, and by and large the acting is decent, Jenna Coleman in particular is an enigma, one minute I find myself feeling sympathy for her character, then the next minute I think what the hell are you doing luring potential victims back to the complex, she goes between naïve and then driven in the blink of an eye.

The strange thing about Alain (is that his name) he switches identity that often I sometimes can't keep up LOL, is that he can be charming, but also deadly and cruel in equal measures. But that's been said of many serial killers over the years.

I do agree the constant changing of timelines is tough to follow, and you really have to pay attention, also it seems bizarre how nonchalant many of the officials were, even the folks in the embassies were dismissive of the missing backpackers, was this normal in that era.

The format is different to the standard fare, so some people will love it some will hate it, but in this instance it works as far as I'm concerned.

It must be good because even my dad has been watching it, and he very rarely watches dramas on telly, but it gripped his attention, so it must have a hook.

It was a shame the extradition to Thailand ran out or he would have rotted in a cell there. He was so confident in his self that he even travelled back to the country where he taunted officials. Luckily they got him and he now serves a life sentence. They still don’t know how many people he killed. His girlfriend got released and came back to England , got married and had a couple of kids.

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:35 pm**

I wasn't aware of the events prior to watching and would definitely recommend this to anyone who like a good drama.

Incredible story!

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 6:26 pm**

Vintage Claret wrote: ↑
Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:08 pm
Only watched 4 episodes so far but been a bit underwhelmed with it tbh.

All the switching from past to future is a bit confusing and ruins any tension for me.

Jenna Coleman's character seems to spend most of the episodes staring wide eyed at some distant object while smoking a fag.

Will stick with it in the hope it improves but so far as a based on true life murder story re-telling it's not been a patch on The Pembrokeshire Murders imo.

I'm with you VC; I gave it up for a bad job about 1/2 way through the third episode.

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 7:52 pm**

Glamourising the French nutcase is fine. But promoting smoking is really bad. Our society !!!

Agree with the comment by Bill about the time lines confusing things. But why does he do it, kill young people this French nutter? And why do/did the 'Long Hairs' go to Asia. What did they get out of it and what were they looking for? They seem to be dancing and cavorting around swimming pools with other Western hippies and cerainly on something. Well the programme has raised these questions to.me so it must have something. Like in a lot of programmes it also.portrays the top brass as rather stupid. Think Morse, Frost etc. Here its the Dutch ambassador to Thailand.

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:45 pm**

Great story....but some absolutely abysmal acting.

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:50 pm**

Which character(s) in particular ?

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:57 pm**

Dont get me wrong I enjoyed it immensely but the lead actor and his Dutch accent was well...abysmal.

Posted: **Wed Jan 20, 2021 8:05 am**

Fair enough, I'd not really noticed.

Posted: **Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:32 pm**

It was episode 5 of 8 tonight. I'm not saying it's the best acting I've ever seen but every episode so far has me a little nervous and edgy. I enjoyed it tonight though.

Posted: **Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:44 pm**

beddie wrote: ↑
Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:32 pm
It was episode 5 of 8 tonight. I'm not saying it's the best acting I've ever seen but every episode so far has me a little nervous and edgy. I enjoyed it tonight though.

Tonight was good, I somehow suspected there would be a twist when they were arrested, purely due to the fact there's still another 3 episodes to go.

This Alain guy just gets more arrogant by the week, and he's clearly using his bird on the side, but what Nadine was thinking going up to the apartment when she thought they'd be there, she's mad as a hatter that woman.

Of course they should never have been freed, and it's no wonder that Knippenberg is hopping mad, thankfully he's finally got some backing from the Americans, that other guy Siemons is a loose cannon, and he's got a big mouth, which often hinders the investigation rather than helps it.

Posted: **Mon Jan 25, 2021 1:07 am**

Lowbankclaret wrote: ↑
Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:06 pm
I don’t think Thailand is much better today.

I live in Bangkok and I can confirm that the police in Thailand are widely regarded as a joke, even by Thais. Money talks. Case and point, one of the heirs to the Thai half of the Red Bull empire has consistently managed to avoid jail despite killing a police officer while driving drunk and high on cocaine, they can't even manage to get him to trial. The land of the brown envelope. Very few Thai police officers are bi-lingual also, so any cases that involve foriengers are avoided like the plague. It comes from a high chance that they will suffer some kind of embarrassment or 'losing face' when they don't understand something, a fate that seems worse than death for some Thais that usually leads to violence against the person perceived to have embarrassed them.

Posted: **Mon Jan 25, 2021 1:18 am**

Stayingup wrote: ↑
Tue Jan 19, 2021 7:52 pm
Glamourising the French nutcase is fine. But promoting smoking is really bad. Our society !!!

Agree with the comment by Bill about the time lines confusing things. But why does he do it, kill young people this French nutter? And why do/did the 'Long Hairs' go to Asia. What did they get out of it and what were they looking for? They seem to be dancing and cavorting around swimming pools with other Western hippies and cerainly on something. Well the programme has raised these questions to.me so it must have something. Like in a lot of programmes it also.portrays the top brass as rather stupid. Think Morse, Frost etc. Here its the Dutch ambassador to Thailand.

He's not really French.

Mother Vietnamese (Likely French speaking at that time), Father Indian, Born in Thailand (Saigon).

He robbed the few rich westerners who could afford to visit that part of the world at that time. The murders are easy to cover up and means he could continue to rob these people without retribution.

The "long hairs" went to Asia to explore the hippie trail, which leads through the notorious golden triangle. Aka, as much dirt cheap opium and marajuana as you can use at a time in which those nations had no proper enforcement or drug laws. While the ridiculously low cost of living meant they could continue their travels for a much longer stretch of time.

Posted: **Mon Jan 25, 2021 6:31 am**

i binge-watched this last weekend and it was very good.

but i don't recommend it to anyone who is trying to give up smoking. virtually every scene has someone lighting a cig.

Posted: **Mon Jan 25, 2021 8:50 am**

Also watched episode 5 last night and have to agree it was a good one and for the first time in the series we were tempted to watch the next episode straight away.

Couldn't resist another episode of 'Hunters' though so we'll watch it tonight instead.

The Serpent

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