Am I a bit thick or are some TV dramas incredibly complex?

Haha, this all rings true! We have been watching Jack Ryan on Amazon. Very good series, but I have to have the pause button handy. "Wait hun... stop for a sec... who is that guy again?" There are so many double-agents, or they give a hint at it that you don't know who are the good guys vs bad guys!

I can only handle two episodes per night, then I need a nature documentary.

I tend to binge watch series and then realise that I’ve missed a vital part of the plot so have to watch the whole thing again. I’ve never watched James Bond films because I haven’t got a clue what’s happening ( plus the fact that they’re not my kind of film anyway). I didn’t even attempt to watch Line of Duty. And I’ve no idea what’s happening in The Subtle Knife. I just let programmes wash over me.

This thread is very reassuring. I was worried that it was my age making me slow on the uptake.

I loved the Serpent and The tourist Really ones to get your teeth into
I don’t like American dramas / films on the whole
I always use subtitles

Last year The Newsreader was on BBC and it was absolutely wonderful, well written, fabulous characters and non-complicated plot. One of the best things I watched last year. All about an Australian newsroom in the 1980s. It's on BBC iPlayer. Series 2 will be out this year in Australia and hopefully in the UK as well.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0cgx4k0/the-newsreader

DH and I loved Silent Horses. We watched the first four episodes back to back. We waited until the last two had been recorded before watching them together too as we tend to forget the plot line. Thanks for some new suggestions too.

Here's the thing. I have a PhD in Cognitive Narratology. If I don't know a thing or two about storylines then nobody does. I can hardly follow many of the overly complex tv dramas around, which suggests to me that they have been badly constructed. So no, it's not just you. BTW if there are any tv drama companies out there who would like to hire me as an independent consultant, bring it on!!!

In my mind, nothing beats the understandability and sheer wonderfulness of ‘The Sopranos’, the best telly ever made. A close second is another American series, ‘Ray Donovan’. I can’t remember getting enthused about any UK serial in years. That said, I’ve not watched any of Happy Valley and am waiting until the end of the final series before starting.

Glad it's not just me. You'd need to take notes with some of them. We watch on catchup if possible so that we can pause and ask questions of each other.

Yes the storylines have become so complicated and it is often just too much of a chore to decipher it.

Lovetopaint037

Yes, I also find that if there is only one episode a week by the time another episode is available I have forgotten who is who.
Some are available on iPlayer, etc but often only released one at a time so unless I am patient enough to wait until the end of the series I can’t watch them in one go. As the programmes lately have been somewhat lacking I tend to take what is on offer.

Yes, I can sometimes keep a grip on it during the episode but it's all gone by the end of the week.
And I agree that the programmes are just awful at the moment. We have Netflix and watch some things there, also BBC iPlayer or Sounds or whatever they're calling it this week.

I agree. I have no time for overly complicated storylines. My brain has been working hard all day. It needs some " down time". Don't get me wrong, I don't mean I want to watch puerile comedies or reality shows. But I do love a good drama that I can watch and follow. I am loving Happy Valley and enjoyed the Tourist and the Serpent more than I expected ( did you read that he has been released from prison!). But I don't want to need the brains of a rocket scientist to follow what is going on.

I would say the same about some books!
An avid reader and quite picky about what I read I have become aware of too many books with frankly too many characters, too complex plots and an irritating tendency to go for the “double timeline” structure. Fine as far as it goes, but all too common, unoriginal and sometimes makes me feel writers, especially newer ones, feel they have to cram everything into one book.
And don’t get me started on typos, bad grammar, tedious dialogue or linguistic anachronisms!

Silent witness ha got ridiculously complicated too

I give up after a fair trial of ten minutes or so because either I don't understand what they are about, or I have no sympathy with the characters, or both. If the story begins with people firing guns at each other in city streets, teenagers posturing at parties, or people in boring offices, I tend to give up very soon.

Sometimes you do want an intriguing plot but then they run away with the complicated sub-plots and the story gets lost and my brain just gives up trying to remember who belongs where etc etc.

Yes I agree Chestnut, The Serpent and The Tourist The latter particularly had a pretty complex plot, I thought both were very very good.

I only stick with dramas that are worthwhile, well to me at any rate, needless to say Happy Valley would be one, exceptional acting and writing. I thought Spy Among Friends was also very good a complex plot albeit quite factual in parts. We are currently watching Light in The Hall, pretty okay whilst not right up there with the very best. There are some dire offerings though, Granite Harbour, got a couple of good reviews, heaven knows why, 2 episodes in, how did that get commissioned ? just crap. Too many of those, maybe it's all the choice nowadays, we have both Netflix and Prime, even there, there are too few standouts. Mare of Eastown, was incredibly good, we bought the series to watch on Prime well worth the money, again exceptional. Line of Duty has run its course , started so well but the last two have been abysmal , time to call it a day!

My husband has read all the Mick Herron Slow Horses books, I read one of them, not really my cup of tea.

If there are several episodes I record them so I can watch over two or three evenings, otherwise I have no hope of remembering what happened last time.

Yes, I also find that if there is only one episode a week by the time another episode is available I have forgotten who is who.
Some are available on iPlayer, etc but often only released one at a time so unless I am patient enough to wait until the end of the series I can’t watch them in one go. As the programmes lately have been somewhat lacking I tend to take what is on offer.

These days I often put the subtitles on and catch all the muffled speech or it is to me and then can follow the plot,"The English" was one I had to do it with.
DH has always had trouble following the plots of plays or films and always asks me to explain. Years ago he asked in the cinema I whispered and he said pardon, an irritated chap in front of us turned round and said: "She said....mate". It did shut him up for a while.
He is always slow on the uptake and once had the whole cinema laughing. The film was "Carry on Dr', suddenly halfway through DH said in a voice louder than he meant to "Oh Dr Killmore", and started laughing everyone joined in with him they had gotten the joke at the beginning, and I just wanted to crawl away.

Germanshepherdsmum

There are plenty that I give up on. Complicated plot, too many characters, too much mumbling and/or speaking in very strong regional accents …

Exactly my thoughts! I would add to that the ones that jump around in different time frames, sometimes two but sometimes several time frames. Sometimes I just can't be bothered with it. If I don't find the characters or plot engaging then I'm not going to bother.

There were two which moved back and forth in time but they were excellent so I kept going. They were The Serpent and The Tourist which were both edge-of-the-seat dramas with complicated plots. They were hard to follow but ultimately worth it.

No Sago it’s not just you , I often find I lose the plot on TV dramas , or films ect so what I do is wind them back and listen again , and again if needed , until the plot is finally digested. If I find the plot is much too complicated to follow then I give up on it 🙁

There are plenty that I give up on. Complicated plot, too many characters, too much mumbling and/or speaking in very strong regional accents …