User Reviews

Elliot gets a message from an old friend back home, he and Helen travel to Ireland, and once again, our esteemed Tourist is in a load of trouble. Elliot still has no memory.

Before we do anywhere, beginning 2024 with a big bearded Jamie Dornan, that's no bad thing.

The setting is changed, and most of the faces are changed, but it's the same old show. I'm not sure how they're going to top the first series, and I don't think they will, but this was definitely an entertaining enough start.

Garda Slater......he's like a cross between Johnny English and Norman Bates, not too sure what to make of that guy yet, he's a bit of a crackpot.

Oh my days, I was creased, before he was given the saw, I said out loud, they've really gone for a Saw vibe, then what followed, put me in mind of Jigsaw.

Series one was straight up entertainment, it kept all the politics out, Ethan starts to discuss his 'toxic masculinity,' I'm sure many rolled their eyes.

7/10.

My Review - The Tourist Series 2 on Stan My Rating 6/10

I'm giving series 2 an extra point not because the script writing is much better or believable than in Series 1 but because Irish Actor Jamie Dornan who plays Elliot and Australian actress Danielle Macdonald who plays his girlfriend both give impressive performances that almost make this six hour series worth watching.

I'm not certain if Harry and John Williams the creators and writers of The Tourist were hedging their bets on this story being viewed as a comedy drama or a drama with comedy characters?

The two characters I refer to are Ethan Krum played by Greg Larsen a composite of an annoying Australian bogan or okker character that's discovered his sensitive nature plus in this series an incompetent clot of a Detective of the Irish Garda played by Conor MacNeill who makes Inspector Clouseau look like Hercule Poirot.

I just thought both these silly characters while adding some amusement at times took away from the dramatic aspect of the series .

The fact that the entire plot is inconsistent especially when the latest series leaves Australia after the revelations in the season one finale about The Man with amnesia and his true identity are made by Lena Pascal played by Victoria Haralabidou who obviously was not mistaken because she turns up again in Ireland?

I'm sure the criminal events of season 1 finale would have at least prevented Jamie Dornan who plays The Man/Elliot Stanley or is it Eugene Cassidy firmly in Australia under Police guard or at least suspicion.

Series 2 is basically about Elliot and Helen travelling to Ireland to research his new found family history and instead getting caught up in an Irish version of the famous American family feud between The Hatfields and McCoys only this time it's between the Cassidy's and The McDonalds.

At this point I must mention how much I enjoyed Olwen Fouéré who plays Ma Cassidy or Niamh Cassidy she made this series worthwhile for me as did Jamie Dornan as Elliott who it turns out is Niamh's son and Danielle Macdonald as Helen Chambers ,Elliott's loyal girlfriend and travelling companion.

The second series of The Tourist was commissioned after the success of series 1 on the BBC iPlayer audience with an overall view of 18 million on its release, the series became the third most successful drama launch for the iPlayer.

I suspect a lot of that success was due to the spectacular Australian outback settings and of course Jamie Dornan's huge fan base but I do wonder if overseas audiences will be as impressed with the more familiar landscape of the Emerald Isle .

The series 2 relocation to Ireland is a vast contrast to the lonely Australian outback setting of Series One in part due to Jamie Dornan's family and contractual commitments that prevented him from spending months again in Down Under.

It's not a bad series but with so much on offer it's not the best of the best to pick from but that's only my opinion I have no gauge at all on what's popular and what's not in todays entertainment smorgasbord I just know what I like.

I was waiting for the second season of the show, hoping it would be at least as good as the first. My rating for the first season was 10/10 - I loved the mystery, the actors, the pace, Australia and the underlying message that humans are good (or can be) and that there is some kind of poetic justice.

Unfortunately, the second season starts as some kind of a parody, made in a hurry by people who don't care much about the story and the viewers. Everything is exaggerated without need, the characters are pathetic caricatures, there is much more pointless graphic content. Also, there is nothing in The Tourist 2 that deserves to be called a 'plot'. I am very disappointed.