We’ve just watched a television series that brought to mind that old phrase – in danger, it should be said, of disappearing completely – “the curate’s egg”*. In short, it has both good and bad elements. Some of the characters were strong and vivid and convincing; others were two-dimensional and lacking in life. This week on the water The question I asked myself as the series unfolded was: What made some of the characters work, and others not? After all, the scriptwriters were responsible for...