The gritty crime drama stars Kenneth Branagh as Swedish author Henning Mankell's scruffy Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander. Season 1 finds him tackling a series of engrossing mysteries. First, he investigates a 15-year-old girl's self-immolation and a series of ax murders; then, he tackles the murder of a cabbie by two teens and the death of a computer-systems analyst; and, last, he looks into the Midsummer Eve's disappearance of three young people. At the same time, he deals with his aging dad (David Warner), who's slipping into the grips of dementia, and a re-energized social life, as his daughter Linda (Jeany Spark) enrolls him in an Internet dating service.
It's the main character who provides the main reason for watching, as the long-suffering Wallander struggles to solve the crimes and put his life back in order.
What makes Wallander memorable in the end is the arc that underlies them -- the detective's own story as he plummets toward emotional and physical crisis.
The strength of the script and Branagh's finely drawn performance - not to mention the excellent scenes between Branagh and David Warner, who plays Wallander's dad - make up for missteps.
