A different path?

“I'm going to ask you to look around at your families, your friends, the members of your community. Ask yourself do you look at them with suspicion? Do you?” – Paul, “Gracepoint”

One of the buzziest shows heading into the fall was “Gracepoint,” a 10-episode limited series on FOX. The show is a re-make of the British crime drama “Broadchurch,” an eight-episode saga that was part mystery and part intense character study. Both versions were created by Chris Chibinal, and both star David Tennant in the lead role.

And for the first six episodes, it felt like “Gracepoint” was simply following the blueprint from “Broadchurch” exactly. Sure, the location, character names, and some of the faces changed, but the story was largely the same. On Thursday, in its seventh episode, “Gracepoint” finally started to walk a different path.

I am on record as being skeptical of this whole endeavor. Originally I was excited about the idea of “Gracepoint,” but the more I thought about it the less excited I became. Why? Because “Broadchurch” isn’t something that can be replicated if you’ve already seen it, and it certainly hasn’t been replicated as well by this FOX series for those that haven’t seen it.

Equally as troubling was the promise that the American series would have a different ending. Of course that makes some sense considering you want to create a new experience for those that have seen the original. But as I thought about it, that’s also a problem. The ending to “Broadchurch” was, in a word, perfect. It was unexpected and emotionally devastating. In fact, the final episode isn’t about who did it – that is determined about 10 minutes in – it’s about the emotional aftermath. That’s why I was disappointed that “Broadchurch” is getting a second season (where do you go after that) and sad that “Gracepoint” would have a different ending, or at least so they claimed.

The seventh episode does, indeed, seem to be moving in a new direction. A second boy is missing, Tennant’s daughter arrived, and a mysterious drifter is floating on the periphery. I believe the drifter is another red herring, but it does make you wonder who might be the killer. “Gracepoint” has three episodes left to explore that, and to bring home a new ending.

While I’m curious to see how they do it, I remain convinced it won’t be as powerful as the original. I guess we’ll know in three weeks.