So far, I'm finding Grantchester pretty interesting; I'm always a sucker for British period dramas. This one is set in the postwar 1950's, meaning that most of the men- including Chambers and Keating- are veterans whose war experiences inform a lot of their outlooks and actions now. Sidney in particular is haunted by the things he saw and did, and self-medicates with alcohol. A lot of it. The gruff, no-nonsense Keating is a working class family man, while Chambers is obviously from a middle class background who went to the right schools, which is also a difference which greatly influences the ways in which they regard- and react to- the crimes which they're investigating.
As I said, the show is interesting once you divorce yourself from the suspicion that 1950's Cambridgeshire probably wasn't a hotbed of murder- one which would involve the main characters so often. The characters are sympathetic and likeable for the most part, though I find Sidney's relationship with his sort-of girlfriend really annoying. She wants to keep him on a string though she's engaged, and he keeps mooning after her despite the fact that she's going to marry someone else. This gets old really quickly, and continues into the second series, which I'm watching now. He should kick her to the curb.
Each episode generally ends with Sidney preaching a sermon, or giving a homily, whatever they call it in the Church of England. It's usually fluffy stuff- ie. "don't judge"- with a Bible verse thrown in to make it seem legit. I don't mind, because I don't get my theology from TV shows but I do wonder why Sidney wants to be an Anglican priest. He seems bored by his pastoral duties, spends most of his time actively avoiding them, and is much more interested in working cases with Geordie. He obviously cares about helping people, but could do this as a police officer or a social worker of some sort. He really seems ill suited to the ministry, and on numerous occasions does things which should disqualify him from serving in that capacity. But hey, maybe not in the Church of England.
In any case, I enjoyed Series I reasonably well, enough that I went on to Series II. I'll let you know how that goes.