"The Casual Vacancy" is an odd show, one that appears to do most things right in adapting Rowling's novel, but is clearly missing one other element to make it all click. It has an excellent ensemble cast, serviceable direction (which looks like a film rather than a car commercial, like so many shows on American TV seem to these days), and in only three episodes, gets the viewer to really care about the small town of Pagford and many of its residents. Yet, it's hard not to suspect that the meat of Rowling's novel was not so much in the story, but the way that story was framed through her prose, in an arena where the point of view is free to completely shift from one character to another. As a television show, "The Casual Vacancy" has no perspective, and as such ends up feeling objective to a fault. The events that happen in the story are compelling, but they don't seem to add up to much of a point.

Of the eight characters pictured on the Blu-ray cover, it may be surprising that cold-eyed, blinged-out teenager Krystal Weedon (Abigail Lawrie) turns out to be the show's most compelling and sympathetic character. When she first strides into school with giant hoop earrings, a fake spray tan, and tiny shorts instead of the uniform everyone else is wearing, it has a similar effect as her picture: she seems bratty and self-centered, nose in the air. In truth, Krystal is struggling to deal with her her crack-addicted mother Terri (Keeley Forsyth), who is abusive and no help in raising her or her toddler brother Robbie (Bryce Sanders). Such backstories are nothing new for bitter teenagers, but Lawrie's performance is exceptional, authentically capturing the way her shield has gone up over time (including her ability to sabotage or ignore relationships that could genuinely help her), as well as a deeper, vulnerable core on the inside. There are also a number of flashbacks showing a younger, less guarded Krystal and her friendship with Barry, revealing a side that deepens her performance further.

As Barry, Keenan himself is quite wonderful as well. The first episode of "The Casual Vacancy" seems to play out from his perspective at first, an effective trick that underlines the sudden nature of his death. Although he only has a few scenes in flashback after that, the sincerity of his warmth and kindness are crucial in selling the idea of Barry as Pagford's would-be hero, and Kinnear is perfect. In addition to Krystal and Terri, Barry is also a guardian of sorts to his nephews, Andrew "Arf" Price (Joe Hurst) and Paul Price (Sonny Ashbourne Serkis), sons of his slimy brother Simon (Richard Glover). Although Arf is a quiet character, Hurst conveys plenty through glances and stares. Elsewhere, the elder Mollisons convince their clueless son Miles (Rufus Jones) to vie for the chair, over the strong objections of his bombshell wife Samantha (Keeley Hawes), who not only hates Miles' parents but also seems to believe in Barry's causes despite having only a secondhand relationship to those on the council. Meanwhile, Barry's widow Mary (Emily Bevan) teeters on the edge of an emotional breakdown, pulling herself up just in time to find people turning her husband's death into a political opportunity.

On a basic dramatic level, "The Casual Vacancy" functions, with new developments and reveals that keep the story interesting and exciting, but any thematic ideas, beyond the cruelty of coincidence, are in short supply. The characters are arranged like chess pieces on a board, and moved in ways designed to create friction and sparks, but it comes off a bit half-baked at times. A person posting as "The Ghost of Barry Fairbrother" begins posting on the city's website, revealing secrets about each candidate, something that feels like it would've been the backbone of the book, but there's so much for these three episodes to get through that the set-up never quite pays off beyond the fact that people's skeletons are pulled out of the closet. Worse, after a number of elaborate and interesting set-ups, the third episode starts knocking threads down in predictable ways that feels less like the climax of a story and more like an attempt to push people's buttons. Perhaps that's because the show, adapted by Sarah Phelps, significantly softens Rowling's book, making some of the misery it unleashes near the end feel less like a scathing critique and more like screenwriting advice that sometimes bad things have to happen to good characters for dramatic purposes. More likely, though, it's just that this story read better than it plays on television, with the details that are naturally lost in translation being a vital part of what made it compelling.

The Blu-ray
"The Casual Vacancy" arrives in a single-disc eco-friendly Blu-ray case, which itself is tucked inside a matte cardboard slipcover. The slip and the sleeve both feature a grid of eight characters, arranged around a voting box, using a striking yellow and red color scheme. The slip also features banners on the front and back advertising the set's UltraViolet Digital HD copy, which is tucked inside the case.

The Video and Audio
Presented in 1.78:1 1080p AVC and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, "The Casual Vacancy" both looks and sounds excellent on Blu-ray. As mentioned in the body of the review, there is a natural appearance to the cinematography that seems to have disappeared from American miniseries TV, which tends to be overlit without much nuance, taking on the glossy appearance of a car commercial. "Vacancy" is certainly vivid, with plenty of crisp greens and bright blues in the quaint, clean outdoors of Pagford. One can easily detect the relatively subtle mismatch of Krystal Weedon's spray-on tan with her real skin, and the fine detail is strong enough to spot the edges of her fake eyelashes. Before his death, Barry has a couple of bizarre visions that are accompanied by strange noises and visions, which are the first sign that maybe the uncompressed soundtrack will have something to do. Although the program is relatively subtle, crowd scenes and other little aural details contribute to an enveloping atmosphere that keeps the viewer in the world of Pagford. Music and other sound effects sound nice as well. English captions for the deaf and hard of hearing and French and Spanish subtitles are also provided.

The Extras
Three featurettes make up supplements for "The Casual Vacancy." "An Introduction to 'The Casual Vacancy'" (8:33) is an overview of how the cast and crew feel about the premise of the show (and Rowling's novel). "Adapting 'The Casual Vacancy'" (9:49) dives into how the book was turned into the show (and indeed mentions that the book jumped from people's perspectives, which was one of the big challenges). Finally, "Creating 'The Casual Vacancy'" (13:31), which is another sort of general overview of the series. These are adequate featurettes, definitely featuring the kind of clip-heavy material that promotional features do, but still offering a fair amount of information, even with some overlap. All three extras are presented in HD.

Conclusion
"The Casual Vacancy" is an enjoyable show on some levels, but it never quite feels like a full or complete experience. The performances, especially Lawrie as Krystal Weedon, are quite compelling, so the show is worth a look, but in this case, don't be surprised if the book provides a more complete experience. Rent it.