Kessler

However, would he have really made a fresh start in Germany rather than flee to South America?

As the follow-on from Secret Army, Kessler lacks everything Secret Army had, tension, drama, good storylines and plotting and well-drawn characters. Alan Dobie's role as Richard Bauer is poorly developed and you never manage to find out why exactly he is pursuing Kessler or why. Nitza Saul's role, as the young Israeli chasing Kessler and helping Bauer, lacks any definition at all. Alison Glennie, as Kessler's daughter Ingrid, is little more than a cardboard cutout pretend Nazi. Not one of Gerald Glaister's better efforts

Not really a sequel to Secret Army, despite the brief appearances of Monique, Albert and Natalie, all of whom are wasted in the first episode. Hopes are raised that they will have a major part to play but these are soon dashed. Kessler himself seems less menacing if still unsympathetic but suffers from the lack of interplay and rivalry with his Luftwaffe counterparts. His rise in the Nazi hierarchy is unconvincing. He still has a pretty boy assistant now in a three piece suit rather than SS uniform though Franz is nastier, more ambitious and devious than his two predecessors. Kessler's daughter Ingrid does not have the humanising effect of her mother Madeleine but is a caricature of a neo Nazi madchen. The Nazi hunters lack depth and the ageing Nazis are stereotypes. The pace, characterisation, dramatic structure, tension and atmosphere are all inferior to Secret Army. All told a disappointment unworthy of its inspiration, it would have been better if there were no link with Secret Army.

I remember watching this when it was first shown on the BBC. It takes the story on, post-war, of what becomes of Gestapo chief Kessler. Hopefully UK Drama will show this - as they are now showing Secret Army.

All the superlatives about Secret Army apply equally to this. It may be a cliche, but drama like this makes the BBC license fee worthwhile!

A Belgian journalist sets the wheels in motion, in a bid to hunt down former Nazi officer, Ludwig Kessler, who's now living a successful new life, with a new name.

It's definitely an interesting storyline, a group of fanatics still desperate to see Hitler's plans put into action, a network exposed.

The chances are you'll have come here from The Secret Army, hoping for an extension of that great series, and a continuation of that same quality, unfortunately Kessler doesn't quite hit those levels.

It's a bit of a clunky production, it doesn't move at pace, it doesn't really spark into life until later on in the series, the first trio of episodes are actually slow moving.

Initially you'll wonder if the budget was quite small, but it soon becomes apparent that it was used for the location work, and it's fair to say there is a great variety, it never feels studio bound.

The acting, for me this was the stumbling block, Clifford Rose was pretty good as the titled character, I found his character quite well rounded and sincere, the supporting cast however, some of the acting was flat, with blank characters, I never felt like I understood why Rak and Bauer were so heavily involved.

I've tried a few times to watch it, but always quit after episode two or three, I'm glad I persisted this time, as it does improve towards the end, sadly the first half of the series is just so dull.

6/10.