M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team

I don't know why only two seasons were made of this show, I really enjoyed it. There was good acting, good story lines. I recently found it on Acorn TV and am disappointed there are no more of MIT to watch.

Having seen the first episode of 8 only, I'm in two minds whether to watch the rest. The first story continued from a storyline portrayed in a recent episode of The Bill. And a very interesting, intriguing and surprising storyline it was, too.

But what spoilt it for me was the filming technique. Just because you can stick a modern TV camera right up the actor's nose doesn't mean you have to. I watched on a small TV set, but the thought of seeing someone's head fill the whole of a 3-foot wide TV screen makes me feel seasick. Pretending to hide behind another character's head or a plant is a very dull, and now over-used, way of trying to create a sense of reality. The filmic technique merely gets in the way of the story.

"M.I.T." spun off "The Bill" after the demise of Matthew Boyden. In the best traditions of British police drama, "M.I.T." is a winner.

What makes it a change for the better is that "The Bill" in recent years has become little more than a soapy, tawdry shadow of the excellent series it once was.

"M.I.T." presents a stark comparison. Engaging, well focused, fast moving episodes with a good balance between storyline and characterization.

The fast pace may not be to everyone's liking but it still represents the best effort in its genre to come out of Britain in a long time.

Let us hope there is more to come.

The first season was really interesting. Not perfect but the players were good. Putting DS Trevor Hands in charge for season two the show went downhill. No wonder there was no season three. His insensitivity and brash recklessness made everyone's job harder. There was just no sign of a good detective, just someone trying to prove he was the best but his ego was too big such a shame.

If it had carried on in the same vein as season one it probably would have been much better. His character was repugnant. The actor portraying him may have been good but the character was atrocious and unlikeable and very demeaning to others.

Another alleged spinoff from "The Bill", since the first episode arcs off from the murder of Sgt Boyden. They solve the crime in the first episode, despite the fact that "The Bill" had been carefully cultivating several suspects over several episodes. In the end their lengthy and complicated setups came to nothing and all the anticipation and mystery evaporates immediately. And for some reason it takes about six officers to solve a pretty obvious crime.

What's left? Five more pedestrian police drama episodes where the murderer always ends up being the first person you thought it was, over-produced and over-acted, in typical "quality British crime drama" fashion. "Burnside", the previous spinoff, was likewise a pretty ordinary set of police dramas with a character called Frank Burnside inserted. In "M.I.T." they could have at least used DC Duncan Lennox (wonderful George Rossi), since that character now works for MIT.

At the end of the day, the whole affair is obviously a fairly cynical attempt to build a franchise from "The Bill" by inserting a few cameos in the first episode. The fact that this show isn't continuing probably tells you a fair bit.