Trial & Retribution

It's depressingly significant that Kate Buffery is not credited here as one of the "stars". I only started watching a vintage series which I assumed would be very dated, because of her presence.

I first came across her in the memorable drama series Wish Me Luck, and was bowled over by her - not just one of the most beautiful women the small screen has ever seen, but a superb actress who sadly seems never to have won the acclaim that was her due.

She's great in this - absolutely convincing. She carries the series which becomes much more ordinary after her departure - then increasingly strident and silly.

I think that the plots are good and all the actors are really good. David Hayman is an outstanding actor - BUT not good enough to bridge this huge flaw that the writers carved into this series. He simply is not "lead man" material and the dynamics between him Pat North are incredulous. It's a poor match and on top of that, the writer(s) dwell way too much on this horrific flaw. I also find David Hayman's character, at times, annoying in that it verges on a caricature of a detective. In fact, the writer has managed to turn David Hayman's character into an incredibly dislike, unsympathetic protagonist. To say that he is obnoxious, at times, would be an understatement.

If law and order in Britain were anything like this series, they'd get it wrong even when the evidence jumped into their arms and grabbed the ubiquitous scotches and cigs. Well-acted intriguing characters -- always LaPlante's forte -- are worth watching, even if rampant incompetence among police, lawyers, judges and juries seems to be what drives the stories rather than clever twists. Some of the gap between concept and execution should probably be overlooked because this is the first series, and extra points granted for roaming outside the well-defined lines of the genre. The irascible DCI Walker (Hayman) commands the screen and the squadron and the well-fleshed minor characters are hold it well when Walker's not around. Fans of LaPlante's style won't be disappointed, but casual viewers might want to tune in to later series.

I enjoy the show and despite some people saying the endings were not clear, I thought they were pretty good. Sometimes you were undecided whodunit. Or not to see it til the last minute. The thing I did not enjoy is the misogyny of the main character who shouted at people, especially the women and seemed to use women like servants, calling them names as he did so. The stories were good despite him. Would have been great without him.

One of the most annoying, arrogant and hateful characters on TV. How this guy came to be a Superintendent beggars belief. Him aside, this is a great show, well worth bingeing. Unfortunately series five shares so many similarities with Prime Suspect 2 I wondered how it ever got made? In series 10 there is also a very similar plot to another Prime Suspect story.