Scott & Bailey

I don't know what others are watching but I'm an actor and I watch a lot of TV and Films (and have been in a lot as well) and this show which my wife and I just finished watching was amazing! Powerful women doing wonderful things without making a big deal out of gender is almost impossible to pull off and almost never happens in American TV. This is what Rizzoli and Isles could have been if they didn't have all the "funny" stuff and if they let their characters be true to themselves. This is what the Closer was at its best but finally I found the writing and the directing and the acting so much better in Scott and Bailey than well any other show of its type on TV on either side of the pond. Get a region free DVD and buy this series and tell me I'm not right. The relationships are sharp (better than Blue Murder which is also a good series) and the stories are valid and dark and the humor works cause it is not forced. The only Detective show I like better at the moment is Luther and it is not quite as good an ensemble show as this one. 10 stars easily

I have seen only two episodes so far of season 1, but already it looks like this female detectives duo is the among the best, definitely the best of the season. The chaotic private lives of DI's Janet Scott and Rachel Bailey and the solving of the cases are presented in a perfect mix. An especially good point: we are off dead bodies and CSI-like gore (at least for the first two episodes). They still exist, of course, but off-screen. The details are related to us in indirect ways, through the cops' case meetings, the questioning of suspects, conversations in cars, and walk-with-me talks. What we do see instead are the consequences of the crimes committed: We see them in the faces of wonderful hugely talented actors that fill even the tiniest role. It makes up more than enough for the only grievance I have: spoiled by the lavish period production of Inspector George Gently I was hoping to see more of the Yorkshire landscape.

At a time when it seems that every TV detective program offers over- the-top-heroics, impossibly good-looking characters, exaggerated Sherlock Holmesian deductions, and smug repartee, this British production comes as a wonderful surprise -- a superbly acted cop show, portraying tough, wise investigators picking through the detritus and debris of human life and trying to keep it all together until the end of their shift.

Although the show is named for the two partners, the dynamic detective duo who have been essential to all cop shows since "Dragnet," it's really a three-person team, since Detective Constables Scott & Bailey are shepherded by a been-there, done-that boss who keeps them from straying too far from the flock.

As a bonus, their patch is grand, gritty and grimy Manchester, where you have to strain sometimes to understand the dialect, but it's worth the work for the condensed wit and wisdom you mine.

You won't be satisfied with watching a single episode, but try to view no more than three at a single sitting, so you'll have something to look forward to next time.

Oh, by the way: the three alpha cops here are all female, so let's call it Womanchester.

Solid, standard British detective show. Great to see strong female leads in a male dominated field. Amelia Bullmore as DCI Gill Murray is the standout scene stealer. Simply outstanding. The title characters are good, at times over acted. Story lines a bit unbelievable - hard to see why so many men would be obsessed with these two.

Scott and Bailey's first episode was actually rather superb! OK so it was a little predictable but the banter between all of the characters and the clever questioning by Rachel Bailey at the end made this an enjoyable cop drama. To be fair, this series has a lot to live up to - it has a likable cast and its home, ITV, have a reputation for writing some very interesting and good detective dramas such as Morse, Lewis, Vera,Midsomer Murders and Law and Order:UK and, in my opinion, it continues ITV's success at writing and presenting detective dramas. I have a feeling that Scott and Bailey will continue to improve as the weeks go by...