Gently and the New Age

Not a high note to end the series, as this is the worst episode in the show. A rather idealistic, politically-charged episode with Gently made out to be some sort of saintly martyr, tilting at overwhelming odds in the interests of what he believes is right.

The mystery is interesting enough though and at last Bacchus's character has learnt from Gently and is starting to show signs of being more tactful and tolerant. It's only taken 6 years, 8 seasons and 25 episodes.

I have loved this series. Love it's characters, stories, setting in both time and location.

That is why this last episode was so disappointing. In fairness, a finale to any series is tricky, especially a great series like this one was.

However, this episode strayed far afield from the rest of the series to the point it was unrecognizable.

Finally, if you watch entertainment in the UK long enough, you understand who it is that controls the narrative. This means you already know who will be portrayed as the villains in any movie, show, series, commercial, etc. It is sooo boringly threadbare, predictable, and over the top, it has become cringeworthy.

If you know what I am talking about, no explanation is necessary. If you don't know by now, no explanation is possible.

This unfortunate, clichéd storyline took away from the lifeblood of the series & seemed a hodgepodge of an ending to a truly great series.

We have reached the end of the line with George Gently. Approaching retirement, Gently is approached by the head of the anti corruption unit to examine an unsolved case of a young woman who was murdered four years earlier in County Durham.

Up and coming local Labour MP, Michael Clements is somehow being put in the frame for the murder as he knew the dead woman and he is also causing waves with his third way rhetoric. Even the establishment seems to be wary of him and Gently becomes aware of this as one of the security services henchman might had been involved in the death of his own wife.

Bacchus and his new assistant Rachel Coles investigate the killing of a scab worker crossing a picket line. What might be a death caused by a violent striker turns out to be more sinister again with government agents being involved.

A striking look at 1970s industrial relations and the sinister side of the security services, the type which tried to nobble Prime Minister Harold Wilson a few years later.

It might not be a satisfactory ending but I think there was little else where Gently could go. At least we also get to see a more mature Bacchus who finally has some of Gently's wisdom rub off on him.

I can't really agree with some of the other reviews for this episode, I thought it was absolutely brilliant, I loved it from start to finish, exciting, dramatic, explosive, and managed to draw a tear from the eye.

The show seemed to follow a similar pattern to Foyle's War, crime and detection, before moving on to crimes of a larger scale.

It was always going to be interesting to see the relationship between Gently and Bacchus, after the events in the previous episode, I was surprised they didn't make more of it.

Richard Harrington was superb, loved his scenes with Martin Shaw, but let's not be in any doubt, this was all about Gently, Shaw was at his best.

The crime itself was fascinating, the characters were big, and George's story was captivating, I thought the ending was superbly done, I teared up.

A shame it ended here, it never dipped in quality. I felt it could have run a little longer. 9/10.

I've been a fan of this series since the beginning, even read several of the books, but I had only recently caught the final episode because shows like this tend to not have a satisfying ending. Oh glorious ignorance, how I wish I could still claim thee in this instance. While not a terrible episode, it definitely didn't live up to pretty much any others from the rest of the show.

After almost a decade, Gently is suddenly struck with grief over the loss of his wife. It's no surprise that he misses her, but it seemed completely out of character for him (or most adults for that matter) to become a blubbering mess about it after so long. Then there's the plot... and I use the term loosely. There are more Gently books by Alan Hunter than episodes made, and they went with a hackneyed government conspiracy story to end this series? Since they seemed forget he has MS, why not tailor a story where he relies on Bacchus and Coles to solve the case because he becomes symptomatic? That may be too difficult for these discount writers, but why wouldn't the 'antagonists' simply go after the MP who's causing them grief directly instead of using Gently to discredit him? Governments make deals with other governments all the time, so it's not something people need to get murdered over, making this story even more contrived so they could have their beloved dramatic... and unresolved, ending.

As I said earlier however, this isn't a terrible episode. The cinematography was excellent. I liked the score, even though it gave me a Tron: Legacy vibe. Bacchus and Coles were working well together finally, and there was a very touching scene with the three of them in the woods where Gently asks John about his 'going away do.' Overall though, I think Gently, and everyone else involved, deserved better. That's not to mean it should've been a happy ending mind you; there's nothing wrong with killing your title character off if done right (Morse fits that bill I think), this just wasn't it. With only two episodes this season/series, they may as well just not bothered and left us with 7 good years.