London Kills

When BBC's daytime soap opera does off air it is replaced by some good dramas. Shakespeare and Hathaway have been great in the last year. This summer we have been given London Kills. A detective drama focused on Hugo Speer's droll murder detective whose wife has been missing for 3 months. The first thing to say is that the acting is good. It's a solid script and the main cast work well together. The issues start to arise with the repetitive nature. Murder happens, wiring person confesses, right person is caught and it starts again. Always sitting in the background is the missing wife storyline. It's hinted at but not really explained. The main issue though is the ludicrously low budget. The main office has no one else working in it, the cafes and pubs are empty and the streets are equally empty which all takes away the realism. It is a shame because actually it is not a bad series. It just doesn't flow that well and feels a tad clunky at times. That said the writers have done a decent job and there have been much worse programmes and will be worse.

The show has secured a season so may well grow but for now its a case of not bad but low budget does soil certain aspects of the snow.

Vivienne Is played by a ridiculous actress, as far as the character of Sgt. Mophead goes. (Holy bad hair, Batman. And, what is with those shiny black therapeutic lifts she's wearing?) Whenever she thinks she's sniffing out a lie she becomes insufferably, visibly skeptical and snarky. Its like an instant transformation into a 13 yr old mean girl. Ugh, the revolting, off-base 'gotcha' faces she pulls! Meanwhile, she's a common liar, herself. Also, she's controlling, acting as though she knows best at all times, and is the only one able to place appropriate guardrails in front of the actions of others.

Unfortunately, novice DC Billy that every so often pairs with her, leans into this childishness too hard, and so she comes off as a bit of a petty fool, here and there. Mostly, she just seems acquiescent, is smiley and accepting, with a generally pleasant demeanor and slightly dumpy clothes you could go chop wood in.

Detective Rob is just walking while sullen, constantly. What an angry bore! And, I'll never understand a painted-on looking comic book/cartoon-cutout hairline. He gets targeted at times in S03 and S04, but maybe it's all those waist-belted leisure jackets he wears that get people prejudiced against him?

I know nothing about the average fitness level of a detective in London, but these people largely cannot chase down suspects effectively. When they run, they seem... heavy, like they're slogging through thick treacle.

Sometimes they figuratively pat each other on the back for piecing together practically nothing, playing like they're making sly, intuitive moves instead of putting together basic facts.

Their boss is often ignorable, although frequently petulant and rude, and he gets to dress with a modicum of wrinkly flash. He plays fast and loose with power and rules, Mr. Edgy does, and with touches of privilege, alcoholism, and sexism laced in.

I didn't mind the double-decker bus shots so much in watching S03, it was the dozens of times the metal box exterior of their office building appearing, and too much footage of them getting in and out of cars, and seeing the exact same 'uniformed officer footage' walking the hallways that did get annoying over the last two seasons.

The first couple of episodes aren't so great, but if you stick with it, the story will pull you in. I liked the diverse cast and the unexpected twists. Yes, some parts of the plot were pretty unbelievable and the budget must have been low because you really only see the four police officers in what's supposed to be a police station, but for all that, I enjoyed the series. Season 2 was much better than Season 1, so stick with it. If you like taught, fast moving police procedurals, you'll like London Kills.

What is the fixation with London Transport buses? EVERY street scene used to connect plot changes has several buses passing through. We get that this is London. Not necessary to have buses passing by time and time and time again. Also, how about a different view of the police building and the CCTV sign? The technique of having actors exchange knowing glances is tedious as is the out of focus shots inside the police station. Why does Vivienne always show up after the two constables at each opening murder scene. Not much imagination. It could be better. Aside than all those negative comments we watched and enjoyed the series.

London Kills struggled to get into its stride during season one, despite a solid underlying premise. The main characters on the team are introduced as is the story arc regarding the disappearance of DI Bradford's wife, Sarah. The problem lies in the weakness of the episodic cases, mostly riddled with holes and magic leaps, whilst the missing wife story plays second fiddle.

Season two is a complete turnaround rising from mediocre to quite good. The stories are generally coherent and a much greater emphasis is placed on the Sarah plotline making each individual episode and the season as a whole feel more consistent and engaging.

A decent cast performed well, despite poorly written dialogue in season one. Season two made the relationships more believable with both Sharon Small and Hugo Speer benefitting from their characters' being more relatable with less random caricature disagreements.

The improvement in season two bodes well for three which I am gleefully anticipating.