Meet Jane Tennison, a woman detective not afraid to step on toes, take names, and rise to the top despite blatant sexism she faces everyday.Mystery one: Upon learning another DCI has died of a heart attack, Jane steps in and requests his case, that of a dead "prostitute", two actually. She's spent years on the back-burner because the district prefers a man in charge. In this episode we see the kind of men she has to work with...and they're awful. They even try to hinder her investigation by withholding evidence and files. They call her awful names, criticize everything she does. As her career takes off finally, though, it becomes apparent Jane must learn to juggle this time-demanding career with her personal life and we see some strife between her beau and her. Phone calls at all hours. Rescheduling appointments. He feels ignored and that nothing is more important than her and her career...what about his??
I found some of the police procedure a bit confusing, but it's a different country, different rules, and it's the nineties. I also would have preferred that they have more than one suspect. For me, when watching a crime show, part of the fun is figuring out wohdunit, so it disappointed me in this aspect.
I honestly didn't think they were going to get the guy...this one surprised me. And I appreciate how this woman came to earn the others' respect and even better, that another woman helped solve the case!
I also appreciate how not everyone is...well, perfect looking. Matter of fact, nobody is. It's obvious British television is not as shallow as American. Men had hairy backs, funny noses, women were average-sized. It makes it more real.
Mystery two: Probably my favorite. A body is uncovered under some slabs in a garden. The case takes place in the middle of a race riot of sorts. The Afro-Caribbean community feels they are getting the short end of the stick and racism is truly rampant in Jane's precinct. There's also a brief work-romance that may not end well. Police procedure is questioned and some people get in trouble. The bad thing about being in charge is you're the one to blame when those beneath you do something stupid. This was intense and emotional and I appreciated the racism theme. Sadly, it exists and sweeping it under the rug doesn't mean it's not there. Great lessons.
Mystery three, I did not like. It was rather vulgar. I image that when it first aired in the nineties, it was considered scandalous. I wondered at times if they bent over backwards whilst filming this one, trying to come up with ways to shock us. It has a lot of child prostitution, men in drag, corrupt police force members, and involved a burned body. What I didn't like most of all though was how incompetent Helen came across in the beginning. I figure she was trying to get her bearings in a new place but she also tried to hard to put the men in their place and sorta embarrassed herself.
Mystery four is just really intense. I actually cried during one part. This is a favorite too. It involves...gosh, a crying baby who then goes missing, a pedophile who swears he's fixed, a man struggling with having been abused in his own past, and how...well, sometimes detectives can ruin lives. Just so intense in so many spots. They really outdid themselves with this episode. Mystery five while not a favorite was good as well. Some people should not be mothers...that's all I'm going to say about the case. But I liked that this featured another woman detective. The two got off to a rough start but it worked out in the end. Mystery six brings back Marlow. Did he do it? Was she wrong? Is there a copycat? And once again, we see Jane struggling to have a personal relationship... There is even talk of resigning.
Obviously, she doesn't, because I still have 3 more mysteries watch. Stay tuned for my thoughts on those in November. I can only watch so much TV at a time. ;) Perhaps by then, you will have watched these as well and we can chat. So, quickly now, catch up!
At this time, I'm giving this
I received this from Acorn in exchange for an honest review.
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