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Seasons(4) / Episodes(18)
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The streets of London’s East End are awash with blood. A murderer stalks the night, picking off vulnerable women and leaving them brutally butchered. But this is not the 19th Century; this is not Jack the Ripper – this is a copycat killer and once again the police remain clueless… For fast-tracked, media savvy DI Chandler it’s his first big murder case; for front-line, hard-bitten DS Miles, he’s now saddled with a boss who would rather talk about Emotional Intelligence than gut feeling. Neither of them have a clue, until renowned ‘Ripperologist’ Edward Buchan draws their attention to the similarities between the Jack the Ripper killings in 1888 and the modern-day murder. The race is on to succeed where police officers failed over 100 years before – to catch the copycat killer before he strikes again. (official distributor synopsis)
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I was looking forward to the standard finely crafted British crime series and got something I didn't expect at all, a finely crafted British mystery crime series with an awesome atmosphere. The perfect theme was supported by a great script and brilliant performances. The only unfortunate misstep was Season 2. Its plot didn't feel very convincing, but seasons 3 and 4 got things back on track. The series itself has only one flaw, it has ended. I was looking forward to seeing at least one more season, but the creators decided to quit while they were ahead, so I had to say goodbye to a police department that never burdened the British judicial system. It was intriguing to watch the police solve mysterious cases, while struggling with their own lives. DI Chandler was definitely a Pandora’s box.
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1st season – 55% – that measured quality of the British, excellent ratings, and above all thematic similarity and even sisterhood with my beloved Ripper Street brought back memories of sad anniversaries. But that transition to the present failed because for me it lacks that English dryness and elegance. It was an average-looking case study in television that couldn't be saved either by the main heroes (who are truly unlikeable for most of the time) or the plot twists, which any nerve-racking case should have demanded. The tension only builds at the last moment and in the end leaves nothing but the bitter taste of wasted potential. 2nd season – 60% – I understand the creative effort to repeat the formula that worked on their audience, but this is too much of the same. Shadows of the past again, conveniently knowledgeable sidekick again, and an ordinary story that could have worked so well. The series quickly gets old in the current era of overwhelming numbers of Nordic and other detective stories, because either way it wasn't possible to take such a collection of clichés seriously (OCD and alcoholism at once?). The tipping point, which paradoxically moves it ahead of the first case, is the portrayal of Ray by the always unpleasant and crumpled Phil Davis. His storyline of the greatest adversary, who has the most to lose, is at least a glimpse of what I expect from a mystery series from Her Majesty's kingdom. 3rd season – The Murder in Darkness – 40% – On the downhill slope. A routine case, an unbelievable amount of digging into the past, unnecessary epileptic flashbacks to create a sense of fear, and on the contrary, the absence of tension. If it weren't for the pleasant moments when the two main heroes open up and showcase their decent chemistry, this case would already be lost in the void. The Hunger for Mercy – 40% – The increasingly ridiculous attempts to humanize the main characters result in entrances and melodramatic exits of seemingly important characters in a matter of seconds. It's a shame that the series undermines itself and with the already worn-out pattern of comparing history to the present just leaves me rolling my eyes.
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