Plan B Forum

I'm currently watching Hinterland, recommended by Meade on another thread. Just finished Shetland, which was very nicely written and acted, and the cinematography and setting so breathtaking that I'll definitely watch it again.

My all-time favorite and one of the best ever, Prime Suspect.

What are some of your favorites? I'm sure I've seen many of them, but always looking for ones I might have missed.

Let's celebrate the fictional police!

Broadchurch has to be the best I've seen in years.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2249364/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadchurch

They did an American version too, but it flopped.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracepoint

Oops, miscommunication - I loved Broadchurch.

Just bumping to see if there are other contributions . . .

Shetland is on Netflix now. Pretty good.

I'm on season one, episode six of Murdoch. Wondering how I've missed this for 10 years?

We've watched a lot of UK (and Scottish and Welsh and Aussie) police shows over the past year, and I have a few to recommend:

Scott and Bailey:

Two female detectives, one motherly, the other emotionally immature, have varying levels of success applying their eccentric outlooks on life to their police cases and private lives.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843678/

We just finished up this one...

It's a little on the soap operaish side for me, but it's not as wet as that description would suggest...

Good, taut, well written mysteries and suspense with great acting to go along with the "relationship" stuff...(especially after the first few episodes)

(BSG, I think this is one you really might like...it's available on Hulu..)

Whitechapel

A fast-tracked inspector, a hardened detective sergeant, and an expert in historical homicides investigate modern crimes with connections to the past in the Whitechapel district of London.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1186356/

Really good stuff... it ran from 2009-2013...(Also available on Hulu)



I mentioned this one before, but if you haven't seen it, definitely check it out:

Happy Valley

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3428912/

An 8.5 IMDB rating, and it definitely earns it...

(the only caveat to this one is that the actors speak with such thick North England accents that you may want to turn on the closed captions... )

I didn't rate "Happy Valley" that high Jim, though I do like Sara Lancaster as an actress.

I found it all a bit "PC" for my tastes, (police procedural too PC, geddit?)

Whitechapel was fab, I loved that.

I've watched so many of these Brit cop shows that I've got all the ranks down:

PC- Police Constable
DC-Detective Constable
DS- Detective Sergeant
DI- Detective Inspector
DCI- Detective Chief Inspector
Superintendent
Chief Superintendent
Assistant Commissioner
Commissioner
Poobah
Grand Poobah

(Okay, I made those last two up...)

I've also heard it so often from watching these shows, that I've memorized the British version of the Miranda Warning:

"You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

Ja, nie. It's just

Police Constable
Sergeant
Inspector
Chief Inspector
Superintendent
Chief Superintendent

"Detective" is not a rank but a branch of the service. A detective Inspector is not of higher rank than a uniformed Inspector

After Chief Superintendent:
In the Met, the next ranks are: Commander, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner
In the City, the next ranks are: Commander, Assistant Commissioner and Commissioner

In the entire rest of the UK (where almost all your TV programs are set): Assistant Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Chief Constable

Lord Jim wrote:I've watched so many of these Brit cop shows that I've got all the ranks down:

PC- Police Constable
DC-Detective Constable
DS- Detective Sergeant
DI- Detective Inspector
DCI- Detective Chief Inspector
Superintendent
Chief Superintendent
Assistant Commissioner
Commissioner

All you Brit PC fans go read the Tana French novels, set in Dublin (the "Murder Squad"). They are some of the most engrossing, best written books I've read in ages.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.newyorke ... iction/amp

Excerpt:

Yet, however convincing and well observed French’s Ireland feels, it isn’t the kernel of her work’s appeal, the thing that makes the Dublin Murder Squad series the object of an intense, even cultic fascination. French’s readers like to go online and rank the books (six so far, counting “The Trespasser”) in order of preference, and while there’s no consensus, it’s taken for granted that anybody who’s read one will very shortly have read them all. The early copy of “The Trespasser” that I presented as a hostess gift this summer was greeted with ecstasy. The recipient spent much of the weekend shuffling around in a robe with the book clutched to her chest and a distracted expression on her face. Most crime fiction is diverting; French’s is consuming. A bit of the spell it casts can be attributed to the genre’s usual devices—the tempting conundrum, the red herrings, the slices of low and high life—but French is also hunting bigger game. In her books, the search for the killer becomes entangled with a search for self. In most crime fiction, the central mystery is: Who is the murderer? In French’s novels, it’s: Who is the detective?

I've read them all, you don't need to start in order, but how they relate to each other is fascinating and so well done. And I do have a favorite. Or two....

BSG, (or anyone else who likes well made British crime shows) we just finished watching season 4 of one I highly recommend; Line of Duty...it has an 8.5 IMDB rating:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2303687/

The stories center on the work of a police anti-corruption unit. It's very well cast and superbly written and directed with taut pacing and interesting plot twists. (My personal favorite is Adrian Dunbar as the leader of the squad, Superintendent Ted Hastings)


Each season, (and being a British series the "seasons" are of course somewhat episode-challenged; only six episodes each) focuses on a primary story arc, and the series does an excellent job of building the suspense throughout the episodes to the finale...

All four seasons are available on HULU, and I highly recommend starting with season one and going from there...(It will give you a much better understanding of the main characters and the dynamics of their relationships then starting with the latest season.)

ETA:

BTW, for anyone who wants an efficient way to find out what shows are available on different streaming services, here's a great link:

https://www.justwatch.com/us

You can search multiple services at the same time, (Amazon, Hulu and Netflix, for example) by individual genres. You can also search by title and find out where a specific show is available.

That's another one I think we'll do "marathons" on Jim.

There are two good seasons of Thorne, which are on Amazon:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1659253/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1610518/

Long Run, I had checked out Thorne earlier on IMDB, but since it didn't have a really great rating (6.8) and also some pretty bad written reviews, I had skipped past it...

But since you're recommending it, I'll definitely give it a watch...(I remember you had recommended both The Shield and Ray Donovan, and we really enjoyed binge watching those last fall. The final season of Ray Donovan is due out in August.)

We just watched the last episode of the most recent season of Shetland last night; great season finale.

I think this season was far and away the best the show has had. Previously the story lines only ran two episodes, but this season's story arc was run over all six episodes, with a lot more character development and unexpected plot twists. I hope they keep that format for season four. (It's due to air in the US later this year.)

I just binged this series - it's Canadian so only 6 episodes - and it was VERY good! It's a Hulu exclusive; Hulu is about $7.99/mo. and this series would be worth subscribing for one month if you don't have the service already.


Cardinal:

Just getting into Season 2 - excellent already!

I somehow missed your original post about this series BSG, but I caught the first installment last fall after watching the lead actor (Billy Campbell) in a very different type of show. (The 4400- a Sci-fi series about 4400 people who disappeared over a 60 year period suddenly returning en masse, without having aged...if you like Sci-fi with time travel and/or humans with enhanced abilities themes, I highly recommend it.)

I agree that Cardinal is an excellent series; very well written and tautly crafted suspense without a lot of filler. We binge watched the second installment over the long weekend. (If anything, I think it's even stronger than the first season.)

My only complaint is that they only create six episodes per year. The good news is that season three is already in the can. (It was shot last fall) After the first series it was renewed for two more installments. Here's an article about season 3:

Bridget Liszewski | October 10, 2017 |

Production is now underway on the third cycle of the original drama Cardinal, CTV and Super Écran announced Tuesday. Starring Billy Campbell (The Killing) [Another excellent police suspense/mystery show] and Karine Vanasse (Revenge), this installment of Cardinal will be inspired by By the Time You Read This and Crime Machine, the fourth and fifth novels in the John Cardinal Mysteries series written by Ontario native Giles Blunt. Cycle three will once again consist of six, hour-long episodes and is being shot in North Bay, Ontario and Toronto.

More:

http://www.thetvjunkies.com/cardinal-pr ... ctv-drama/

They've even got a short preview of season 3 (It's not real informative)

Very much enjoying the "Morse" prequel "Endeavour" at present, lovely 60's nostalgia fest.