At last, as though the drama phoenix has risen from the mediocre flames, a much better episode for our crime fighting chicks. Still though, Suranne Jones' DC Bailey fails to warm the cockles of this viewer's heart. I should, in essence feel sorry for her terrible miscarriage, her bleeding nose and dented pride following a head butt from a troubled yet unsavoury girl. I should feel sympathy for her downgrade into the box room of her partner/best friend/Samaritan/all round Swiss army knife personality Janet Scott, following Bailey's bastard of a married man masquerading as proper boyfriend changing the locks on the flat (which of course, morally speaking, she blackmailed him for), pause for breath, yet somehow I don't feel much empathy for her. The character seems like her own worst enemy, trying too hard, breaking the rules, being consistently unprofessional, and having default expressions of a teenage girl’s scowl and furrowed brow. She seems to be positioned in stark contrast to the level headed monotone ("You've been had") DC Janet Scott, with their relationship coming across in these early episodes like siblings playing cops and robbers. On more than one occasion Scott (played by Lesley Sharp, who seems to do British drama so well) has given Bailey a lecturing dressing down, so much so that you often forget they have the same rank on their warrant cards.
The series so far has skated precariously between formulaic ITV1 drama and kitchen sink comedy (though the latter unintentionally no doubt). Sunday's episode had all the ingredients to make for a perfect hour’s entertainment, but fell quickly into silliness. During the silly scene, Bailey was trying to keep a suicidal murderer on the phone, while she (said newly labelled murderer) was perched dangerously on the ledge of a multi-story car park threatening to end it all. Bailey, ever the professional and deserving of her DC status, uttered the helpful line "You seen any good films lately?" It was meant to be funny, but it was more cringe worthy, and I couldn't help thinking what script editor let that line, (or any of the other words which then followed out of her mouth into this scene come to think of it). Samaritans everywhere would shudder to think what would have happened if the woman on the edge of the ledge had had the lasting misfortune to have just seen Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes or The Da Vinci Code. The Bailey default expressions (scowling with that furrowed brow) were switched on throughout this scene of course.
Turning to another major character, DCI Gill Murray, where do I start? She's the boss lady of our two female dicks. Smart, middle class, middle aged and unfortunately a total cop show cliché. Interestingly enough, you may recognise this actress currently grazing our screens in those stupid Direct Line insurance adverts, where she plays a neurotic, toffee nosed RADA reject. She was also rather good in the first series of Ashes to Ashes, where she played Alex Drake's mother in the 1980s. Anyway, enough of Ameilia Bullmore's CV. Gill is friendly but fierce, likes a drink (something from Waitrose on special offer no doubt), but worships the rule book, loves Scott, hates Bailey. I find the character as believable as the mock Yorkshire/Lancastrian-mother accent she accentuates every time something is going wrong on one of the cases, or when Bailey pisses her off. I’d much prefer her to utilise that lovely RP accent she has, as I think it would work so well, with her as the haughty and untouchable posh Southerner, undoubtedly getting on the wicks of those Yorkies and creating a North/South divide. The male officers would undoubtedly mutter (in between drags on their fags) 'mad Southern bitch'.
The series so far has skated precariously between formulaic ITV1 drama and kitchen sink comedy (though the latter unintentionally no doubt). Sunday's episode had all the ingredients to make for a perfect hour’s entertainment, but fell quickly into silliness. During the silly scene, Bailey was trying to keep a suicidal murderer on the phone, while she (said newly labelled murderer) was perched dangerously on the ledge of a multi-story car park threatening to end it all. Bailey, ever the professional and deserving of her DC status, uttered the helpful line "You seen any good films lately?" It was meant to be funny, but it was more cringe worthy, and I couldn't help thinking what script editor let that line, (or any of the other words which then followed out of her mouth into this scene come to think of it). Samaritans everywhere would shudder to think what would have happened if the woman on the edge of the ledge had had the lasting misfortune to have just seen Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes or The Da Vinci Code. The Bailey default expressions (scowling with that furrowed brow) were switched on throughout this scene of course.
Turning to another major character, DCI Gill Murray, where do I start? She's the boss lady of our two female dicks. Smart, middle class, middle aged and unfortunately a total cop show cliché. Interestingly enough, you may recognise this actress currently grazing our screens in those stupid Direct Line insurance adverts, where she plays a neurotic, toffee nosed RADA reject. She was also rather good in the first series of Ashes to Ashes, where she played Alex Drake's mother in the 1980s. Anyway, enough of Ameilia Bullmore's CV. Gill is friendly but fierce, likes a drink (something from Waitrose on special offer no doubt), but worships the rule book, loves Scott, hates Bailey. I find the character as believable as the mock Yorkshire/Lancastrian-mother accent she accentuates every time something is going wrong on one of the cases, or when Bailey pisses her off. I’d much prefer her to utilise that lovely RP accent she has, as I think it would work so well, with her as the haughty and untouchable posh Southerner, undoubtedly getting on the wicks of those Yorkies and creating a North/South divide. The male officers would undoubtedly mutter (in between drags on their fags) 'mad Southern bitch'.
My favourite 'Gill scene' (a now patented term when reviewing this show) from Sunday night, occurred on her discovering the victim (who we weren't meant to sympathise with anyway following some silly jurors finding him not guilty when he was (quote) 'A murdering bastard') who lay all mashed up and covered in blood underneath a typically dank Mancunian railway bridge. She stood in the middle of the crime scene and chortled under boozy hungover breath (TV police always drink when they lose a case in court) the immortal line 'I've seen one eye pop out before, but never both and at once'. Thus the drama got into bed with the comedy and brought the episode to a close.
Meanwhile, lurking in the background we have this sub story with Janet investigating the cold case of a 6 year old girl murdered years before. There is more to this than meets the eye, and it's a welcome distraction from some of the other plot lines (just how coincidental is it that in the whole of Manchester you are going to come up against your ex-boyfriend barrister in a court of law?!??). I'm looking forward to how this pans out, and if we get Janet donning her triple oversized glasses while she is unearthing the mystery, then all the better.
Scott and Bailey isn't bad by any means (I've seen much worse - cough - Identity) and neither should it be a BAFTA winner, but it is watchable with moments of good traditional drama that ITV1 is so good at. I keep watching because I want Sally Wainwright’s script to get a grip and go for it, I know she can do it, maybe she just had a few bad days at the office for this early part of the series.
Meanwhile, lurking in the background we have this sub story with Janet investigating the cold case of a 6 year old girl murdered years before. There is more to this than meets the eye, and it's a welcome distraction from some of the other plot lines (just how coincidental is it that in the whole of Manchester you are going to come up against your ex-boyfriend barrister in a court of law?!??). I'm looking forward to how this pans out, and if we get Janet donning her triple oversized glasses while she is unearthing the mystery, then all the better.
Scott and Bailey isn't bad by any means (I've seen much worse - cough - Identity) and neither should it be a BAFTA winner, but it is watchable with moments of good traditional drama that ITV1 is so good at. I keep watching because I want Sally Wainwright’s script to get a grip and go for it, I know she can do it, maybe she just had a few bad days at the office for this early part of the series.
I have been a bit bored by all the press' comparisons to Cagney and Lacey, but then again how often do we have a series which concentrates sorely on two female detectives? Ok, there was Rosemary and Thyme (might go in the crap pot with Identity), but they were always more Tena lady than kick ass girl detectives who drink out of a bottle and swear and call men bastards (gasp!). And anyway, Scott and Bailey have far nicer hair than Cagney and Lacey ever did (sorry ladies, I know it was the 80s.)
I'll give it a few more episodes, if only for the wall to wall Yorkshire stereotypes, Janet's massive glasses and Bailey's spoilt child act.
I'll give it a few more episodes, if only for the wall to wall Yorkshire stereotypes, Janet's massive glasses and Bailey's spoilt child act.
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