September 22, 2020
I decided to watch this series without knowing what it was about. I thought it was going to be another typical crime drama series that we are familiar with. However, from the very first episode it was clearly apparent that this was far from being typical. We never see the crime being committed. We never see policemen at the scene of the crime. We do not see scenes with the forensic pathologist with a dead body in the morgue.
The whole series was just set in one place, practically all in one room -- the room where investigative detectives interview suspects to a crime and determine their guilt or innocence. This interview room used as their main set was very spacious with stylishly paneled walls and ceiling. There a central table with seats for the detectives on one side and the suspect with their solicitor on the other.
On the inner wall, there is a mirror which was actually a glass through which other detectives can view the interview in an adjoining observation room. In that second room, this one-way mirror was bordered by a frame of red light that looked very dramatic on screen. There is also intense discussions going on in this room which also had a big impact for the interview going on in the main room.
Aside from these two rooms, we only see the corridor outside and the stairwell, as far as the elevator. There was a vending machine in that small lobby. In the short introductions and epilogues before and after the interviews, it was only then do we get some insights into the personal lives of these investigators, which is not really much. This was not the point of the show, but they serve as a connection of sorts between episodes.
The cast members who were both in Seasons 1 and 2 are as follows: Katherine Kelly (as Detective Chief Inspector Natalie Hobbs), Lee Ingleby (as Detective Inspector Tony Myerscough), Rochenda Sandall (as Detective Constable Vanessa Warren), and Shubham Saraf (as Detective Constable Kyle Petit). Mark Stanley played a prominent role in Season 1 as Detective Constable Hugo Duffy, but would only reappear in Episode 4 of Season 2. Nicholas Pinnock was a strong presence as Detective Inspector Paul Ottager in Season 1, but was just mentioned by name in Season 2.
However, it is the big name guest actors playing the accused, usually against the character type we know them for. Season 1 had David Tennant (The Doctor on "Doctor Who") playing a doctor accused of murdering his step-daughter; and Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter of "Captain America") as a woman who was accused for poisoning her brother-in-law. Season 2 had Sophie Okenedo as a housewife whose husband had been accused of killing young men; Kit Harrison (Jon Snow of "Game of Thrones") as a conceited boss accused on rape; and Kunal Nayyar (Raj on "Big Bang Theory") a convicted killer accused of a second murder.
It is fascinating how the truth is arrived at after 40 minutes or so of pure talk. Aside from acting, this was as much an achievement in how the director Jim Field Smith was able to intsruct his film editor and musical scorer to create an atmosphere of nail-biting suspense that led to unpredictable endings. Some times the jumps in luck and logic in George Kay's scripts may be too uncanny to be realistic, but the execution was just so classy and smart, so we stay riveted to the very end. 8/10.
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