Line of Duty

[antongould]

Wonderful .... breathtaking .... IMVVHO (obviously) ...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Wonderful .... breathtaking .... IMVVHO (obviously) ...

For most of it, I agree. No spoilers, but for me the very last ten minutes didn't quite succeed in resolving the superb tension built up in the preceding eighty. (And it was "breathtaking" - probably didn't do my hypertension any favours!

Definitely the best crime series on telly so far this year, though.

[Richard Tarleton]

POSSIBLE SPOILER

Yes to all of the above - those interview scenes.....Brilliant stuff.

Just a question - I wasn't clear why those firearms officers were present at that second interview, at whose behest they would have been there....

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

POSSIBLE SPOILER
Yes to all of the above - those interview scenes.....Brilliant stuff.

SPOILER

Just a question - I wasn't clear why those firearms officers were present at that second interview, at whose behest they would have been there....

They were in the script? This was part of my slight disappointment with the very end - the "chase" bit didn't seem "likely" to me: everything else had a totally convincing credibility until that point. I think that "people" would have been found having committed suicide than such a dangerous "conspiracy" to "rescue" the Caddy.

[Nick Armstrong]

Definitely the best crime series on telly so far this year, though.

I tried the first ep (having been recommended to, and not having really been aware of the series before) and it didn't grab me. Seemed to be all about rather miserable, backbiting cops all with stuff to hide... And the characters / actors didn't appeal.

But...

Wonderful .... breathtaking .... IMVVHO (obviously) ...

I clearly missed the point completely...

I see I've got 1 day left to catch Ep.2 on iPlayer, and then the rest...

[Richard Tarleton]

I tried the first ep (having been recommended to, and not having really been aware of the series before) and it didn't grab me.

There was an awful lot carried over from series 1 and 2 - I can well imagine starting with 3 would not make a great deal of sense. A police procedural crossed with "Tinker Tailor..." - a corrupt deep penetration agent at the heart of the police's anti-corruption force, pulling it inside out....

[DracoM]

What I admired was the creative and televisual nerve to centre the long epi around that interrogation glass cabinet. Must have made the actors feel as if they really were on stage, but very claustrophobically. Brilliant in terms of acting, editing, theatrical tension, and, of course, hugely important in terms of preparation for the rabbit out of hat denouement. Yet looking back, and seeing Dot's many phone calls to a puppet master who, in fact, we STILL do not know. I hope part of the next series deals with the Fairbank hearing on child sex abuse, because there are so many threads and suggestions in THIS last series that link forward. Means that the production team have a lot of screen material they can use again if they choose - keeps costs down a bit! All in all, a very gripping series.

Still regret the passing of the Keeley Hawes character. Boy, did SHE have a story to tell.

[Richard Tarleton]

Yet looking back, and seeing Dot's many phone calls to a puppet master who, in fact, we STILL do not know.

Indeed - as Andrew Billen says in today's Times, we still don't really understand Dot's motivation - "what were the rewards for a career of corruption?". Presumably there was a villa waiting for him on the Costa del Crime, paid for by the invisible paymasters.

[DracoM]

Who, as DC Mitchell coyly hinted, will for ever know where he lives'?
That awful PR woman........well, 'awful' until she became normal when I read more about the Hillsborough outcomes and now realise that Jed Mercurio is uncannily au courant with what goes on behind closed doors.

So many threads of contemporary political / media / police activity /inactivity were trailed in that final epi.

Hmm.

[eighthobstruction]

What I admired was the creative and televisual nerve to centre the long epi around that interrogation glass cabinet. Must have made the actors feel as if they really were on stage, but very claustrophobically. Brilliant in terms of acting, editing, theatrical tension, and, of course, hugely important in terms of preparation for the rabbit out of hat denouement. Yet looking back, and seeing Dot's many phone calls to a puppet master who, in fact, we STILL do not know. I hope part of the next series deals with the Fairbank hearing on child sex abuse, because there are so many threads and suggestions in THIS last series that link forward. Means that the production team have a lot of screen material they can use again if they choose - keeps costs down a bit! All in all, a very gripping series.

Still regret the passing of the Keeley Hawes character. Boy, did SHE have a story to tell.

Spoiler Alert: Yes, clever small directions maketh the difference. Like when the final nail in Fairbank's defence was delivered - the reaction was shown brillantly on the solicitor's face.

If only a Hastings type could be found in every police authority - tremendous acting by A Dunbar....

[johncorrigan]

If only a Hastings type could be found in every police authority - tremendous acting by A Dunbar....

Dunbar has been totally marvellous. There was a great wee bit where he's waiting for the arrival of Dot and he's standing at the top of the stairs having a shave with a battery razor...so old school, I thought, like Hastings. These little attentions to detail helped make LoD special.
I thought they were trying to do a bit recreating of 'French Connection' with the end, but the acting has been so classy throughout. Craig Parkinson as Cottan got better and better as the series progressed, and the interrogation scenes were special, especially, I thought, the use of his glass of water which really helped to ratchet the tension up brilliantly.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Totally agree, johnc.

[Stunsworth]

The best 45 minutes of PowerPoint presentations I've ever sat through.

Gripping series, I haven't seen the earlier ones, but they're on Netflix.

[DracoM]

Well, I've just finished watching the latest 'Suspects' series on Ch 5 - gripping. Much is improvised, lot of hand-held camera, fast cuts etc, and the central idea and the ACTING are superb IMO.

[french frank]

Well, who cares about having no (legal) access to the iPlayer now, when the best of British television is here?!