Prime Suspect 1 | Helen Mirren, John Benfield | DCI Jane is my kind of dame . . .

Prime Suspect 1 | Helen Mirren, John Benfield | Best Way to Get the Man is Put a Woman on the Case

DVDs:

Prime Suspect 1

	Prime Suspect 1 Helen Mirren, John Benfield Hbo Home Video, 2003 average customer review:based on 42 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

DCI Jane is my kind of dame . . .

DCI Jane Tennison, superbly played by Helen Mirren, is not to be trifled with. Her charging, take-no-prisoners attitude is great fun to watch. She suffers fools poorly . . . or rather they suffer from her. Why do these chauvinists love to pick fights with her? Personally, I'd give her wide berth! Prime Suspect begins the six-part series.

Full disclosure . . . I'm a flag waving, red state kind of guy. My gastritis flairs when I confess the Brits blow us out of the pond in dramatic construction. These dramas are not just good. They're awesome. Each is exquisitely plotted with three dimensional characters(maybe Jane has five dimensions). The action in the squad room has a documentary feel to it.

It is a joy to watch DCI Jane in action; a role made for Helen Mirren. She flirts with you, insults you, kicks you, and always fights for justice. Usually in a multi-part series such as Prime Suspect, I will have a favorite . . .but this is not true here: each is a gem.

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Best Way to Get the Man is Put a Woman on the Case

Prime Suspect started what has become the best series of detective specials ever.

Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) is a Deputy Chief Inspector (DCI) with the Metropolitan Police in London. But the Met is an all boys club. Jane is also starting a new relationship with a divorcee, Peter (Tom Wilkinson).

Episode 1 -
A woman was found brutally murdered in the bed sit (business apartment) of prostitute Della Mornay. DCI Shefford has been assigned the case. They find a rare blood type in the bed sit and are able to trace it to a convicted rapist George Marlow. They arrest and question Marlow and he admits to frequenting Della. But the quick end of the investigation changes when DCI Shefford has a heart attack and dies.

There is no available DCI's for the case, well no male DCI's. Jane makes a pitch to her boss and with some trepidation, he gives her the case. This makes her the first female DCI to handle a murder investigation. The old boys network circles the wagons to sabotage Jane, lead by Shefford's second Detective Sergeant Bill Otley.

The first thing that Jane does is confirm the victim's identity. But the victim's finger prints do not match Della's, they must now find out the victim's identity. They slim down the missing persons to two and Jane visits the family and discovers the girl's identity, Karen Howard. Now they have to connect Marlow with Karen Howard.

Episode 2 -
The 72 hours is up and Jane must make a decision, charge or release Marlow. Since she has no compelling evidence, Marlow is released. This displeases everyone and Otley uses this to his advantage.

Jane realizes something is wrong and looks through a desk and finds the missing Della Mornay file and diary. The following day Otley has convinced the Superintendent to remove Jane from the case but now Jane has all the cards. It comes out that not only Shefford but Otley knew Della Mornay. She was their confidential informant. Further, there are pages missing from her diary. It turns out that Shefford also visited Della "professionally".

Jane goes on Crime Watch to see if this will yield any clues and it does. A witness is found and might tie Marlow to Karen Howard.
(Look for Ralph Fiennes at the beginning of the episode as Karen's boyfriend.)

Episode 3 -
When the witness chooses the wrong person from the line up, the investigation is stepped up. Jane goes to Marlow's employer and finds out that he started with the firm in Manchester and that his common law wife, Moira (Zoe Wannamaker), accompanied him on his sales trips. Jane gets Marlow's trip records and has the crew match similar murders. They locate three more homicides. Also, Jane interviews Marlow's cell mate and finds out that Marlow had a lock-up (rental garage).

In investigating the first suspected linked murder it is found out that Shefford was on the case. Jane needs to find out if he was involved in the other investigations. This is the last straw with her boss and is being taken off the case.

Episode 4 -
The crew has determined that enough similarities exist to consider these murders connected. Now Jane has to figure out what tie Marlow to the victims. It takes her assistant, a woman, to come up with Moira. She is a free lance beautician. Jane brings her in and starts to rattle her.

When her boss "The Gov" catches up with her, she is told that all of her crew have refused to allow her removal from the case. But the good news is interrupted by the news that George and Moira are on the move.

At Euston underground, they split up. The crew split up to follow them. While Moira is off shopping, George leads them to the lock-up. Both are arrested and after she is confronted again, Moira recants her testimony. Then George confesses of the six cases.

Lynda LaPlante has created one of the great police movies and the greatest female police character. Helen Mirren gives a magnificent performance as the under appreciated DCI Jane Tennison. She takes LaPlante's script and hits every nuance to perfection.

This miniseries also featured early performances by future stars including a cameo by Ralph Fiennes, future Oscar nominee Tom Wilkenson as Jane's current boyfriend and a stunning performance by Zoe Wannamaker as Moira, the prime suspect's girlfriend.

This series has spawned five additional miniseries, none of which was a good as the original but better than anything else on television. (The first three won Emmy Awards for Best Mini-Series).

Buy this and the other and have a great time.

DVD EXTRA: Helen Mirren biography

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Gripping, psychologically intense and gratifying!

This is the first in the series of one of the best police detective stories ever. Helen Mirren is masterful in her performance as Jane Tennyson the brilliant female detective creating who handles sexism and interrogating criminals with ease. She is an intuitive who is adept at psychological warfare as well as handling her team. In addition it is fascinating to see the British system of justice which in turn creates a window to view British culture.

Prime Suspect 1 and 2

This is the very best series I've ever seen. It is addictive in the best possible way.

British crime series at its best

Prime suspect is everything you want from old school BBC crime series: dark plots and a difficult, chain smoking, cynical - yet likeable - leading lady struggling to get accepted by her male colleages. An absolute must-have, as are the other 6 episodes, for those who British detective series and for fans of Helen Mirren! (BTW. you can get all 7 episodes in one box through amazon.co.uk)

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