Harold Shipman: Doctor Death

Dr Harold Shipman caused a massive stir when he was convicted and jailed for murdering 15 of his patients . " How could this have happened ? " was the public outcry , but after watching this docudrama I doubt if anyone will be any the wiser . There`s nothing fundamentally wrong about SHIPMAN except for the fact that it portrays Dr Harold Shipman as being extremely arrogant and conceited . Fine you may say , he was a mass murderer and he was , but what SHIPMAN doesn`t show is the way the general public and people in authority view doctors . Having read interviews with patients of Shipman many of them spoke about what a wonderful doctor he was and a really nice human being , many people refused to believe that a doctor in general and Shipman in particular would harm one never mind over a dozen sick patients but none of this is shown , only people who are suspicious about him at the outset and watching James Bolam`s performance you`d be hard pressed to believe anyone could be taken in by him . SHIPMAN was made with hindsight and I`ve got a really uneasy feeling it was made solely to cash in on the inquiry that concluded Friday 19th July 2002

At the inquiry it was revealed Shipman had murdered for certain 215 ( Two hundred and fifteen ) patients between May 1975 and June 1998 with another possible 45( Forty five ) murdered making him by far Britain`s most prolific serial killer. Shipman has never revealed why he did it and probably never will making any future film article or book deals pointless . Who cares why. He murdered scores of people and that`s the only fact that matters

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

This interesting and welcome TV drama/thriller charts the rise-and-fall of the titular Tameside GP,who is now regarded as quite possibly Britain's most excessive (and certainly most infamous) serial killer.Though only convicted of in-total murdering 15 (as if that weren't enough) of his elderly/middle-aged women patients,he is now suspected of murdering a great,great deal more,but due to the extreme amount of publicity the case has received,it is thought impossible to give him a fair trial.

The initial,most searing shock seems to come from those who knew and were patients of the 'good doctor',seemingly unable to believe or come to terms with how a man they put all their trust in could betray them in such an evil way.

James Bolam does a really good job of portraying Shipman.Before the murders ,he is seen as a kindly,well-to-do doctor,for whom doing regular home visits is seen as no skin off his nose whatsoever.But after the killings and as the investigation into them drags on,he develops a really more sinister side,callously informing relatives of deaths of their loved ones and being really difficult as he helps the police with their enquiries.James Hazeldine also does a really good turn as DI Stan Egerton,who's in charge of the investigation into Shipman.

The problem ,however,comes with the story.Hardly any insight is offered into possible reasons Shipman might have committed his evil crimes.For example,it's often been suggested seeing his mother die of cancer at the age of 17 might have played a huge part,but this is only mentioned in passing,rather than being delved into in any great detail ,say,maybe at the beginning.

Still,assumption's all it could be.This is a real-life story,and Shipman himself has never offered any explanations into his behaviour.This is not a standard TV murder mystery story,but a depiction of a real life event,and it should should be treated with more respect accordingly.***

A pretty good dramatization of how Doctor Harold Shipman finally fell under suspicion and was caught.

The production values are pretty basic but everything is well acted and the sets and locations all look pretty run of the mill and pretty realistic.

The programme takes a bit of dramatic licence obviously having to fill in many blanks.

Shipman is portrayed as charming, authoritative and highly respected and trusted. There seems little to no reason to doubt any thing he says. A few locals have doubts about the high death among his patients, many of them elderly but in excellent health and spirit. Shipman explains though that he has many patients in his surgery and that sadly death from old age does happen. Characters who do raise concerns are left looking foolish and crestfallen. Shipman continually exercises a caring bedside manner and is upheld as a pillar of the community. There's even some fantastic corpse acting.

The other main character in the story is a detective coming up for retirement who is first put onto the case when a forged will comes to light. Slowly they begin to uncover a mountain of evidence that there is a serial killer in their area. Shipman though seems able to offer a plausible defence and it's by no means certain they can prove his guilt.

The case is so famous that there's no point in trying to leave it a mystery so we know right from the beginning what he's up to. In the first scene he starts filling out the death certificate before he's even killed the victim. The drama uses a lot of actor with strong local Manchester accents to keep things feeling real.

The programme never really tries to answer the question of why he did what he did. I don't suppose we'll ever know. It seems to have had little to nothing to do with money. Nor do we know why he targeted elderly women. Was it because their deaths would be less suspicious? Was it because he had a special reason for wanting them dead. We'll never know....

Most of the acting is very good, there's just one or two extras who are truly wooden. The detective also sits down and discusses the case with a member of the public too over a drink in one scene. Pretty implausible.

Some critics will also feel maybe that this drama is exploiting an awful true story for entertainment.

Many in Britain were shocked when the police were exhuming bodies in the Manchester area with suspicion of foul play by a respected family doctor.

This was in the late 1990s and this drama from ITV was shown a few years after the events. Hence it had to tread a fine and sensitive line.

James Bolam plays Dr Frederick Shipman. A well respected GP with a small, thriving practice and a respected member of the community.

However even when the police investigate him Bolam gives a hint of the sly humour that Shipman apparently had. As well as being a serial killer this was a doctor not ready to buckle under police pressure.

James Hazeldine in one of his final roles plays the dogged policeman who is persuaded by the daughter of one of Doctor's victim's that Shipman might have a darker side.

We get an idea as to how Shipman got caught. It is a part police procedural as they forensically examine his computer. Shipman made a mistake of forging a will of one of his victim's.

We never really get an idea as to why he did it or what his motives were. It seems we might never know.

Bolam's performance is key in keeping your interest in this drama and this is a tight film without getting too exploitative.

A fantastic reenactment of the Shipman case. Portrayed wonderfully by everyone involved. A definite must watch if you like old British tv.