Identity

Stumbled on this show and was curious from the start. Although it took a few episodes to give the main characters some depth I did like the fact that it doesn't play off the Police = good, and criminal=bad routine. The balance that all characters have good and bad in them appeals to me, without giving to much away lets just say some lines get murky and even crossed but its where it ends up that counts according to this series. It would have been nice to see what would of happened in the second season as there were many directions the show could have gone.

The acting is pretty good, just the right amount of office politics and antics to make it interesting but not enough to make it sickly soapy. One thing some of the American cop shows should learn.

Well worth a watch and with only six episodes it moves quickly and is entertaining.

Shallow and predictable. Perfect for an American TV equivalent. The writing is obvious and sensational. The core cast's acting is abominable. The foil, Keeley Hawes is employed as a prop. Her presence is insufferably stilted. The show is a sound effects bonanza. John Lunn's music is dated, generic, and aggressively overused. The most enjoyable moments of the series are in episode five, thanks only to Clive Russell.

The director, the writer, and the creator helped to make many episodes of the inspirational 'Waking the Dead', notably the final story, 'Waterloo'. But all the richness of that great show is lost to 'Identity'. This is the police procedural fallen victim to the lowest common denominator and, probably, decision by committee.

There's a great idea here -- a police dept dealing with identity theft.

I was keen!

But.

The female, in that skirt and the heels. She could barely walk, never mind run. Ok it's identity not street policing but still...makeup, tight skirts and heels, because of course, female.

Then, the scruffy rude ex-undercover one.

No-one does undercover that long. Ridiculous.

And this means it's ok to be rude. Disbelieving? Basically an a**hole?

This put me off right at the start.

He pretended, so he is the expert.

Sure, not the IT people, the cops doing the slog, no lets have the under dog, the on the edge character with his amazing flashes of instant insight.

Ugh.

Ruined it for me.

And then the thieves themselves: psychos who swiped identities and committed for the most stupid convoluted plot ideas.

It's not how and why it's done at all.

This could have been good if they hadn't tried to Hollywood this series.

I couldn't get over the fact that Keeley Hawes' character, supposedly a top cop with her own department, is wearing truckloads of makeup and is quite unbelievable. I don't blame Keeley. What's disappointing is that British TV is perfectly capable of creating credible female bosses with gravitas. This production team obviously isn't.

There's a great idea for a TV series here -- a police squad that specializes in identity theft. But based on the two episodes I watched, it's been mishandled. Both centered on psychos who swiped identities and committed murder for reasons that were at best murky (and at worst ludicrous.) And in both episodes, extended chase scenes filled the gaps in threadbare scenarios. The cast isn't bad. And perhaps subsequent stories will suggest...surprise!!!...that not all identity thieves are homicidal wackos. They might even deal with the frightening and fascinating way in which lives can be stolen -- along with cash, credit ratings and reputations. But from what I've seen so far, I'm not hopeful.