The Shadow Line

Chiwetel was brilliant! He's never lightweight! This is a mixture of Mamet and David Simon (Homicide: Life On The Street) with an American '70's movie vibe (I'm thinking PARALAX VIEW) thrown in. It's all about how the supposed law & order top brass are more corrupt than their criminal counterparts. I liked the cynical view that emerged which seems to indicate that there's really no place for a moral or compassionate person in the cutthroat world of modern life. All those that prevail ultimately have sold out their moral codes in favor of greed and corruption. Kind of downbeat but beautifully executed. Stephen Rea is one of the most chilling villains to come along in a long time. Christopher Eccelston's character was the most sympathetic and his arc is heartbreaking. Of course this is heightened reality but that's the point.

Just caught up with the first episode of The Shadow Line.

1. Any series that nicks a title off Joseph Conrad is at least ASPIRING to greatness.

2. Chiwetel Ejiofor's a BAMF. With immaculate vowels. Match that with Christopher "Lots of planets have a North" Ecclestone and it's made of win from the start 3. This series is almost into Edge Of Darkness goodness already. No. Not the Mel Gibson version.

In all honesty, this is what the BBC was made to do; original drama that wouldn't have been made by any other channel in the UK. Perhaps it's all going to implode into crapness, but so far I really don't see how it can. OK, posting reviews when I'm shedded's probably a bad idea, but this, so far, is immaculate.

I'm so sick of predictable story-lines and being spoon fed on junk cop related television series with mightier than thou characters that are un-humanly flawless, clever, beautiful and blah blah blah. So at long last, here is a TV series that demands a certain level of intelligence from it's viewers. It's cinematicly glorious with non stereo typical characters. An unpredictable storyline that twist and turns with tension and intrigue throughout. Sublime characters well acted by superb cast. I LOVE it!!! Cannot wait for a week to pass to see the next installment. I've watched 4 episodes so far and it just keeps getting better. This is BBC program making at it's very best. A gem, cannot fault it.

Well the series finally came to its grim conclusion and I have to say I didn't see this ending coming. I read other reviews comparing this series to The Edge of Darkness (the series not the film), and while I get the comparison, that did have light relief in the Joe Don Baker and Charles Kay characters.

The shadow line has no such lightness or let up, and the nearest I can get to compare my feeling at the end is the 'Get Carter' (Michael Caine) film.

A fine cast does this justice and an excellent script made Thursday evenings a night in! A huge well done to the writer and all the actors who made this so memorable. If you remember Stephen Rea as Carter Brandon in 'I didn't know you cared' (one of the best comedy series ever IMHO), who would have imagined he would progress to being one of the most memorable screen villains ever. Bravo!

This decade alone has seen so many great British crime/detective (mini)series that it has been difficult to keep track, but thanks to IMDB and Wiki, it is possible to look for references and like-minded works. I have to say I had never heard of The Shadow Line before - thus I began to watch it this Month only, with episodes in succession, of course.

Well, I can´t say I was very pleased with the first episode as it did not let me think of so many different levels, intertwines and twists I could see later on... I was pleasantly suprised about Rafe Spall´s performance, but Stephen Rea was not visible yet - and when he appeared, then the thrilling pace enhanced and I could admire Mr Rea´s talent again (in my opinion, many "more supporting" actors excel the "more leading" ones a bit). I became very eager to wait what would happen next, how and if the things proceed and what would be the outcome of this complex mess without really good characters... So, the final episode included additional surprises and the ending scenes differ greatly from usual round-ups of crime series.

All in all, well done, similar quality as Line of Duty or Luther... Again, I have some doubts regarding plausibility (what about such links in an EU/NATO country police force) but as all this was depicted in a thrilling and fluent manner, then I just let me carry off with the events and witty solutions.