Prime Suspect

Little did I know when I signed up to be a television extra that I would spend 10 days working on Prime Suspect. Though set in London the interior shots for the Police HQ were filmed in what is now 'The Printworks' in Manchester. I was lucky enough to be a plain clothes detective and featured in many key scenes. It was filmed in December and was freezing cold. The studio was then a deserted newspaper office and the canteen shots were filmed in it's original kitchen which was temporarily brought back into service. It was great to see Tom Bell and

work and each had their own style - Tom would turn up, do his scene and leave, whilst Helen was very much involved in the set up of her scenes. I can remember her accepting a cup of tea from me as she rested on set. Prime Suspect changed the way this type of drama was filmed and it's impact can still be seen today in modern detective dramas. It went on to win many awards and I was in the clip shown at the BAFTAS! If interested, you can see me in a scene where Tom Bell walks into the incident room to make a key announcement - I am behind him looking at a map and have to react - open mouthed with shock! Anyway enjoy..

Helen Mirren portraits the female DCI with dignity, courage and flair. She ís Jane Tennisson and every episode of this brilliant British crime series is worth more then any other series ever made before or ever made since. Mirren gets into the character from the very start and she slowly builds a genuine person of flesh and blood, that moves the viewer, because we understand her anger, her enthusiasm, her frustrations. There is an American Prime Suspect series now, but I don't want to watch it, because it can never be anywhere near as good as the original and that is solely due to Helen Mirren. This can never be topped. That goes for all the episodes.

Normally when things are this good you predict 'it's all downhill from here' but with this series things never dip really - small bumps in the road perhaps but the quality is uniformly high.

These are close on four hour dramas. They weren't shown in one stretch on the telly but if you get the boxed set that's how they'll be presented - with no pauses in between and no signs of where they would have gone either. (Thank you British television.)

Episode I is written by the creator of the series and it's nigh on perfect with all the stacked decks where you want them and a masterful revelation of the lead character 'gradually'. Tom Wilkinson great in a small supporting role.

This one has everything and some of the sequels won't have it as well. Upon viewing the start of episode two the girlfriend immediately blurted 'one was cacophony in the station room - this one is a light hum'. You want that cacophony and this one has it.

Get comfortable for you're in for a heady four hour ride.

"Prime Suspect" is a dark, sometimes cynical, sometimes inspiring, always disturbing series. I watched most of the series on PBS a few summers back, and found myself instantly hooked. Helen Mirren is simply one of the best actresses alive today. It's a police drama with little on camera violence and true human emotion; you'd be hard pressed to find such a series on American television.

This is far above the average cop series, let alone a made-for-TV cop series. Helen Mirren is, as always, outstanding as Tennyson. The rest of the series is as good as the first, which is, in itself, rare. Usually, sequels or continuations of a series try to follow the same general plot and characterizations and fail because of their lack of originality. Prime Suspect is riviting from the first to the last.

One extra note...did anyone watching it recently notice that the original victim's boyfriend was played by Ralph Fiennes? Shows that quality breeds quality.