Prime Suspect: The Last Witness

This programme just aired in the UK and it is of the highest quality. Prime Suspect has been a consistently good TV drama and although it's been 6 years since PS5 (probably the weakest) this new outing for Jane Tennison is thoroughly gripping and moving. Helen Mirren is typically first rate, excellent support from Robert Pugh, Mark Strong and Frank Finlay. Peter Berry and Tom Hooper have crafted a complicated, emotional rollercoaster that had me glued to the TV for the duration. Highlights are the ending of part one and the scenes between Tennison and her father. Even the music is good. Do not miss.

Just finished watching #6 which was screened in two parts this week on SVT1. Was on the edge of my seat for both episodes.

Mirren is, as always, a joy to watch.

This riveting story is blessed with a great ending. It felt really good after this one. Quite a lot of thriller/police dramas end without one feeling that justice has been meted out. Here, the main antagonists get their just desserts. And I mean everybody. Especially the woman from the secret service. That look she gives her man at the end is priceless.

Beautifully shot and nicely scored. A great bit of telly to be sure.

Top marks here!

I have been following the investigations of Jane Tennison since my partner sent me a bad VHS recording of Prime Suspect 1 while I was serving with the USMC in the Persian Gulf. Amid my own warfare, my own self doubts and fears, I found inspiration in DCI Tennison's struggles. I have been in love ever since. Some tales are better than others, but all are good. My personal favorites: PS1, PS3, PS5 and now, topping the list, is Prime Suspect:6. Not since listening to the young actor respond to Tennison's questions in PS5 - "What do you want out of life?" ...Response: "Law and Order", have I teared up watching a TV show. PS6 hits home on many levels. From cinematography to storytelling to acting the whole thing is brilliant on all levels. Helen Mirren, one of the most underrated talents in the acting profession - seeing her silently curse in her car after her encounter with her immediate superior evoked a moment all of us in the working world can relate to.

At the risk of sounding like I'm gushing, I can't recommend enough this latest installment. It is was television drama can and should be.

Is this the best of the lot? Those who've seen all of them talk a lot about 1 and 2. I haven't seen them yet. I'm tempted to order all seven on DVD.

This is a new format this time. Some things have changed but some things stayed the same. Again it's an intriguing case woven expertly in the lay-up by the writer and the filming team. And in this one perhaps more than in the others I've seen the cinematography is fantastic. Angles as if they're coming out of a Kubrick classic. There is much eye candy in here.

So Jane Tennison is back - and she's battling the same bad guys as ever. This time she's surrounded on all sides by the same type of motley crew: the ambitious career types, the slacker types, the mens club types - you know the drill.

But the lady's acting never gets boring. Mirren brings something special, something extra to whatever she's in.

This one will take you on an exotic journey. And it's not a walk in the park either. If 5 was one of the most intense (of those I've seen) then 6 can't be far behind.

As always, on top of all the other excellent work done on this series, you have the star. She's inimitable.

The first three 'Prime Suspect' series were absolutely brilliant. 'Prime Suspect IV' changed the format from two episodes compromising of one case for each of the previous three series to three different cases and actually did it very well.

'Prime Suspect V: Errors of Judgement' was wonderful, but 'Prime Suspect VI: The Last Witness', having watched all the series over-time since reviewing the first series in 2016, ties with it as the best 'Prime Suspect' series since 'Prime Suspect III'. 'The Last Witness' is to me the darkest and grittiest since 'Prime Suspect III', and is one of the more suspenseful ones of all the series put together. Also with one of the more satisfying endings, not rushed, not too crammed, too convoluted or too pat, instead making one bite nails and may induce a few tears.

As is the case with all the 'Prime Suspect' series, 'The Last Witness' is stylishly and cleverly filmed, with slick editing and atmospheric lighting, and there is a consistently wonderful atmosphere throughout. It is very gritty, dark and effectively claustrophobic. It is very hard to forget the music score too, plus mood-wise and with some exotic moments in the mix it's one of the more action and atmosphere-enhancing music scores of all the 'Prime Suspect' series. The scripting, like its predecessor, is some of the best there is of any mystery/detective drama, being superbly constructed and intelligent, plus it is hard to not be impressed by the cunning subtlety of the conflicts.

Story-telling is very compelling and twisty, with an atmosphere that is gritty and harrowing but also intricate and honest. It is a complex story that keeps one guessing right up to the end while also being easy to follow. Plus the suspense of a lot of it is nerve-shredding. The deliberate pacing did not harm it at all, in fact it was executed incredibly well and was necessary considering the amount going on.

Jane Tennison continues to be an interesting character, the character and the depiction of the police force was very ahead of the time back in the 90s and holds much fascination now even if not so novel. There is the sense too that the character has evolved significantly, a feeling that one didn't get before.

Helen Mirren gives a typically magnificent performance in the lead. Frank Finley's performance is deeply felt and one wishes agreed that there was more of him.

Overall, just wonderful in every sense. 10/10 Bethany Cox