Commissaire Bancroft

The series is unusual in that you are given the bad guys/gals fairly early on so no surprises; some of them are cops & solid citizens, and some are just plain bad. You're even given frequent flashbacks to fill in the 27 yr old crime scene that dominates the script so you just have to sit back & see how "good" wins out at the end. Problem is, in resolving this cold case crime we are given too many personality & cop mistakes & improbabilites - all scripted to keep the series going. So, if you don't mind the uncomfortable feeling of being left hanging while the baddies seemingly come out ahead, it's worth a watch.

Not your typical cop-show for sure. I came to this series expecting another hard-boiled, name-above-the-title Jane Tennyson-type senior female cop on the trail of another serial-killer perhaps with another even more unusual M.O. than usual, but didn't expect the twist that she herself might blur the lines between right and wrong. In that sense I was reminded of another top cop who sometimes seemed to cross that line at will, namely John Luthor, but Bancroft here seems to take things even further in that while you sensed that Luthor would occasionally not flinch from taking the law into his own hands it was always to pursue justice even if it was his own sometimes skewered version of it, Bancroft here however, while she undoubtedly gets results in her official capacity, is in fact only concerned with the welfare of herself and maybe her son, before any other legal consideration and heaven help anyone who gets in her way.

The highly contrived plot only got more incredible as it went on, the starting point being a 27 year old cold-case unsolved murder of a young wife and mother who just happened to be Bancroft's love rival for the man she's beaten her to and who is now pregnant into the bargain. Bancroft was first on the scene of the crime as a young WPC and she was the protege of the then senior investigating cop who's still alive today, but only just and who now really wants to crack the case before he expires. Not that he gets the chance as he dies in mysterious circumstances soon after Bancroft pays him a visit, just as a case is being built by the young female officer appointed by Bancroft's rival male DSI for the soon-to-become-available Chief Commissioner position, and her forensic female colleague. Both these young investigators suspect the almost unbelievable regarding the seemingly untouchable Bancroft who in between throwing her pursuers off the track, is trying to ensnare Public Enemy Number One, a ruthless Asian gun-runner not above torturing and indeed murdering members of his own family to keep everyone in line. These two plot strands then converge in a dramatic showdown as we finally learn the truth about Bancroft and the extent to which she'll go to protect herself.

I found the plotting to be ludicrously over-the-top, incredible coincidence succeeding incredible coincidence as it went, boosted in all of this by Sarah Parish's equally O.T.T performance as the title character who cold-bloodedly rampages around like she's just escaped from the set of "Westworld". All that said, it only stretched to four episodes keeping the action, ridiculous as it was, tight and fast-moving. "Line Of Duty" or "Happy Valley" it doesn't try to be but for a piece of escapist nonsense which doesn't try to keep even one toe, never mind a whole foot, in reality, it was certainly entertaining enough.

Although the last episode became increasingly predictable, overall a very enjoyable series. Good acting and plot - well above average. How some of those reality programmes get prime time on the main ITV channel over this is beyond me.

I rated the 1st series of this a 5, but there is a night and day difference in the quality between the 2 seasons. I'm not sure the reason, but gone are the dodgy accents, the awfully miss-cast actors and actresses have been replaced by quality - Charlotte Hope in particular - that suit the role that's been written for them, and Sarah Parish has evolved brilliantly into the role - helped by a plot that stops trying to turn her into something she cannot be but instead allows her to fit into the role and show off her abilities.

The story Is moodily brilliant - shocking and gripping. It's all incredibly well done. There's still holes - it's not the best thing I've ever seen - Joe leaves a lot to be desired and some of Bancroft's antics remain too far from police policy to ever be deemed possible - but it's entirely watchable and enjoyable.

The biggest problem this show will have is that the first series is needed to be watched to fully understand the background of the story - and the first series is a complete and utter car crash. There will be a lot of people that will give up a long time before they've given the second series a chance. Which would be a real shame.

I read that this show was switched from ITV Encore to mainstream ITV, and on paper it has all the makings of a quality drama. It certainly has its good points, it's a strong script, it has some really strong production values, and most of all Sarah Parish is commanding from start to finish, dare I say she stands head and shoulders above everyone, and gives a truly strong performance.

I'm not shocked to read through some of the negative reviews, I can see how it could have not appealed to some, the ending was a little bit of a non event, but I'm sure the door is open for a second series. The character of Bancroft is intriguing, arguably the most manipulative woman on screen in 2017, was there anyone she didn't use to cover her tracks?

Strong performances from Faye Marsay and Amara Karan also, it was somehow missing a little something, not sure I can see Lee Boardman as a Police Man, he has to be a bad guy, but all in all I think Bancroft was quite gripping. 7/10