Prime Suspect 3

Prime Suspect 3 is probably the grittiest of the Prime Suspects, in my opinion. While "The Lost Child" is disturbing, and Prime Suspect 1 is heartbreaking, Prime Suspects 3 delves into an examination of the world of London "rentboys," young male prostitutes hired mainly by other men. This may be the one which deals most sensitively with the ever-present personal life conflicts of DCI Tennison's co-workers and cohorts, and it doesn't hold back on letting us know just how intense some of those personal issues are. The cast is huge, the murder itself unbelievably complex, and the resolution is probably the most jarring of any of the movies' last fifteen minutes (always the best part of any murder mystery). Helen Mirren is DCI Tennison to a tee, and of the Prime Suspects, this might well be my favorite.

At first, we had a hard time understanding the accents, but by the second episode we caught up and enjoyed it a great deal. Then again, we were watching a home-taped VHS copy, so the sound was a little muted.

The acting and the writing were excellent.

As good as crime fiction on film gets, whether theatrical or made-for-television. Lynda La Plante's writing is at a peak here, with sharp dialog, vividly drawn characters and narrative that captures and won't let go until the end. It's grim, seedy, violent and sad---a real slice of vice unit life and of those they interrogate or pursue. Helen Mirren, as Jane Tennison, has rightly received top honors for her work in the Prime Suspect series, but here she excels even herself. An incredibly detailed characterization you won't forget. But she's not alone when it comes to accolades. Every supporting member is terrific, and there are some future stars to see: Jonny Lee Miller, Peter Capaldi, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Danny Dyer, James Frain, the incredible David Thewlis! And let's not forget the great Tom Bell, as Tennison's nemesis Bill Otley. All of it brilliantly directed by David Drury. Absolutely essential viewing crime procedure aficionados and anyone else.

Everything everyone is saying about this one is true. One thing to add: it's a lot for a single sitting. It runs almost four hours. People couldn't have had an option when it was transmitted on telly - they had to wait for the subsequent episodes - but when you rent or purchase it now you can't be forced into that option - and you'll find it nigh on impossible to break things off at the hour or two hour mark - it's just too good as everyone says.

Perhaps the best news is that Lynda La Plante is back. Episode two wasn't bad - but it wasn't La Plante's writing and it didn't have her magical hand on it. This one does. It's as if she took all the stuff she found out worked in the first episode, concentrated it, and flung it back. Everything is deeper, grittier, gorier.

There are seven huge episodes in this opus, all told twenty two hours of viewing. So to single out any one episode and say it's 'best' is going to be difficult, but taking only the first three it's not hard to see which excel more than others, and this one has to rank right at the very top.

The original 'Prime Suspect' was one of the finest pieces of TV dramas, ever created. Again in part three Helen Mirren, teams up with the brilliant Tom Bell (as Sgt. Bill Otley). Another fab English actor pops up as the prime suspect David Thewlis. Just a shade under the classic and original vision.