Undercover

This is a comment on "Undercover", rather than a full-blown review. Sophie Okonedo is a very expressive actress and the range of emotions she displays as Maya are believable. She makes her real and at times extremely irritating with her relentless right-on, goody two-shoes behaviour. She loves her husband, she loves her kids, she is dedicated to her job, she has time for everyone and never snaps that she just wants to loll in the bath reading a book for some peace and quiet.

Every trendy box is ticked here - high-achieving black family, social conscience, human rights, epileptic heroine, autistic son, women's lib, house husband, fighting to save death row inmates - it's a full-frontal assault that dares us to disapprove or even have a fleeting selfish thought, because by golly Maya never does.

All this places a rather brittle and fake veneer on a storyline that does have its dark moments and dirty underbelly. The moral dilemmas are real and imaginable but what a shame the lead character is so upright and certain of her path that these dilemmas are not wrestled with in a realistic way. Nothing in life is clearly black and white, but that world view is not something Maya subscribes to. It must be nice to be so certain of everything.

For a long time now on television we have had flawed cops, private eyes, detectives, reluctant mediums, lead characters "battling their demons", all with messy private lives that are supposed to make them interesting as they react in unpredictable ways to all the various plot twists they are put through. In "Undercover" we have a lead character that acts in a totally predictable way to everything, apparently suffers no doubts or misgivings, and is firmly waving her righteous sword, never losing sight of the moral high ground or how to stay there.

This is a story of deceit and the sheer mountain of lies that can be constructed over a period of 20 years. What a pity it had to be wrapped in a politically correct blanket that suffocates any real exploration of the plausible grey areas in life. If it's not right then it's obviously wrong, and that's that.

Last decade or so, the UK has produced so many versatile and dramatic (mini-)series that one must unavoidably compare and choose between them - as time is limited and eyes must relax from time to time. Sometimes you tend to forget what you have seen already - due to several recurrent actors, often in similar roles of coppers or crooks - the trend that is usually characteristic to smaller nations, in Scandinavia in particular.

Undercover sets in rather intensely, but then it scatters and wears away somehow, and some standpoints and attitudes are pointed out too often and too strongly, but then the thrill resumes and last two episodes form a real cat-and-mouse play, without becoming too "explosive". True, using flashbacks with a little effort to change the performers' outfit and looks for the period of 20 years brings along unnecessary confusions and disruptions, but all the major performances, however, are good at least, and Maya Cobbina QC by Sophie Okonedo deserves more praise and attention she has achieved so far.

The ending scenes are a bit odd, and the very ending made me the inspiration that another season would be launched, although there is no hint of it so far. Anyway, I would presumably find time for follow-up, but it is okay to cap off here as well. Let the big echelons be more visible in other series... :)

Absolutely loved this and no idea why so many people hate it. Sophie Okendo and Adrian Lester made a compelling team and the drama built impressively. Above all it was different. The plot was intricate and actually believable considering the time-line. The 1990's were a time when the police were often out of control and cover ups were the norm. Full marks.

This is a fabulous piece of writing, acting and directing.

It is not "pants" or "not believable" as some people are saying- it is based on extensive research into the long history of the Met Police using undercover cops to spy on a huge number of campaigning groups e.g Greenpeace.

The plot line may have been dramatised- but this is a DRAMA, not claiming to be a total replica of the truth which clearly people have totally misinterpreted.

It is compelling viewing, very well written by Peter Moffat (Silk, Criminal Justice, The Village) and beautifully acted by Sophie Okonedo and Adrian Lester, in particular.

It is one of the only British TV shows to cast the two main characters as black, and I think people are forgetting this.

Don't let patriotic, uneducated reviews put you off people!

I loved Season 1. The acting was great and I enjoyed the storyline. Now that the family knows the truth, how is Nick "Michael" and Maya going to turn the system underside-down.