Crime

The first ever Irvine Welsh TV project is this fascinatingly odd procedural crime thing centred around DCI Ray Lennox, a bruised and haunted character, portrayed with mesmeric volatility by Dougray Scott. The whole ensemble are largely fantastic (particularly the evergreen Ken Stott and Angela Griffin as Lennox's partner Trudi) but Crime knows this too and indulges in strange deviations and character tangents that go nowhere. It's an intensely watchable show partly because of this strange unpredictability, sometimes it follows police TV clichés to the letter, sometimes it wildly subverts them. It's as irrepressible and chaotic as its ragged protagonist, for better or worse.

If, like some of the reviewers here, you long for the halcyon days of Taggart and long for there to have been "anuther murda" then you may come away from this disappointed. If you've read Crime by Irvine Welsh, this is only very loosely based on the original novel. In fact there isn't much about it that's similar save for the protagonist and the subject matter. In true Welsh style there are lashings of booze, drugs, intrigue, violence and also big laughs. It gets dark towards the end and there are some genuinely affecting themes here - not fit the faint hearted or easily triggered. It's not perfect, some of the acting is pish and characters are not all wholly convincing but all in all well worth a watch for anyone. Dougray Scott is absolutely outstanding. Give it a go.

DI Ray Lennox is tasked with finding a schoolgirl, Britney Hamill, who's been snatched of The Streets. Lennox is teamed up with DS Amanda Drummond, he's convinced her disappearance is linked to a series of child killings.

What a captivating series this is, well worth your time. To start with, I'd have to be a little critical of the scheduling, I saw it when it first landed on Britbox, it took so long for ITV to show it, but then it was on so late, hopefully series two will get a better deal.

The story is great, it's an intriguing, suspenseful mystery, it put me in mind of a cross between Rebus and Prime Suspect. We've been starved of Scottish crime dramas, think of Taggart and Rebus, hopefully this show will run for some time.

It's very well made drama, it looked great, the music was spot on. The pacing was spot on.

The best element of it, the acting, the acting is genuinely off that scale, Dougray Scott delivers a masterclass, he's phenomenal, Lennox is damaged, determined and dealing with serious addiction issues, he's from perfect.

Scott is awesome, but the supporting cast are terrific, Ken Stott, John Simm, Angela Griffin etc, all deliver.

I can't wait for the second series, this was truly a captivating watch.

9/10.

Basically a good murder mystery police show, but the mix of the mystery and police work is over shadowed by Dougray Scott's over acting as the tortured soul is too much.

The story gets dragged out too far by his psych issues which dominate the storyline.

It also adds a lot of unrealistic issues in the workplace which in real life would gave him out of a job in a day or so, Ken Stott is terrible, he comes across as s total buffoon, again in real life he would have trouble holding a job as a postman.

If there ever is a series 2 they need more plot and detective work and less dramatic psycho analyses.

This was a top-drawer drama series. The script was outstanding but the acting in particular was simply class. Dougray Scott in particular was astonishing- in fact his performances were on par with the likes of Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. And that's saying something. Astonishing stuff. And all of this is interwoven with first class direction and production. I could not take my eyes off it from the first episode to the last.

A word of warning though: this is not for the faint-hearted. There are a number of scenes which are as hard-hitting as they are harrowing. Those who have suffered any loss with the abduction, or worse, of a child should probably avoid.

Finally, this is an exceptional depiction of a serial killer who like many of his genre, has a superior intelligence that leaves most aghast. But that intelligence hides a dearth of emotionality for which all psychopaths have in common, and to which sadly most of us do not spot until it is too late.

Thank You to all in the making of this superior drama series...