Scott & Bailey

If you know Sally Wainwright's writing, this will be familiar stuff. Scott & Bailey follows the various relationships within a police team, focusing on two women, one mature and stable, the other young, talented and often unable to control her personal life. Their boss, another woman (amazingly enough) is tough, sharp and also not without her own personal issues.

It all works remarkably well. The characters ring true, even if they are somewhat exaggerated. The police work takes a back seat a lot of the time, but it's intelligently presented, and more realistic than in most straight cop shows. The perpetrators tend to be mentally challenged individuals, and bringing them to 'justice' is often an unsatisfying business. The acting is superb throughout, which definitely helps.

There are just two flaws worth mentioning. First, there are almost no admirable male characters. Some are major jerks. Several are immature jerks. And one or two are downright evil... and jerks.

Secondly, the view of the police is sanitized entirely beyond belief. This team simply never gets the wrong man, and never fails to zero in almost immediately on the right man - who is generally the obvious candidate. It's just about exactly the view of the police that the police would like you to have, and it simply comes off as too good to be true, given the realistic settings and situations.

It's a slanted view, to be sure, but that's the format. In a less believable show, you'd never question it. Here, the sense of realism is vivid enough that its limits seem a bit jarring. But none of this spoils the fun. Scott & Bailey is a smart, tough and emotionally involving series. Bear in mind that it's basically a very female-oriented soaper, and you'll be thoroughly entertained.

At a time when it seems that every TV detective program offers over- the-top-heroics, impossibly good-looking characters, exaggerated Sherlock Holmesian deductions, and smug repartee, this British production comes as a wonderful surprise -- a superbly acted cop show, portraying tough, wise investigators picking through the detritus and debris of human life and trying to keep it all together until the end of their shift.

Although the show is named for the two partners, the dynamic detective duo who have been essential to all cop shows since "Dragnet," it's really a three-person team, since Detective Constables Scott & Bailey are shepherded by a been-there, done-that boss who keeps them from straying too far from the flock.

As a bonus, their patch is grand, gritty and grimy Manchester, where you have to strain sometimes to understand the dialect, but it's worth the work for the condensed wit and wisdom you mine.

You won't be satisfied with watching a single episode, but try to view no more than three at a single sitting, so you'll have something to look forward to next time.

Oh, by the way: the three alpha cops here are all female, so let's call it Womanchester.

I have seen only two episodes so far of season 1, but already it looks like this female detectives duo is the among the best, definitely the best of the season. The chaotic private lives of DI's Janet Scott and Rachel Bailey and the solving of the cases are presented in a perfect mix. An especially good point: we are off dead bodies and CSI-like gore (at least for the first two episodes). They still exist, of course, but off-screen. The details are related to us in indirect ways, through the cops' case meetings, the questioning of suspects, conversations in cars, and walk-with-me talks. What we do see instead are the consequences of the crimes committed: We see them in the faces of wonderful hugely talented actors that fill even the tiniest role. It makes up more than enough for the only grievance I have: spoiled by the lavish period production of Inspector George Gently I was hoping to see more of the Yorkshire landscape.

I don't know what others are watching but I'm an actor and I watch a lot of TV and Films (and have been in a lot as well) and this show which my wife and I just finished watching was amazing! Powerful women doing wonderful things without making a big deal out of gender is almost impossible to pull off and almost never happens in American TV. This is what Rizzoli and Isles could have been if they didn't have all the "funny" stuff and if they let their characters be true to themselves. This is what the Closer was at its best but finally I found the writing and the directing and the acting so much better in Scott and Bailey than well any other show of its type on TV on either side of the pond. Get a region free DVD and buy this series and tell me I'm not right. The relationships are sharp (better than Blue Murder which is also a good series) and the stories are valid and dark and the humor works cause it is not forced. The only Detective show I like better at the moment is Luther and it is not quite as good an ensemble show as this one. 10 stars easily

I couldn't stop until I've watched all 6 episodes in a row. Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp give a brilliant performance alongside the other cast. I loved that it's one of a few stories set from women's point of view, dealing with the professional and personal issues. I think we should have more of that. I can't judge if the work of police was shown true to life, but it definitely seemed more realistic than the 'bang-bang-case solved!' sort of shows. Scott and Bailey has cross-cutting plot lines, which also makes it more interesting to watch. I want to also point out the beautiful camera work. I hope for the next season!

Update for season 2. Could I love them more? I already can't wait for season 3. None of the characters is flat, even if they appear for a couple of minutes, the cases are still interesting, and I was glad that we also looked into not only Janet's and Rachel's personal lives, but of other characters too.