The Commander

Commander Clare Blake (Amanda Burton) is the head of the serious crimes unit in the New Scotland Yard. In 1989, she arrested James Lampton (Hugh Bonneville) for murdering his girlfriend. He is supposed to be reformed and gets paroled. She allows her forward to be printed in his best-selling book with the proceeds going to victim support. DCI Mike Hedges investigates a murder and arrests Lampton. Hedges do not get along with Blake. Meanwhile, there is a cover-up of a police shooting unbeknown to Blake. Surveillance footage is edited. Also the movie follows another criminal on the loose.

I like the idea of a female commander in a male-dominated world. Blake doesn't have the gravitas of a hard-nosed investigator that somebody in her position should have. There is one really bad turn which devalues a lot of the early work and only adds to the questionable Blake character. I have big problems with her relationship to Lampton. Also, I don't particularly like the ending. This is a solid police crime drama for two thirds and then I have problems.

I just finished season 2 of this farce. I will not be continuing. Commander Blake is a silly and annoying representation of someone in that kind of position. Sure...we all make mistakes but her wanton flaunting of the law she swore to uphold as well her seemingly boundless willingness to engage almost everyone in her tawdry story is fantasy at its finest. And to top it off, she faces absolutely no accountability for her lack of an ethical compass. Enough... Oh...one last thing...the acting is abysmal, for Blake and most others. Bad acting, bad writing...what more could you ask for...write off.

Commander Clare Blake has become head of the serious crimes unit. Her first case involved the release of prisoner James Lampton, who served 12 years for murdering his girlfriend, a seemingly reformed character who is now writing a book.

It's worth noting that Amanda Burton pretty much took up this role straight after Silent Witness, having been on that great show for so long, this was tipped to be the next big thing, and though very, very good, it perhaps didn't quite take off as it should have. Blake is very much working in a man's world.

Burton is as always terrific as the lead, and though Blake isn't a million miles away from Sam Ryan, she's different enough, the show has a very different flavour, it has the laPlant signature all over it.

I thought it was a cracking pilot, complex, intriguing and very dramatic, it's a thought provoking, well paced drama, if you're a fan of the laPlant lineup, you'll particularly enjoy this. The ending was excellent, one of the best moments, wonderfully dramatic.

The acting throughout was terrific, High Bonneville and Matthew Marsh both stood out.

9/10.

It's the first movie or tv show I've seen where I kept saying "stupid" or "you're so stupid" out loud. Noone this clueless could possibly have risen to the job of commander.

I generally love police procedurals. This one was awful, because of its premise.

Another reviewer said this started as a police drama and ended as a Harlequin romance. So true! It's hard to believe that Lynda LaPlante wrote this garbage. Although "Lynda LaPlante" does sound like the pen name of a sleazy romance writer....

LaPlante's Prime Suspect was one of our favorite series, and of course anything that Helen Mirren is in is automatically worth watching. But Amanda Burton is not in her league, and never will be. At least Hugh Bonneville went on to do something worth watching with Downton Abbey.

Give it a pass; it isn't worth a couple of hours of your life. Actually, it wasn't worth the time it took me to write this review.