Prime Suspect: The Scent of Darkness

Like as was said for 'Inner Circles', this is going to be fairly similarly worded to my review for the previous case 'The Lost Child', mainly because their strengths are exactly the same to each and to the previous three series.

None of the three cases making up 'Prime Suspect IV' ('The Lost Child', 'Inner Circles' and 'Scent of Darkness) are as good as the three previous series (though it would have been a Herculean task to do so, considering their sheer brilliance), but high expectations were met if not quite surpassed. All three are very good, often terrific with a lot of spot-on elements if falling short of perfection. Once again, 'Scent of Darkness' continues with the changes in format introduced in 'The Lost Child', including Lynda La Plante not being involved and the lengths of the episodes being shorter, for the fourth series it was three cases clocking in around just over five hours overall for 'Prime Suspect IV' rather than one case split into two halves like in the first three 'Prime Suspect' series.

'Inner Circles' and 'Scent of Darkness' feel more settled in the changes generally than 'The Lost Child', though to me they are about equal quality-wise. 'Scent of Darkness', again from personal opinion, is let down only by the meeting between Tennison and Marlow which, despite it being tense, missing the ambiguous nature that was most striking in the first 'Prime Suspect' series, and an ending that didn't satisfy as much as ought.

However, 'Scent of Darkness' is stylishly and cleverly filmed, with slick editing and atmospheric lighting, and there is a consistently wonderful atmosphere throughout. It is very gritty, if not quite as dark as 'Prime Suspect III', and effectively claustrophobic. It is very hard to forget the music score too. The scripting, like its predecessor, is some of the best there is of any mystery/detective drama, being superbly constructed and intelligent, plus it is hard to not be impressed by the cunning subtlety of the conflicts.

Story-telling is very compelling and twisty, with an atmosphere that is gritty and harrowing but also intricate and honest. It is a complex story that keeps one guessing right up to the end while also being easy to follow. Tennison's personal life is balanced very well.

Jane Tennison continues to be an interesting character, the character and the depiction of the police force was very ahead of the time back in the 90s and holds much fascination now even if not so novel.

Helen Mirren gives a typically magnificent performance in the lead, and perfectly matched by Stuart Wilson. Tim Woodward gives a very good, often excellent, account of himself, though John Bowe in the first series gave the character more chills and complexity.

In conclusion, 'Prime Suspect IV' ends on a strong note. 9/10 Bethany Cox

These series were popular, and still admired and remembered. Helen Mirren is wonderful as always, playing Jane Tennison - a great detective, proving that women can be both strong and emotional (In real life as much as on the screen), which is a quality men rarely have...in my not at all humble opinion. It's suitable for everyone not just fans of crime stories- it's not violent, it's emotional and filled with suspense and mystery.

I previously wrote that part 2 in this set was going to be the most gripping for myself - without even having seen this one, part 3. I liked the premise of part 2 and could not imagine I'd find another better.

But OK: I give in. I admit it: this is far and away the best of the three. It is everything part 2 is and more. It's just so juicy seeing Mirren have to haggle with these creeps who are simultaneously her superiors. She says herself that acting is no big deal, but try telling that to all the two-bit actors out there who never seem to get it. Did Chuck Norris ever say acting was no big deal? (Come to think of it, he would say that, wouldn't he?)

Tennison is up against it in this one. Everything's at stake, and the plot follows a classic (but not worn out) story line found in many whodunits of this nature, namely Tennison's integrity is called into question. And the case has her really upset. And things fly in all possible directions. And you have to really stay on the edge of your seat to get all the clues. Meaning it's a bit of an intellectual challenge, in addition to everything else it gives you. Which is only good.

There's no contest: even if you don't particularly like the format, odds are you'll still be 'glued to the tube' for this one and unable to break away.

The writing, the direction, the acting - and above all (and it's a lot) Mirren stand out and shine.

The UK have come out with some amazing detective series over the years, and this is one of their absolute best.

This one really keeps the viewer guessing-- though we never lose our faith that Tennison will somehow unravel the mystery and vindicate herself. She's certainly on thin ice throughout, and aren't her higher-ups being nasty! But our Jane soldiers on regardless --procedure be damned--, bolstered by excesses in hard liquor and cigarettes. We hope for a last-minute rescue of the latest victim, but nothing is certain here.

It was disorienting to find the original George Marlowe, John Bowe, replaced by Tim Woodward, who looked nothing like him and didn't have at all the same feel or complexity. Evidently Bowe wasn't available. Marlowe's mum was played by Maxine Audley in 1991, and as she died in 1992 we may forgive her being replaced. The substitution is all the more forgivable, as the new Mrs. Marlowe was portrayed by the wonderful Joyce Redman, best remembered by many as 'Mrs. Waters', the woman rescued by Albert Finney as Tom Jones, who then becomes his delightfully sensuous dinner and bed companion-- afterward identified as Jenny Jones, his supposed mother!

But to return to "The Scent of Darkness": I was thankful that this was shown all at once and not in two parts so that the conclusion wasn't delayed an entire week-- though of course nowadays it isn't difficult to find a way of viewing almost any show. "Scent of Darkness" forms a disturbing but satisfying sequel to the first "Prime Suspect", in its exploration of the power of a monstrously disturbed killer as well as of the power of the press.

It seemed like the absence of Lynda LaPlante was a major loss to the series and you can really feel it in this episode. Characters who never showed much emotion in previous episodes were suddenly screaming for no reason. I understand the theme of sexism but the chip on Mitchell's shoulder and the commander screaming at Jane was very unusual and seemed unprovoked.

The actor playing Mitchell was too overdramatic. The scene where he yelled at Richard was unexpected and seemed very unusual behavior for a guy who is angling for a promotion. Perhaps this character had issues. Since the show never bothered to let us in on them, it made for a confusing and ridiculous character arc. Why would a man who is trying to build a team to help him start screaming and slamming doors? Why was he so unwilling to properly investigate the case if he's trying to distinguish himself to the brass?

When the commander kept cutting Jane off when she tried to speak and then yelled over her, it was very out of character for him. In the past, he's been a stereotypical, uptight, British repressed type who wouldn't dream of raising his voice. Suddenly he's screaming at Jane because he's angry she didn't follow orders? Is this still about her being a woman? She's always gone her way and he's never reacted like this. She gets results and solves cases. Also it's the mid 90s so there are plenty of female officers in the police department in Britain. All the young rookies were laughing and making jokes openly against a superior officer? They don't even know her so what's their issue her? Just seems strange that they seem to be going backwards with women's rights in the police department when the rest of the country isn't fighting gender battles anymore. There have been female PMs and MPs so I'm not sure why they are still harping on the woman angle.

Sure, Jane has no bedside manner but only because she's had to fight for everything she's accomplished due to entrenched biases against her. Also, DCI Mitchell was an even bigger jerk than she was and a far less thorough detective so why are they still so hateful towards her? If there's a reason they don't like her, that's great. But they didn't let us in on it, so this made for a tough watch. It almost felt like they were trying to force drama in places it wasn't needed.

The actor playing Marlowe was grossly miscast. He looked like a criminal completely capable of taking lives. The great thing about the original Marlowe was he maintained his cavalier attitude throughout which made him scarier. The wide-eyed smiles were absent here because the actor playing him couldn't pull it off with his beady eyes.

For the first time I found myself wishing they would just let Tennison do her job and stop with all the department drama as it's getting very tired. If I wanted all that forced drama, I would watch Chicago PD. I'm still trying to figure out why they keep bouncing Tennison from station to station. When she became superintendent, didn't that mean she is in charge of one department like Kernan is? Why do they keep shifting her around? Everytime she's put on a case she's got to prove herself all over again and it's beyond annoying since the other officers would have heard of her track record and that would have earned her some respect.

On an unrelated note, this episode marks the end of Richard in the series which makes me sad because he's always been my favorite character.