The Ghost Squad

It was one of the best series I have watched in a while. It is of such a compelling high standard but with an interesting twist in the last episode, which brings in the human element. The story line was quite different and shown a different part of policing otherwise never seen before. Dramas from the UK always impress me with the great scenery, even if it is in the middle of London. The cast of Elaine Cassidy as Detective Amy Harris,

Emma Fielding Detective Superintendent, Jonas Armstrong as the support detective was well cast and scripted, however I felt that the casting of 'Amy' as such a young detective may be unrealistic, but maybe thats part of the cover.

very enjoyable

I'm somewhat ambivalent towards police dramas these days. But this is a great mix of 24-style camera-work, psychological drama, internal politics, and a really good grasp of emotional interplay and game-play - seems to be written by blokes as well, which I found surprising - you look at similar BBC affairs in recent years, and they are remarkably two-dimensional. Here, you care about the core characters, because they care. Anyway, give it a try - if you like intelligently scripted, cat-and-mouse, but psychologically gripping and intellectually fulfilling drama, you can't go wrong here. I found it a bit disturbing that such a squad DID exist, but no longer does because it wasn't appreciated internally. That's sort of the point, surely. Still - only going by the tag-line - sure the reality is as duplicitously complex as the series!

It is really hard to give a series a 10 because no one is perfect. So, the best I could come up with is I found the shaky camera technique (which was downright annoying on NYPD Blue) unnecessary.

The acting, writing, production, direction, etc all get 10s. Warning: this show is so intense at times that you miss the subtleties, and so subtle at times that you miss the intensity.

I was a bit disappointed with this series (I haven't seen the last two episodes though). Most stories were simply too smug relying on the obvious dilemma the theme suggests... and the cinematic means as well as the narrative were always quite pretentious without being convincing, leaving loose ends all around. The distracting look of it, jump cuts and hand-held, "different" to a fault, could not hide the lack of quality in the storytelling.

The acting was quite good though - and that made the episodes worthwhile, above all those less "spectacular" subject-wise -, Elaine Cassidy being a standout as usual. I think she is internationally one of the finest actresses around.

I really enjoyed this 8 part series, largely due to the lead character's convincing evolution from episode to episode. It is not light stuff, and the good cop bad cop plots tackle serious issues of law enforcement ethics and the slippery morality of undercover "internal affairs" cops. Though the lead good cop, played by Elaine Cassidy, succeeds in most of her missions, the result is rarely satisfying to the character or the audience, as tragically flawed cops get caught in traps and slippery career-minded superiors operate behind the scenes. Cassidy is quite good, creating a character who progresses from gung-ho righteousness to grim determination; she is both manipulated and manipulating.

In some ways, the blurry morality and internal affairs theme reminds me of The Shield. For an American who doesn't watch a whole lot of British cop TV, it also provided an interesting insight into police work on that side of the pond. Unfortunately, the photography and editing can be distractingly bad, and yet the excellent acting and thought provoking perspective on police ethics more than make up for technical shortcomings. Kudos especially to Cassidy, who has proved herself an astonishingly versatile actress in recent years.