Crime

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.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first season. Yes it is gritty and violent and the main character is flawed. That seems to be typical for many British crime series. I enjoyed the serial killer plot of season one but confess that season two has been difficult to follow. It seems to jump around quite a bit, and it can take quite some time before a scene ties to anything else. Other scenes seem to be so random. I have waited and waited for how they connect to the plot or anything that is happening and it just doesn't seem to be occurring. At first, I thought it was trying to show or reflect the character's flaws but now I don't think so. I think it needed a much better editor and a lot needed to be left on the floor of the editing room. I have found season two to be a disappointment.

First of all let me start by saying, all of you that are complaining that you can't understand my language (Scottish) you do know that the series comes with subtitles in many languages (maybe snowflake is in there, I don't know, anyhoo, dougray Scott, Ken stott and the others, (to many to type) did a great job bringing Irvine Welsh book to life, this was gritty, humorous, rude, everything you expect from Mr Welsh, if you want daytime cop shows stick to your marplss and poirots, if you want a tiny glimpse of what it's really like this show is a must, and if you enjoyed this, try watching guilt.

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.

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.