Identity

Stumbled on this show and was curious from the start. Although it took a few episodes to give the main characters some depth I did like the fact that it doesn't play off the Police = good, and criminal=bad routine. The balance that all characters have good and bad in them appeals to me, without giving to much away lets just say some lines get murky and even crossed but its where it ends up that counts according to this series. It would have been nice to see what would of happened in the second season as there were many directions the show could have gone.

The acting is pretty good, just the right amount of office politics and antics to make it interesting but not enough to make it sickly soapy. One thing some of the American cop shows should learn.

Well worth a watch and with only six episodes it moves quickly and is entertaining.

This is an example of British thriller series at their finest. The scripts, direction, and acting are all top-notch. The six episodes are all largely self-contained but do have an underlying thread of a story which continues throughout, and which culminates in the final episode. It is the story of the character played by Aidan Gillen, who has had a past working undercover for many years for the police. As a result of this, he has become entangled with a web of criminal intrigue which he tries to handle in his spare time, though such awkward aspects as having a dead body in the back of his car keep arising and interfering with his new job. The main basis for the series is the creation of an 'Identity Unit' at Scotland Yard in London, set up to investigate the increasing numbers of cases of identity theft or identify confusion. There are some really thrilling and hair-raising stories here, which constitute a lively variety of cases, all interesting in their own ways. The series is never repetitive or dull for a moment. The head of the Identity Unit is played by actress Keeley Hawes, who does a brilliant job. She has to keep the traditional stiff upper lip (in her case one with bright red lipstick) whilst juggling with enormous stresses, tensions, and emotions. She is excellent at doing this, and is best of all at the end when things come to a head for her. Exercising such intense self-control and betraying her desperate feelings only by means of tiny twitches of facial muscles is no mean feat. Only a British actress could manage something like that so well. She clearly takes her inspiration from all those old British movies and stars like Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson. It is strange that such an old-fashioned girl who is a master of pre-War mannerisms (and she comes from an East End family of cab drivers, who are probably the last of the passionate traditionalists left in London) can be the lead in a series made in 2009. Surely she really belonged in 1939? She would have done well in the S.O.E. But all this really works, that is the main thing. As for Aidan Gillen, he resembles Richard Gere facially, but has a slender body and a slightly mincing walk, and if it were not for his physique and body language, he could easily be one of those Hollywood action stars. In other words, he talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. However, none of that matters here. He is very compelling and watchable at all times. In this series he is meant to be an enigma, and he certainly succeeds in being one. Both Hawes and Gillen dominate the series with talent and charisma, and help to make it a stunning success. I can find no mention of any Series 2 being made, which is a serious production miscalculation by the producers for ITV. The supporting actors are all very good, the production values are high, and there is nothing to complain of. One merely wants to say: When do I get to see the next series, please?

I couldn't get over the fact that Keeley Hawes' character, supposedly a top cop with her own department, is wearing truckloads of makeup and is quite unbelievable. I don't blame Keeley. What's disappointing is that British TV is perfectly capable of creating credible female bosses with gravitas. This production team obviously isn't.

There's a great idea here -- a police dept dealing with identity theft.

I was keen!

But.

The female, in that skirt and the heels. She could barely walk, never mind run. Ok it's identity not street policing but still...makeup, tight skirts and heels, because of course, female.

Then, the scruffy rude ex-undercover one.

No-one does undercover that long. Ridiculous.

And this means it's ok to be rude. Disbelieving? Basically an a**hole?

This put me off right at the start.

He pretended, so he is the expert.

Sure, not the IT people, the cops doing the slog, no lets have the under dog, the on the edge character with his amazing flashes of instant insight.

Ugh.

Ruined it for me.

And then the thieves themselves: psychos who swiped identities and committed for the most stupid convoluted plot ideas.

It's not how and why it's done at all.

This could have been good if they hadn't tried to Hollywood this series.

There's a great idea for a TV series here -- a police squad that specializes in identity theft. But based on the two episodes I watched, it's been mishandled. Both centered on psychos who swiped identities and committed murder for reasons that were at best murky (and at worst ludicrous.) And in both episodes, extended chase scenes filled the gaps in threadbare scenarios. The cast isn't bad. And perhaps subsequent stories will suggest...surprise!!!...that not all identity thieves are homicidal wackos. They might even deal with the frightening and fascinating way in which lives can be stolen -- along with cash, credit ratings and reputations. But from what I've seen so far, I'm not hopeful.