Identity

My wife and I watched two episodes in this series. The first left us stunned it was so bad. There seems to be a rule amongst actors that if the script is really awful then to try and improve on it you need to overact. Well, overact these actors did and I'm afraid that only made a bad TV show with a terrible and unbelievable plot a whole lot worse.

Why we bothered to watch the second episode on the DVD a week later I'm not sure. The two of us watched in stony silence throughout. When it was over, I said something like, "that was a lot better than the first one." My wife responded with, "I thought it was utter rubbish." The sad thing is we were both right. And that will tell you just how awful the first episode must have been.

I used to like Keely Hawes (from MI5/Spooks) but I'm afraid I've gone right off her after this experience.

The DVD went back to the library after the second episode so I'll never find out how the subplot with the undercover cop gone bad turned out. Somehow I'm not going to lose any sleep over this.

I have only watched the first episode of the first series. I normally wait until the final episode of any series before putting finger to keyboard, but for some unknown reason I felt I needed to put in an early comment or two. Perhaps it was the bizarre comments of one of the reviewers on here, concerning 'police departments' that egged me on to write this.

Firstly, and probably my biggest issue with previous comments. I really don't think it matters much which police department is being featured in a drama. At the end of the day, it's the story that is important, followed closely by scripting. This drama has fast paced dialog, with facts coming at you at lightening pace, and more than once I had to press rewind on the remote in order to try to absorb the information being spoken. The fact that it was identity theft, for me, only made the whole thing more interesting, which is why I specifically sourced this box set, purely on it's subject matter...oh, and Keeley Hawes, who for me, could be the present generation Joanna Lumley! (sorry Joanna, that's not saying that you're not still a huge star and a most engaging orator...smiles).

The series could have been about murder, rape, corporate espionage, or perhaps just burglary, and it with this kind of script, and with the acting quality on show, it would still still have been interesting. It's good to see that Aiden Gillen is doing so well since his excellent performances in 'Queer As Folk'. I have a feeling his career is going to continue to move on upwards, and it might not be too far in the distance when his name will be a household name. As for Keeley Hawes, this lady surely has a huge future. Her performances in Spooks should alone have carved out an international movie career, and why they didn't have her play Lara Croft in the movies, I'll never know...her voice will always be the true Lara! On a more serious note, I feel sure Keeley also has a big future, as her beauty and speaking voice will land her international fame before too long.

Finally, just on the first episode, I can see that this was ITV's attempt to have a 'Spooks' of their own, and to some degree it works in that respect, although 'Spooks' is definitely the superior article, and focuses on an entirely different subject matter anyway. 'Identity' does succeed though, in bringing to ITV a more involved and complex story line, together with good acting, which I'm sorry to say, ITV doesn't generally compete with the BBC on. For those of us who like their stories more complex, this should certainly appeal. I really hope there's another series planned!

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?

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.

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.