Suspects

Love the cast and the concept. This is a non-scripted show. The actors are given a story line to follow and the rest was left up to them. It is a very fresh take and was one of my favorite shows from the first episode. I would have loved to see more from this one. Great cast and Damien Molony is brilliant in this. Love it so much I have purchased every season and watched several times.

My wife and I have watched scores of international detective series. This one is different in that there is almost no mixing in of the detectives' personal lives. It's all about solving crimes through modern police techniques and frequent interviews of suspects. For us, there were two negatives: many of the crimes were extreme ("sick") and there seemed to be excessive use of 4-letter words by everyone. Most of the episodes were self-contained although there were some two-parters and Season 5 followed certain crimes through the entire season. We thought it deserved better than a 7.0 rating.

Unusual crime drama not just for the unscripted dialogue, but the meta-speed of plot developments. Puzzle pieces and connections among characters that on most crime dramas come together over several episodes fall into place in the course of each crime-to-solution hour. The pace is a bit off-putting, often defies credibility and comes at the expense of deeper character development. But the appeal of the primary detectives and the satisfaction of one-episode resolutions (in most cases) is it's own reward. I prefer the slower-burn dramas but thought this was an entertaining change of pace.

The first review I read of this show was not positive, and I don't agree. It seems quite authentic to me, and I like the idea that the cast is not exactly scripted. Obviously the actors have to be taught some police lingo, and have probably been coached on how to handle certain types of people. I like the actors, and any hesitations or camera movements don't bother me. I watch primarily British crime and mystery shows (as well as those from Canada, Australia and New Zealand), because those made here aren't nearly as well done or interesting. Crime shows here feature, it seems to me, only beautiful women and handsome men. That's not how life is! Women in their 30's are not likely to be police superintendents. Helen Mirren, a stunning actress, did a fantastic job in the Prime Suspect series. She was shown without a lot of makeup, a bit tired, and it felt so real, not fake. That's how I think of Suspects as well. And many other British crime shows. Keep them coming! I'll give it a 10!

This won't be everyone's cup of tea. But it definitely is mine. Never before has there been a more convincing TV show, in terms of its plots, dialogue and characters, and this is largely down to its unscripted format and documentary-style filming. Naturally, there's never going to be award-winning artistic cinematography or Hollywood-esque dramatic lines, but that's what makes this show different. You get utterly transported into the working lives of the three detectives, as if you're a fourth party watching over their shoulder.

With the exception of the first and second episodes of the second series, each episode has its own crime to be solved, meaning that there's no grand story arc to follow, and you can dip in and out of the series; missing an episode is no problem.

It's also a breath of fresh air that there's no personal rubbish with the main characters. Sure, sometimes a case gets a little close to home on the occasion, and DI Martha Bellamy noticeably has pictures of her kids on her desk - little touches of believability like that - but other than that, the focus is on the plot and catching the criminal. As it should be.

As someone who has grown up watching Poirot, Sherlock, and countless other crime-solving dramas, you'd think they'd have had enough making these things, but nevertheless the plots keep coming, and the plot twists in this show are actually unpredictable. You yourself are a detective, trying to thread the clues together alongside Jack, Martha and Charlie, and it's certainly a tense ride.

I feel this show will 'revolutionise crime drama', as The Guardian has said. Although the format is foreign and takes a moment to get used to, it's something I don't regret watching. Well done, Channel 5.