Suspects

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.

I love this series, wish they could have made more seasons. As far as the swearing goes, not that much different from the programs on HBO Starz and other cable channels. Y always have a choice not to watch it. I think it's a great show and it not scripted.

Makes a nice change from the formulaic US-style crime dramas with their monologues and maverick cops, pieces to camera and complete absence of false starts, hesitations and incompletions.

The performances (I wanted to say 'scripts', but that doesn't really apply here in the usual sense) are well-judged to contain just enough of the jargon and officialese that marks the dialogue out as belonging to the context of police work and makes it feel believable, but not so laden with it that the actors fall into that pat delivery where emotion has to be overplayed to break through the sheen.

Having a degree of improvisation seems to free the performers up to be both emotive and small-scale; understated and authentic.

(Full disclosure: I do fancy Damien Molony)

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.

I just find this series dull and repetitive. Constantly in interrogation with the "suspects". I always laugh that the "solicitors" NEVER say a thing... Just sit there and act like they are taking notes. Totally predictiable. Seems like every episode is the same. Dont like the video format either. My girl on the other hand loves that. Just not my thing. Boring.