314. Web-series Reviews – 146

More web-series reviews…

Redemption – Came out in 2022.  DI Colette Cunningham's no nonsense approach to policing has earned her the respect of her Merseyside Police colleagues. She seems unflappable, until she gets a call from the Garda in Dublin after the body of a young woman is discovered.

A review from IMDB...

Redemption traces the experiences of Detective Inspector Collette Cunningham (Paula Malcolmson), a successful Liverpool Serious Crime Squad senior detective called back to her native Dublin by the Irish Garda (Police) due to the untimely death of her daughter Stacey (Rachel O'Byrne) from whom she'd been estranged for over 35 years. Collette is named as guardian of two unknown grandchildren, 16 year old Cara (Abby Fitz) and 14 year old Liam (Evan O'Connor), who have an absent father Eoin (Moe Dunford). To care for her grandkids and to more fully investigate the suspicious circumstances of her daughter's death, Collette swings a 6 month transfer as a junior DI with the Dublin Garda.

What emerges is a thoroughly gripping drama with a taut and intense story line over 6 episodes as Collette begins to unravel what really happened to her daughter against the backdrop of Dublin's organized crime syndicates whilst trying to develop a relationship with grieving teenagers with complex lives and zero history with their grandma. The show features excellent Irish acting talent and provides a view into modern Irish policing which makes for some fascinating and distinct cultural and procedural/legal differences from the far more common UK police dramas. Collette's quirky partner Siobhan (Thadea Graham), down to earth colleague Patrick (Keith McEarlean) and acerbic boss Jane (famous Irish actress Siobhan McSweeney) are magnificently cast. Of particular note were the fantastic and intense performances of the two young stars, 21 year old Fitz and only 15 year old O'Connor, both novice actors with prior experience only in more minor roles.

I'm surprised at some of the negative reviews as this series was a great showcase of Irish acting talent which meant this was not just a regional variation of a British cop show.

My Take – Worth a watch!

 

The Long Shadow – Came out in 2023.A desperate cat and mouse hunt ensues when Yorkshire is being haunted by a serial killer.

A review from IMDB...

Unusual, I guess, to see a seven-part TV mini-series but that was the slightly unusual format for this latest dramatisation of the infamous Yorkshire Ripper murders of the late 70's and early 80's committed by the evil Peter Sutcliffe.

This time, the point of view is switched to mainly focus on those of the victims and their families and to a lesser extent, those also of the police Investigators and their families. None of the murders are re-enacted and Sutcliffe himself doesn't actually appear at all until midway through the second last episode.

This approach for me worked, with the viewer sharing the increasing dread of the local female population of the killer's locale as he brutally slaughtered 13 women and injured 7 others (with rumours of more in the background) in the county over a five year period before a routine car number-plate check and the quick-thinking of an on-duty cop to return to the scene of the apprehension found Sutcliffe's "tools" and nailed him as the perpetrator.

The production did a good job of recreating the era with accurate depictions of the interiors of police stations, social clubs and various people's houses, as well as the cars and fashions of the day. It also didn't shy away from exposing some of the cheap and lazy prevailing attitudes of the day which certainly seemed to colour the outlook of the police who initially seemed to disparage the plights of the growing numbers of victims because they were mostly female prostitutes.

The usually sad circumstances which forced these women to take to the streets strongly colour the early episodes with a different reason shown for every one of them. We see one survivor of a Sutcliffe attack refuse to go public in case she's identified by family, friends and colleagues as a potential prostitute, again reflecting the low perception of the women who have turned to the streets only out of dire financial need, selling themselves for as little as £5 a time.

But if these women are at last shown with overdue retrospective sympathy and understanding, the same can't be said of the pursuing police. Confused, lazy, presumptive, disorganised and often prejudicial, their years and years of failure are artfully signposted on-screen by discreetly placed time markers. Their antiquated index-card system is exposed as being wholly inadequate to cope with the threat of a serial-killer, as we learn that Sutcliffe'was interviewed several times during the investigation with his recorded links to the murders buried away in mounds of paper-work. And that's before the police made probably their biggest mistake of the whole case, being led completely astray by a callous hoaxer with a Wearside accent who wasted who knows how much time and resources in his pursuit, but who in a postscript we gratifyingly learn was eventually tracked down and convicted for wasting police time.

The ensemble acting throughout was of a high standard with the actor portraying Sutcliffe himself bearing an uncanny resemblance to the real thing and convincing the viewer of the ordinary, everyday anonymity which worked in his favour for so long.

Unsensational, realistic and compelling but above all humanely told, this did feel like the definitive dramatisation of the horrific crimes of one of Britain's worst-ever serial-killers.

My take – Worth a watch!

 

Scam 2003 – The Telgi Story – Came out in 2023.  Born in Khanapur in Karnataka, Telgi became the mastermind behind one of the most ingenious schemes in Indian history that spread across multiple states and shook the entire country.

A review from IMDB...

We can all agree that it is hard to top something like Scam 1992, but this show unfortunately does not meet those standards.

Don't get me wrong, I was quite entertained throughout and was keen to watch the next episode by the end of each one, but there was a different feeling when watching 1992.

The show starts well, with a story that is quite simple to follow, not very technically, but it becomes just political by some point.

1992 was able to balance the scam, politics, and media well together, but this felt off, and the filmy dialogues in this series just remind you of Bhushan Bhatt, tbh.

I don't feel like we see the lavish aspect of the main character when he gets success, unlike Harshad, who got a very expensive high-rise. Nor do I feel the downfall; it just feels meh.

The timeline is kind of all over the place, jumping years just like that didn't really work.

The characters get you thinking who is who, and I'm not convinced by their relationships, unlike 1992, where we can see actual chemistry.

But we can agree that they don't really show much about the scam; they just focus on politics, which isn't that interesting at some point.

See, it was entertaining to watch the show, no doubt, but it doesn't stick with you. Rewatchability is low, unlike 1992, where there isn't much memorable in terms of dialogues.

The environemnt, doesnt really do justice - i forget where i am in the show in terms of location because they dont really give time to showcase the scenery or landmarks.

Sure the scam amount is very large but it doesnt feel "big" enough. 500 cores feels much bigger than it is.

For those who watched 1992, I still recommend you watch this, but you won't get the same satisfaction.

My Take – Worth a watch!

Cheers till next time😊!!