Rating: ★★★★☆
Yesterday we said goodbye with a great last episode of Prime Suspect. Well, it’s not technically dead, they’ll continue shooting, but the airing slot will be taken over by The Firm, in a move by NBC that is totally overhauling many of their shows. NBC insists that none of them are being cancelled, merely benched. Hilarious.
I am a huge fan of crime shows – on my list of to-watch shows are Castle, Bones, Dexter, Criminal Minds, etc etc etc. Part of why Criminal Minds is top on my list of favorite crime shows is because there is a certain degree of Hollywood shimmer that isn’t there. Yes, most of the people are attractive, yes there isn’t really much mention of paperwork and whatnot, but Criminal Minds does deal with the mental impact of the crimes, which is something that I find lacking from many other shows.
Prime Suspect takes the grit of crime a step further and throws it into the police office. One reason why I hated CSI was because of how… pretty it was. Look at the pretty offices, the pretty ME room, the pretty crime scene. Look at how dashing the detectives all look and how they all get along and work together for the sake of good! Prime Suspect has imperfect heroes. They smoke, joke at inappropriate times, fight, and insult each other. They have problems in their personal lives and insecurities. They are not perfect heroes. Of course, there still is a bit of Hollywood polish, it’s a little unavoidable, but it’s kept to a minimum. The show also deals with the emotional impact that the deaths of the victims have on their family and friends.
I really like the writing in this show, which is pretty rare for me in the current day and age. I often lament the decrease in quality, but this show redeems a little of my fear that the entertainment industry is declining into a state of caring only about special effects and explosions. On top of that, the acting is great. Maria Bello is a less often seen actress, but she is great in everything she does. She popped onto my radar with The Cooler, and if anyone hasn’t seen it, I highly recommend it. Other notable actors you may recognize are Kirk Acevedo and Peter Gerety.
Please NBC, stop futzing around and being greedy and give us back Prime Suspect.
Mapless Destination 