It's been a while II: The Pajama Jam

Well it is official I am now a teacher and the first week raced past me and I could hardly remember my own name let alone the names of 100 different kids. Whew.

What have I been up to on the ranch movie wise you may be asking yourself. Well let me tell you what is playing the most in the quiet quiet night. Prime Suspect. Helen Mirren is compelling to watch. Relentless and driven to succeed, she is not a person to be messed with. Mirren's Tennison does not suffer fools gladly and it shows. The mysteries and politics combine to give a very complete portrait of life in the London police force. This is one police drama that actually begins to approach the sanctity of The Wire. The first 3 seasons are extended cases from start to finish, in season 4 the show switchs to a more traditional case an episode formula that said howevereach episode checks in at about an hour and a half. This makes each episode a movie in and of itself.

The supporting cast is always varied and interesting and brings to bear on Tennison various aspects of her own personality reflected back to her. This makes Tennison occasionaly pause and consider her course of action and the impact it may have on someone. That is refreshing after seeing countless renegade cops who can't work within the system but get things done regardless of the cost paraded out by the Hollywood stereotype machine over and over again. There is a certain melancholy that hangs in the atmosphere around each of the stations we find Tennison solving crimes in as she works her way up the ranks.

Prime Suspect makes for very compelling viewing as you try to work out the truth along with the detectives on screen. Rent this once the snow begins to fly and stay in huddled up and enjoy the chase, because you need to see each season as close to start to finish as you can manage. Now that The Wire is done what have you got to lose?

"I like to be called Governor or The Boss. I don't like Ma'am - I'm not the bloody Queen."
and thankfully so as the show would likely be completely differnt if she were.


Sean

P.S. We now have the interwebs out at the ranch and so these posts should be occuring a little more frequently. Now you don't all have to thank me at once, I do it for the love of the game.