Sunday 3 July 2011

Scott and Bailey - series review


Scott and Bailey has just finished what I suspect will be the first of a number of series. I'm glad I stuck with it, because it does offer something fresh in TV cop shows. It's not just that the three lead characters are all women cops - though the female slant to the story-line is key to its success. But the flavour of soap opera is never far away. And what that means is that although some things in the series are a bit irksome, at times it all makes for quite compelling viewing.

The demands of the story meant that Rachel, the brilliant but wayward young DC, behaved quite stupidly at times, while her older and wiser colleague wavered between staying with her nice but boring husband and going off with a more exciting yet rather dodgy colleague. While their boss,Jill Murray, was a bit manic at times.

Yet the quality of the acting by Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp and Amelia Bullimore was very good, even better than the quality of the writing, which was certainly very capable. The plots weren't bad, either, and the odd implausibility was, I thought, definitely forgivable. After all, there are many classic crime stories with implausible elemeents. Overall, I really enjoyed the show and look forward to more in the future.

6 comments:

K said...

I really liked this series too. The characters were realistic, likeable. I also thought that the mix between action and humour was brilliant in my opinion.

I also liked how the strong female characters in this series, were not perceived as butch or overpowering, which some other crime programmes tend to perceive women characters, but real women with different sides to them.

I'm really looking forward to another series of 'Scott and Bailey.'

Paul Beech said...

Martin – I enjoyed ‘Scott and Bailey’ for its pace, storylines, police procedural authenticity, Manchester background (which I have some familiarity with from my career in social housing) and, most especially, its lead characters. DCs Scott and Bailey were terrific creations, brilliantly acted – sassy, gutsy, real women. And the relationship between the two was so well done.

The point I wish to make, though, is that I didn’t find Rachel Bailey’s foolishness over boyfriend Nick at all implausible. Reason? Because in real life people often confound our logical expectations: even highly intelligent people can be very dim when it comes to relationships; even highly responsible people, in the grip of strong emotion, can act recklessly and completely out of character.

I found ‘Scott and Bailey’ compulsive viewing and certainly hope for a further series – or several!

Regards, Paul

Martin Edwards said...

Hi Spangle, glad you liked it too. I agree about the mix of action and humour.

Martin Edwards said...

Paul, you are absolutely right about human relationships, it's one of life's eternally fascinating issues.

adele said...

I'm another huge S and B fan. And I hope that they'll recommission. A pleasure to get a glimpse of Manchester now that I live somewhere else, and as everyone has said, fantastic to get such good parts for three women. Sharp, Jones and Bullimore are a wonder to behold and listen to!

Martin Edwards said...

Hi Adele, I agree. The acting of that trio really made all the difference.