Prime Suspect

A prostitute is found brutally murdered in a bedsit. The pathologist's report confirms that the woman was stabbed repeatedly, beaten, bound and raped.

The search for the murderer is headed by DCI Shefford (John Forgeham), who upon eyeing the corpse at the scene of the crime obviously recognises her.

Thanks to a rare blood-type found on the victim, a suspect - George Marlow (John Bowe) - is hauled in for questioning. No sooner than his colleagues are congratulating him on solving a case in record time, however, Shefford suffers a fatal heart attack.

Enter DCI Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren). Tennison's a smart, sexy character who despite winning her promotion has been left pushing paper for the first 18 months of her career as detective.

Tennison sees Shefford's misfortune as her chance to prove herself. Much to the disgust of her colleagues, the case is handed over to her. Consequently, she not only faces a race against the clock to come up with enough evidence to convict Marlow, but must now combat sexual discrimination from a team of politically incorrect policemen working beneath her.

Marlow is released due to a lack of concrete evidence - however, when another body is found sporting identical wounds, Tennison is more determined than ever to get her man.

But twists abound as fresh suspects surface (including Ralph Fiennes in a typically twitchy role), and tell-tale signs of a major police cover-up begin to appear …

It's hard to believe that 12 years ago (1991) this two-part thriller changed the face of British TV with it's gruesome subject matter, unflinching language and superlative performances.

Hard to believe, because watching it today PRIME SUSPECT is still incredibly tense and therefore makes for satisfyingly fresh viewing - despite the fact that I've seen it several times over the years.

Everything gels together perfectly:

Chris Menaul's direction is distinctly cinematic right from the opening crane shots of a London street by night. The sexual politics and inner squabbling of the police force work wonderfully as intriguing sub-plots - urging the viewer to root for Tennison all the more.

And the cast alone must warrant this particular production as a point of interest for any genre fans out there: Mirren (CALIGULA; THE COOK THE THIEF HIS WIFE & HER LOVER), Tom Bell (LONG TIME DEAD; THE KRAYS), Craig Fairbrass (BEYOND BEDLAM; DARKLANDS), Fiennes (THE BABY OF MACON; RED DRAGON) and Tom Wilkinson (THE GHOST & THE DARKNESS and … er … THE FULL MONTY!).

Not forgetting Bowe, of course, who gives an outstanding performance here … then went on to play Duggie Ferguson in "Coronation Street"!!

The FX work is used sparingly, but is very effective and grisly indeed. It largely comprises of post-mortem ugliness as bodies are scrutinised by the police - and the camera - in the morgue. Elsewhere there are painfully realistic photographs of the carved victims, which we're frequently subjected to. The corpses - and their wounds - are very convincing indeed, and to this day are very strong stuff indeed for a 'TV programme'.

The real stars of this show though are Lynda La Plante's multi-layered script - effortlessly merging themes of sexism and broken homes within a tautly constructed thriller - and Mirren's smouldering performance as the fiercely determined Tennison. Between the two, it is impossible to tear your eyes away from the screen.

Perhaps a strange choice of DVD to review on SGM … but I'll argue the toss by putting this forward as a brilliant, tense, graphic milestone of British TV that ranks alongside the likes of A SENSE OF FREEDOM and THE FIRM (the Gary Oldman version!) as one of television's true timeless classics.

It would be a shame for something this good to pass by unmentioned …

The DVD is bare-bones - but that seems reasonable as this is a budget release from Cinema Club and the main feature is a whopping (though thoroughly entertaining) 203 minutes long.

The picture is presented in it's original 4:3 full-frame ratio and looks good - a little grain here and there, to be honest. The 2.0 surround soundtrack is consistently loud and clear. Unfortunately there are no available subtitles.

Extras? No. Although you do get 24 chapters - which is perhaps too few, considering the mammoth running time.

The sequels - which have lessened the impact of the original over the years - have also been released as separate discs. There's also a 7 disc box-set that houses the entire series for about 50 pounds.

Review by Stu Willis