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When Scott & Bailey began six weeks ago, it just seemed like any other crime drama, with run-of-the-mill characters, run-of-the-mill plots, run-of-the-mill production values… But then something changed and, from around episode three, it became compulsive viewing, proving that it was far better than its ‘ITV’s latest crime drama’ label gave it credit for.
Now, I’m not saying that Scott & Bailey should clean up at next year’s BAFTAs; after all, there was still plenty to take issue with. For instance, in the otherwise excellent penultimate episode, Janet Scott (Lesley Sharp) was stabbed, leaving colleagues, including Rachel Bailey (Suranne Jones), wondering if she would survive. Had this episode been in the third series, I might have wondered exactly the same thing, but a programme whose title is made up of the names of the two main characters is not going to bump one of them off five episodes in. Had they done so, they would have needed a new title. Perhaps: ‘Just Bailey’, ‘Bailey Goes Solo’, ‘Bailey Gets Away Scott-Free’…
It was also a shame that the series-arc involving Scott’s search for her childhood friend’s killer was given scant mention in the final episode. Yes, the killer’s identity had been revealed, but it would have been nice to have some closure, rather than continuing with the plot in the second series (which, unusually for British drama, it is almost certain to get).
Despite all of that, the last two-thirds of the series had me gripped, and that was because of the characters. Across the series, the characters developed from thinly drawn sketches into human beings you actually became attached to. Not least Suranne Jones, who has truly excelled throughout, and perhaps she has now escaped being forever known as ‘Karen from Coronation Street’. Jones’ excellence did highlight the flaws with Lesley Sharp’s performance, though. At times it seemed like she thought she was still appearing in the Doctor Who episode 'Midnight', which required her to look distant and speak robotically; in the first few episodes, she just seemed to be reciting her lines rather than performing them. By the end, she did seem to have got into it, presumably noting the lack of David Tennant and Merlin in Goth mode, but both she and Jones were upstaged by Amelia Bullmore as DCI Gill Murray, whose foul language, fierce emotions and killer put-downs were the highlights of every episode.
Unusually for crime dramas, the crime-of-the-week stories have been average at best; they were solved so quickly it was like they were working against the Countdown clock, or maybe they just wanted to get everything done and dusted before ITV could launch another crime drama. My personal favourite case was in the second episode, where Bailey went knocking on doors looking for a tall white man in his twenties. Guess who was behind Door Number 1?
Thankfully, while the crimes haven’t been up to scratch, the drama most certainly has, with Bailey’s troublesome relationship and Scott’s unhappy marriage proving to be surprisingly gripping. Moreover, the fact that these storylines were spread across the series made them much more effective, and it was far better than squeezing each on into a single 40 minute episode.
Therefore, Scott & Bailey may not be the year’s most revolutionary drama, but it has proved to be the year’s most enjoyable Sunday night diversion. Unless, of course, watching relics, that nobody much cares about, being evaluated really turns you on. And that’s just Popstar to Operastar…
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