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We all love a bit of murder. Crime dramas and murder mysteries never leave our TV screens. The export of series from Britain to America can however be problematic. The concept and character of great programmes is becoming a little bit lost in translation. From across the pond come stylish detectives such as NCIS’s Gibbs or 24’s Jack Bauer; American sleuths with Hollywood smiles and bouncy barnets that effortlessly solve homicides within the hour. Their British counterparts, on the other hand, can be identified by a very different set of features.
The only barrier between us and total criminal shut-down is far oftener found propping up the bar than on the beat. Grappling with complex questions of justice, the following line-up of programmes each has a different focus, from who committed the crime, to why, or even how. But all the series have two things in common. They are critically acclaimed, with various awards and Baftas tucked under their belts. They have also gone stateside with varying degrees of success. Which character gets your vote?
Cracker’s Dr Eddie Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane, is best known as Fitz. He is a chain-smoking, alcohol-chugging, debt-ridden, sometime martially-unfaithful and always blue-suited criminal psychologist.
This British crime drama was broadcast between 1993 and 1995; a time when police forces were beginning to rely increasingly on criminal psychologists. When not delivering unorthodox lectures or stirring rebellion in gamblers anonymous meetings, Fitz is employed by the Manchester police force. His relationship with them is complicated at best. Writer Jimmy McGovern engages not just with murder but also ‘big issues’ over eleven storylines, such as the Hillsborough disaster. McGovern also demonstrates the vulnerability of the police. They are far from invincible in the line of duty. The series’ title refers to Fitz’s ability to ‘crack’ criminals. He can extract confessions from suspects with a rhetorical energy akin to that of a dog worrying a bone. Fitz’s personal life is in tatters. Self-destructive addictions repeatedly drive his wife and family away. The fact that the character’s ability to understand the criminal psyche lies in battling his own demons meant that the popular series failed to translate successfully to America. Smoking fifty cigarettes a day, and drinking seven bottles of whisky a week, Fitz himself confesses ‘I drink too much, I smoke too much, I gamble too much. I AM too much.’ With the constraints of stricter broadcasting rules, and cutting a more respectable figure, Robert Pastorelli’s Fitz in the Big Apple underwhelmed critics.
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Helen Mirren is Jane ‘don’t call me ma’am – I’m not the bloody queen’ Tennison. Impeccably dressed and flinty-eyed, she plays the first female DCI to lead a murder investigation, at a time when there were only four female DCIs in British police forces.
In its very first episode, the female protagonist encounters hostility when she takes charge of an investigation. Joining an overwhelmingly male police force, the difficulty ahead of her soon becomes clear. This assumes a particular resonance in the context of a 1975 Parkinson interview with its star. Here, Helen Mirren is quizzed on how her ‘equipment’ and ‘feminine assets’ hinder her performance as ‘in quotes, – a serious actress.’ Tennison’s no-nonsense policing gradually earns her the admiration of her team, securing forty-two murder convictions from trusting hunches and perseverance. Sacrificing her personal life to her work makes Jane an increasingly lonely figure; a figure whose reputation precedes her. She assures a new colleague that despite what he has heard of ‘that bloody Jane Tennison’ who’ll ‘be storming into your nick, the balls of your best officers trailing from her jaws, spraying people with claret, calling people Masons and threatening resignation’ she isn’t ‘a complete maniac.’ His reply? ‘Aren't you? How disappointing.’ An American adaptation of the show is set to premier this year, its first episode titled ‘Not Just a Pretty Face.’
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Check back tomorrow for Anne’s second two picks.
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