Once again Acorn Media is offering a complete great British
series for many of us who had no access to it in the past. This time around the
series is THE COMMANDER and it ran from 2003 through 2008 on ITV1. And like the
other offerings from Acorn this one will have you switching discs as soon as
the one you’re watching finishes.
The series is about Commander Clare Blake (Amanda Burton), a
solid detective who’s been promoted to head an elite murder squad at a time
when the role of women on the police force wasn’t looked upon well by their
male counterparts. DCI Mike Hedges (Matthew Marsh) is one of those who doesn’t
feel she deserves the promotion, thinking he is more qualified. The two but
heads often, not just because of their disagreement over her promotion but
because Blake feels that the tactics used by some members of the force go above
and beyond. At the moment is a case involving Hedges that call into question if
he and his team shot a man trying to attack them or if he was set up to be
murdered.
The first season not only takes on the issue of Hedges but
revolves around a killer released from prison on parole, a man Blake helped to
convict but who feels has been rehabilitated. So much so that she wrote an
introduction to the book he wrote about his time in prison thinking it would
only circulate there. In fact James Lampton (Hugh Bonneville) has become a
celebrity darling and his book is headed for number one on the charts released
to the entire public. As the show progresses Blake and Lampton find themselves
attracted to one another and begin an affair. This, of course, puts Blake and
her career in jeopardy. And when new murders begin happening Hedges
automatically assumes it is Lampton behind them while she defends the man. That
Hedges begins using his bullying and illegal means to prove his assumptions it
does nothing more than cloud the waters. But then so does Blake’s affair. At
the bottom of it all is the question just who is killing these women now? And
could it indeed be Lampton.
This is just the kick off to the series which goes further
each subsequent season. Blake’s family comes into question a number of times,
most pointedly her sister Sara (Lizzy McInnerny) who is dealing with the duel
issues of struggling with cancer and the divorce from her husband for another
woman who has taken the children. Episodes deal with her issues as well as a
kidnapped and murdered god daughter in season three.
What makes the series work is the combination of police
procedural combined with the office politics of the police system going on at
the same time. It’s not enough to be a good police officer with skills to find
out who did what, you also have to know how to placate the higher ups in an
effort to remain on good terms and to move up the ladder. Few shows deal with
that behind the scenes look at the lives of police officers and it was
refreshing to see it.
Burton as Blake does
a magnificent job here. She displays the coolness of the police officer under
fire by her peers simply because she is a woman as she tries to find the guilty
party in each episode. At the same time she displays a sense of vulnerability
when she deals with her personal life, be that the affair she has in the first
season with the supposed murderer or in dealing with the selfish needs of her
sister. Granted her sister is in the worst way possible but she doesn’t make
helping her an easy task.
The show is well crafted and believable on all levels from
costumes to sets to location shoots. All of this combines with great acting on
hand from every person found on screen. The direction is smooth and the stories
of each season run along at a pace that will hold your interest and keep you
watching, waiting to see what happens next. Fortunately you don’t have to wait
since this is the complete series. The only thing stopping you from enjoying
the next episode is when the last one finishes.
Click here to order.
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