If I
were to ask you to imagine a BBC period drama, what would you think of? I
couldn’t say for sure, but I would imagine you’ve come up with soft, fuzzy
image involving petticoats, walking canes and garden parties on the lawn. Not, I
should imagine brutal murders, violent early pornography and post-mortem gore.
That, however is we get from ‘I Need Light’, the first episode of the BBC’s new
drama du jour, Ripper Street.
The
first episode, shown last Sunday, for a reason known only to the BBC as part of
their festive drama season, introduces us to the smart and serious Inspector
Edmund Reid, played by the incomparable Matthew Macfadyen, along with his
trusted companion, Captain Jackson (Adam Rothenberg), a rowdy, dashing American
surgeon and long-time colleague Sergeant Bennet Drake (Jerome Flynn). Together
they attempt to keep local panic on the down low, by proving that the grisly
murder of a local violin player was not committed by the infamous and recently
missing in action, Jack the Ripper.
Set
just six months after ‘Jack’s’ original murders, the world of Ripper Street provides the perfect
environment for copycat killing plotlines, as well as showing the general sense
of chaos and fear at the time. Faced with disillusionment and past failures, the
police have a lot of catching up to do in order to restore public trust. Sadly,
the historical references are a little thin on the ground. The From Hell letter
gets a casual mention, victim Mary Jane Kelley gets a name check, and Ripper
investigator in chief Detective Abberline (Clive Russell) has a small role.
Realistically,
though, all that has all been done before, and this series has plenty more to
offer in its own right. In ‘I Need Light’, Reid’s investigation into the murder
of the young Maude Thwaites takes him and colleague Detective Drake (Jerome
Flynn) into a dark, violent world of prostitution, smut and pornography, with
an exploration of the beginnings of photography particularly well expressed.
Be
warned, some parts make extremely difficult viewing, although Macfadyen’s
earnest, honest Inspector lends a comfortingly secure moral compass to the
story. He’s the optimism of the story, the belief that better times lie ahead
and it is his duty to make them happen. Flynn and Rothenberg play off each
other brilliantly throughout, using their characters differences to full effect
as part of Reid’s mismatched Victorian Scooby gang. MyAnna Buring is suitably
fiery as brothel keeper Long Susan, and Charlene McKenna is compelling as Rose
Erskine, one of her ‘girls’.
The
set and general atmosphere are great too, really capturing the darker realities
of Victorian London. A timely visit to Finchley part-way through the episode clearly
underlines for us the contemporary East versus West divide, with one side force
to live ‘like rats’, as Reid remarks. There are plot twists galore, too, with
writer Richard Warlow seemingly on a one man mission to prevent viewers from
becoming too comfortable.
All in
all, this is far from the Sunday night period drama, or cosy murder mystery
we’ve come to expect from the BBC. At times, it’s uneasy viewing but on the
whole, good on them for that. We all need a shock over our cocoa once in a
while.
Next
on, tomorrow night, 9pm.
You can read more of Jen's writing here: https://memyselfandtheothers.wordpress.com/
Or you can follow her on twitter here: https://twitter.com/jenniferklarge
No comments:
Post a Comment