Prime Suspect: Tennison (Masterpiece)

Prime Suspect: Tennison is an excellent prequel to author Lynda La Plante’s Prime Suspect series, which starred splendid Helen Mirren. The poised and beautiful Stephanie Martini may seem an odd choice to play the aggressive and abrasive police officer Jane Tennison. But we meet the character in 1973 when she is only twenty-two, naive, inexperienced, still living with her parents, not fully trained as a police officer, and subjected to probationer reports from a skeptical sergeant. Martini is very likable as the younger version of this famous character. The entire cast is uniformly fine in a wide diversity of roles. But the stand-out of this series is Sam Reid, playing Detective Inspector Len Bradfield. Reid is mesmerizing as an intense, quick-witted officer who single-mindedly pursues cases, and compels his team to uphold his high standards. Glen Laker is credited with adapting La Plante’s 563-page novel into a 6-episode script, in which the character of Bradfield has been almost completely transformed. The original Bradfield was irrationally temperamental, foul-mouthed, selfish, sloppy, and kept a crate of whiskey stashed in his office. When a teenage girl is found murdered, Bradfield’s initial expressed concerns were about how failure to solve the case promptly would affect his career status, and how annoyed he always was by having to notify people about a death in the family. Bradfield’s ongoing verbal and emotional abuse of probationer Tennison was scattered through 400 pages, before readers were told he had “the hots” for her; but it is apparent by then that Bradfield is far too self-absorbed a creature to feel anything more. The dramatized Bradfield, impeccably dressed, treats everyone under his command with an authoritarian respect, and combines a genius for detective work with earnest execution of every task the job requires. While this may sound like just another one-dimensional detective hero, the revamped character is actually a man of disarming complexity, worthy of a major novel in his own right, and Reid appears to have been born to play the part. Reid was criticized for his accent; yet the character can easily be interpreted as attempting to cultivate a more refined accent for the sake of his career. This impression is evidenced by how Bradfield speaks with the public and with his commanding officer, and by the fact that he uses better grammar, better manners and less profanity than the other men at the station. And no qualms about accents should prevent anyone from reveling in Reid’s superb dramatic delivery, which he often enhanced with the rapid speech patterns common to a brilliant man. When Bradfield interrogates suspects, scenes where the character seems most in his element, Reid makes dialogue like, “You weren’t at your sister’s, we checked,” and “You twisted cow” take on Shakespearean depths. Because Bradfield is Tennison’s superior officer, the two must struggle to suppress a deep mutual attraction in the midst of a squad of detectives trained to be intuitive and observant; but there is an added unknown dimension to Bradfield’s predicament here. This matter forms a shocking plot twist for the series, but it also forms a major burden for the male lead. Numerous intricacies in Reid’s portrayal will only make sense in hindsight, and some aspects of Bradfield’s motivations will remain a mystery; consequently, it is potentially easy for Reid’s achievement here as an actor to be underestimated or overlooked. A second viewing of this series, which Reid’s performance requires and merits, will illuminate entire scenes where Bradfield’s every word, expression and gesture must be reinterpreted. Reid’s subtly balanced portrait of this emotionally torn man, partly surfaced and partly submerged, is astonishing, not only for its revelatory acting skill, but for its uniqueness. I can think of nothing to compare his performance with.We see from Tennison’s interactions at the police station that, as a pretty blonde, she is accustomed to attracting shallow men, who mistake her for shallow as well. But Bradfield is plainly a man she can take seriously, in part because he takes her seriously. He senses that she is very much like him—ardently and conscientiously committed to an important job, and capable of great things as a detective. As Tennison’s mentor, Bradfield scantly praises her observational skills, sternly condemns her rookie mistakes, but then helps her cover for them. Reid projects his character’s virtuous sides so well, that when Bradfield repeatedly advises Tennison to bend or break rules, for the sake of a case, for the sake of the squad, and for the sake of being his lover, the audience is every bit as taken in by him as she is. Jane publicly proclaims that she wants a detective’s career and an independent life; yet privately, she risks losing those things, finding herself hopelessly malleable in the company of a man we never hear her call anything but “Sir.” Colleagues of the disciplined and exemplary DI Bradfield begin to question why he is suddenly behaving recklessly with cases; but the recklessness in his personal life has made its seeping into his professional life unavoidable. He wants what he is forbidden to have, yet he means against all formidable odds to have it: he wants Jane Tennison. Compelling as the criminal cases are in this series, they pale in comparison to the romantic twist, as driven by Sam Reid. The film chemistry between Martini and Reid is quite extraordinary, fortunately so, since that is a necessary element for rendering their knife’s-edge relationship believable to viewers.The great Alun Armstrong is masterful as villain Clifford Bentley, an imprisoned career thief who is already planning his next major crime with his sons prior to his release. In the novel, Clifford is a secondary character, not appearing until the latter third of the book; in the series, Clifford is a pervasive wicked force to be reckoned with, getting almost as much screen time as Tennison. Veteran actress Ruth Sheen provides a startling contrast to Armstrong with her nuanced portrayal of his passive wife. At Bentley’s welcome-home party, she blithely serves her home-made cake to a roomful of hard-core criminals, men whom her husband can frighten by merely raising an eyebrow. The chemistry required for this couple is of a different sort from the leads, an opposites attraction, and it is a privilege to watch these two pros display this connection together.It seems unfair to single out one member of the grand supporting cast for attention. But Franc Ashman is well worth watching for in a delicious turn as Teresa O’Duncie, a hospital employee with a realm of unexpected guilt lurking beneath her quirky exterior. As Bradfield aims relentlessly and brilliantly for Teresa’s jugular during an interrogation, she deteriorates from twitchy lying to hyperventilating in sixty seconds, and Ashman makes every step in this transition a stunner. Past scenes reveal that Bradfield is trained to know when a suspect needs prompt medical attention; but in this instance, as the gullible Tennison rushes to Teresa’s aid, Bradfield continues his verbal assault unmoved, apparently suspecting her gasps for air are faked. This brief remarkable sequence represents a masterclass on how an actor recreates a meltdown, while another actor commands the screen as a leading man.The script cleverly shifts repeatedly between the Bentley crime family, the young girl’s murder, and Tennison’s life in and out of the police station, until all these plot elements collide. Director David Caffrey makes every scene worthwhile, and the meticulous attention to detail in the production seems every bit as fine as what was displayed in the original Prime Suspect series. It is certainly sad that no more seasons of the prequel series were authorized. Perhaps that will change!DVD extras include interviews with cast and crew, information on how various aspects of the 1970s were recreated for the program, and a tribute to the original Prime Suspect series.

The subtitle of this series is "A Life of Crime Begins", which is odd. It makes it sound like Jane Tennison was a crook. In any case, this is the back story, how 22 year-old Probationary WPC Tennison starts the process of becoming Detective Chief Inspector Tennison.She's Probationary because she is in a testing period before becoming a full-fledged member of the Hackney police department. Tennison works in Comm (dispatch) which hardly stretches the little gray cells. But two crimes are about the hit Hackney, and all-hands-on-deck means Tennison is thrown into the thick of things.First, the body of a 17 year-old woman is found in the abandoned garage of Kingsmead Estate (a housing project). Secondly, though the police don't know it yet, a big heist is being planned by the Bentleys, senior and his two sons.But before that, it would help if Tennison could get to work on time. She straggles in late (though we know she has a good reason) and Sarge is not amused, "You turn up for duty late. Looking like you've just been wrestling a pig. You're supposed to be making up for last week's traffic screw-up so I have something positive to write in your first probationary report."Since this is a prequel, I'm not giving anything away to write that Tennison will pass in her reports, including not fainting at her first post mortem. But it's not a simple matter of doing her job. Ethics raises its ugly head, or at least its inconvenient head, as she's told: "It's the way the game works." This makes for good drama and good character evolvement. I'm also happy to report that there is no Hollywood ending, and you'll see what I mean.I am dismayed that there will be no Series 2 of "Tennison". British ITV announced in June, 2017, that it could not come to an agreement with Lynda La Plante for a 2nd season. In case you didn't know, Lynda created and wrote the original and extraordinary "Prime Suspect" TV series starring Helen Mirren, Prime Suspect Complete Collection (1991-2006, it used original screenplays and was not based on previously published books). "Tennison", however, is based on La Plante's prequel book, Tennison (2015)."Tennison", which has been nick-named "Prime Suspect 1973", originally aired March 2017. It's six episodes total a little less than 6 hours. If you purchase the DVD or BluRay, you have the option of English subtitles on the episodes and the Bonus Features.Bonus Features:....A.. "Cars of the 70s" (2 minutes) Commentators include Stefanie Martini (plays Tennison), Joshua Hill (plays DC Edwards), Lex Shrapnel (plays John Bentley), Lester Dauton (back projectionist), Sam Reid (plays Bradfield) and Thomas Coombes (plays Dwayne Clarke).Period vehicles are used, and Martini says, "The 70s police cars are, actually, I think they're quite funny. They're quite twee."....B.. "Dressing the 70s" (3 minutes) Additional commentators include Amy Roberts (costume designer), Tommy McDonnell (plays DC Hudson), Blake Harrison (plays DS Gibbs), Rosie Day (plays Pam Tennison) and Nick Sidi (plays Andrew Tennison).Hill: "All the [70s] clothes are tight. There's no stretch."McDonnell: "I think every bloke on this has split their trousers."....C.. "Grading the 70s" (2 minutes) Additional commentators include Julian Court (director of photography). Grading is adjusting the light on scenes or part of scenes.....D.. "Hair of the 70s" (2 minutes) Additional commentators include Marella Shearer (hair and make-up designer) and Daniel Ezra (plays DC Ashton).....E.. "Policing in the 70s" (2 minutes) Additional commentators include Cass Sutherland (police advisor).Sutherland: "I think what's been quite rewarding is Stefanie, Sam, some of the others, asking me about what the period was like, and quite often, 'Was it really like that?', and I said, 'Yeah, it was!' "....F.. "Prime Suspect, The Legacy" (4 minutes) Additional commentators include Jessica Gunning (plays Kath Morgan), Alun Armstrong (plays Cliff Bentley), Geraldine Somerville (plays Joyce Tennison) and David Caffrey (director).This is one of the best new mystery series to come out of England during the past year. And I can't get enough of mystery series!Happy Reader

I enjoyed all of Helen Mirren's series -- and this production explains so much. Each character was well played. The flow of the story was compelling, -- I do hope these players continue with the story.

I have already watched the series Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren. This was a really good series of what she would have been like when she started out with the police.

Like 1st season of Endeavor there is a lot of the character you're waiting to develop. I thought the story was good but for the time, would have liked to have seem 2-3 cases instead of 1 drawn out over 6 - 45 minute episodes. DCI Tennison is iconic and we're waiting to see more of the rebel come out of the character. A good start.

with such a hit of hits to follow, and not excepting the exceptional helen mirren, there was a whole lot of shoes to fill here. that is a lot to ask for. well, that's what I wanted and did not get. most of the acting was fine to terrific, but the plots were plotz. a lot to lose interest is what you do get. I just could not force myself to see the entire season.

This should have had a longer run. Seems as though the people that run American TV are the same short sighted inept managers of British TV.

This show is very boring and doesn't even come close to the original "Prime Suspect". The acting is mediocre and the plot and the case is not very compelling. However the production design and the clothing of the time period was spot on. It's not surprising that this was canceled after one season. Save your time and money and just watch the original "Prime Suspect".