I`ve never been a subscriber to the the train of thought that Lynda La Plante is one of the greatest writers in the history of British television . Her success his mainly down down to other people especially to producers like Verity Lambert who has produced much of La Plante`s output . Don`t believe me ? Watch this version of FRAMED then
Being an American movie produced for television there`s criteria as to what can and cannot be shown , so out goes the grittiness ...ooopps sorry " grittiness " that La Plante is famed for so we`re just left with the bare bones of La Plante`s original teleplay and it doesn`t hold up to too much scrutiny . NYPD cop Mike Santini arrests international criminal mastermind Eddie Meyers who then turns prosecution witness ? Forgive me for asking but do cops get assinged to look after the same people they arrested on the witness protection program ? Am I alone in thinking Mike is the only cop assinged to looking after Meyers ? and how does Mike manage to afford a big house and swimming pool if he`s a mere detective ? The plot twists and turns which ends up making it not complex but somewhat contrived and there`s a bizarre scene where Sam Neill`s character ( And Neill plays Meyers in a totally camp way ) emulates a scene in a police car that another character played by Sam Neill did 25 years earlier in the movie SLEEPING DOGS .
The script is mainly to blame for this mediocre crime tale but it`s not really helped by Daniel Petrie`s directing or the usual TVM restraints on budget . No doubt La Plante afficianados can blame American TVM network regulations on its failure , but if that`s the case shouldn`t other people be getting the credit for La Plante`s British TV successes ?
Being an American movie produced for television there`s criteria as to what can and cannot be shown , so out goes the grittiness ...ooopps sorry " grittiness " that La Plante is famed for so we`re just left with the bare bones of La Plante`s original teleplay and it doesn`t hold up to too much scrutiny . NYPD cop Mike Santini arrests international criminal mastermind Eddie Meyers who then turns prosecution witness ? Forgive me for asking but do cops get assinged to look after the same people they arrested on the witness protection program ? Am I alone in thinking Mike is the only cop assinged to looking after Meyers ? and how does Mike manage to afford a big house and swimming pool if he`s a mere detective ? The plot twists and turns which ends up making it not complex but somewhat contrived and there`s a bizarre scene where Sam Neill`s character ( And Neill plays Meyers in a totally camp way ) emulates a scene in a police car that another character played by Sam Neill did 25 years earlier in the movie SLEEPING DOGS .
The script is mainly to blame for this mediocre crime tale but it`s not really helped by Daniel Petrie`s directing or the usual TVM restraints on budget . No doubt La Plante afficianados can blame American TVM network regulations on its failure , but if that`s the case shouldn`t other people be getting the credit for La Plante`s British TV successes ?