As a Londoner, in my late teens / early 20s at time, the manhunt did not fully resonate with me. It was something that came on the news, on the rare occasion I watched the news.
I had only been up north, to Preston, a couple of times in 1978, once to watch Chelsea play an away game and once to visit Blackpool with friends. I remember it was like stepping back in time; it felt grim. Unless you were in one of the many pubs; pubs where there was a great deal of, alcohol driven, bonhomie.
The evocation of the times was well done.
This was an excellent production, showing not the shock horror gore of police procedural dramas, but concentrating on the victims, the circumstances of their lives and their families.
The "keystone cops", as voiced by one of the reporters, were well portrayed. Most of the detectives were thick, misogynistic bods, who sense of "little men" power was their overriding driving force. The let's "bully and beat out a confession" approach appeared to be the only tool they had for crime solving.
The women in the incident room were portrayed as hardworking and generally caring people. I don't know if this was a cynical portrayal of the policewomen to counteract the horrific, openly non-PC culture, of the time, as displayed by the policemen, media et al. The division of victims into prostitutes and innocents made me feel sick, now as well as back then.
Given what I have said, none of this came across as a world filled with cartoon characters because the ensemble cast gave excellent performances.
This is more than worth watching.
Now, as a sixty odd year-old woman, I can only reflect on how much has changed, technology for one and yet, how little has changed, as tough times still affect many lives adversely.
I also wonder how much of our current enlightened times is just a thin veneer. Would we not openly make the comparison of innocents and prostitutes now, just think it?
I had only been up north, to Preston, a couple of times in 1978, once to watch Chelsea play an away game and once to visit Blackpool with friends. I remember it was like stepping back in time; it felt grim. Unless you were in one of the many pubs; pubs where there was a great deal of, alcohol driven, bonhomie.
The evocation of the times was well done.
This was an excellent production, showing not the shock horror gore of police procedural dramas, but concentrating on the victims, the circumstances of their lives and their families.
The "keystone cops", as voiced by one of the reporters, were well portrayed. Most of the detectives were thick, misogynistic bods, who sense of "little men" power was their overriding driving force. The let's "bully and beat out a confession" approach appeared to be the only tool they had for crime solving.
The women in the incident room were portrayed as hardworking and generally caring people. I don't know if this was a cynical portrayal of the policewomen to counteract the horrific, openly non-PC culture, of the time, as displayed by the policemen, media et al. The division of victims into prostitutes and innocents made me feel sick, now as well as back then.
Given what I have said, none of this came across as a world filled with cartoon characters because the ensemble cast gave excellent performances.
This is more than worth watching.
Now, as a sixty odd year-old woman, I can only reflect on how much has changed, technology for one and yet, how little has changed, as tough times still affect many lives adversely.
I also wonder how much of our current enlightened times is just a thin veneer. Would we not openly make the comparison of innocents and prostitutes now, just think it?