Prime Suspect: Scent of Darkness (TV 1995)

A series of brutal sex murders disturbingly similar to the pattern of Superintendent Jane Tennison's first major case leads to the awful suggestion that she may have caught the wrong man the first time.

Director:

Paul Marcus

Writer:

Guy Hibbert

Stars:

Helen Mirren, Pip Donaghy, Tim Woodward

Won 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Helen Mirren	...	Supt. Jane Tennison
Pip Donaghy	...	Len Sheldon
Tim Woodward	...	George Marlow
Stephen Boxer	...	Supt. David Thorndike
Hugh Simon	...	Chief Inspector Finlay
Alan Leith	...	Supt. Howell
Stuart Wilson	...	Dr. Patrick Schofield
Penelope Beaumont	...	Dr. Elizabeth Bramwell
Christopher Ashley	...	Antony Bramwell
Glen Berry	...	Wayne
Joseph Kpobie	...	Al
Otis Munyangiri	...	Pete (as Otis Munyang'iri)
Rebecca Thorn	...	Policewoman 1
Scott Neal	...	Geoff
Christopher Fulford	...	DCI Tom Mitchell

Storyline

A series of horrific murders of women in a pattern very similar to a previous series of murder Police Detective Jane Tennison investigated lends support to a growing popular feeling that she arrested the wrong man, who has always claimed his innocence. Jane refuses to accept that possibility and orders her team to investigate the new murders to the exclusion of reviewing the older ones. The growing friction of the suspicions of her fellow officers and her own convictions lead to her being taken off the case as being biased. Now, she must try to restore her professional reputation while investigating elements of the case on her own.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | detective | police | tabloid journalism | perfume | 

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS/Masterpiece Theatre

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1995 (UK)

Also Known As:

Heißer Verdacht - Der Duft des Todes

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television, WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Chief Supt. Kernan: I have absolutely no choice but to suspend you from all duties. Please give me your warrant card.
Supt. Jane Tennison: [Looks at Mike] I shall, of course, vindicate myself at the earliest opportunity.

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Connections

Followed by Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act (2006)

User Reviews

Let down by story and lead

Nicely filmed and well acted, it has a lot of tension and suspense and is gripping. But Tennison is such a dragon that it's hard to sympathise with her, as she insults everyone around her and never apologises for her mistakes. Despite her detestable nature, Tennison never seems to get her comeuppance nor does she get put in her place.

Another let down is the story which, though gripping, is rather predictable in some respects and very difficult to believe in others. One never feels that one is getting anywhere by watching the story and feels that instead one is at the whim of the author, who himself probably hadn't thought up the ending till writing it. The attempt at introducing suspense by introducing some time pressure fails rather.

There is some comical garbled shouting exchanged by some officers, which is quite amusing. It's also worth noting that there's a large amount of smoking, especially by today's standards.

Overall not bad, but not good either. The main character is too hard to like and the story (especially the conclusion) too ridiculous.