"M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team" (2003) TV series 2003-2005

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Creator:

Paul Marquess

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

3 May 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A London MIT investigates a number of gruesome murders.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Forensic | Drive By Shooting | Stolen Car | Police

Cast

Lindsey Coulson	...	DC Rosie MacManus / ... (12 episodes, 2003-2005)
Richard Hope	...	DS Barry Purvis (12 episodes, 2003-2005)
Michael McKell	...	DS Trevor Hands / ... (12 episodes, 2003-2005)
Samantha Spiro	...	DI Vivien Friend (8 episodes, 2003)
Richard Huw	...	Dr. John Cornell (8 episodes, 2003)
Steven Pacey	...	DCI Malcolm Savage (8 episodes, 2003)
Vincenzo Pellegrino	...	Dr. Fergus Gallagher (8 episodes, 2003)
Joe Shaw	...	DC Scott Granger (8 episodes, 2003)
Andrew Somerville	...	DC Patrick Lincoln (8 episodes, 2003)
Howard Ward	...	DS Jim Daws (8 episodes, 2003)

Also Known As:

"Murder Investigation Team" (Australia) (International: English title) (UK) (DVD title)
"M.I.T." (UK) (promotional abbreviation)
"Think Murder" (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

48 min (8 episodes) (season 1) | 69 min (4 episodes) (season 2)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:TV-PG | UK:15

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Thames Television

Trivia:

Although it is the actual name of the police unit portrayed in the series, the "MIT" acronym was removed from the show's title for international (non-UK) release after complaints from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The show was retitled as simply "Murder Investigation Team" for the second season in the UK, as was the season one DVD release.

Movie Connections:

Spin off from "The Bill" (1984)

Soundtrack:

Sweet Bitter Love

Shows promise

The one thing that stands out about MIT is that it's not very homogenous: style and quality of stories are very different throughout the first series. Some episodes are meant to be very cutting edge by using an almost documentary style, some are fairly traditional. Some stories are very complex and difficult to follow particularly within a 50 minutes format- sometimes you get the impression that a 90 minutes story was cut down to fifty. Other stories are great crime drama, almost Jonathan Kellermann terrain. So all in all, it's a show that's showing promise but still has to find its own style. My main issue with the show is however the DI Vivien Friend or rather the way she is portrayed. She is a bit of a stereotype in terms of being the hard nosed career woman on the surface but with emotions underneath- I just don't see that in the performance.