Taggart (TV Series) Secrets Part One (1994) User Reviews

Taggart reads a book.

[bethwilliam · 6/10 · 20 October 2006]

Cameron Friel arrives in Glasgow to attend a literary award hosted by Prof Maggi McLeish. At the ceremony Friel receives a bullet in an envelope which brings him to the attention of Taggart and the team.

Jake Koslewski returns from a charity mission to Romania to discover his wife, an alcohol counselor, has left him for George Proctor, a previous client. Jake is involved in translating Friel's manuscripts into Russian.

Friel's wife, an American, becomes the target of several attacks. First a sheep's head is found floating in their water tank. Then she becomes the victim of an acid attack.

Meanwhile two underworld figures are trying to discover the whereabouts of the van that Jake Koslewski drove to Romania.

After threatening his wife with legal action Jake's body is found in the back of the van and George Proctor flees the scene. He soon turns himself in to Taggart and confesses to murder. However, Dr Stephen Andrews discovers forensic evidence that completely contradicts the confession.

Jackei Reid is promoted to Sargeant in this episode which was screened over three nights. It is not the best Taggart that I have seen. Too many characters, too much dialogue and it feels like the writers were trying too hard.

However, the fact that Mark McManus is in it makes it worth watching.

Literary murder

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 5 October 2018]

Have always adored detective dramas/mystery series. This has been apparent from an early age, half my life even, when getting into Agatha Christie through Joan Hickson's Miss Marple and David Suchet's Poirot and into 'Inspector Morse'.

Whether it's the more complex ones like 'Inspector Morse' (and its prequel series 'Endeavour') and anything Agatha Christie. Whether it's the grittier ones like 'A Touch of Frost' (though that is balanced brilliantly with comedy too). And whether it's the light-hearted ones like 'Murder She Wrote'. 'Taggart' is one of the biggest examples of the grittier ones, especially the Mark McManus years and the earlier James MaPherson episodes.

"Secrets" is a good enough episode, if not quite one of my favourites. It does agree suffer from a try-too-hard over-stuffed feel preferable to not trying sure but still not a good thing.

If there were less characters, less talk, a little trimming and more parts developed more it "Secrets" would have been a better episode. It just felt too talky and cluttered.

What made 'Taggart' such a good show when it was in its prime is evident here. The characterisation here is meatier than seen pre-Jardine era, therefore more interesting with more development to Taggart and a lot works here, just that it could have been better at the same time.

Really like the slick, gritty look and Glasgow is like an ominous character on its own. The music matches the show's tone and has a good amount of atmosphere while the theme song/tune is one that stays in the memory for a long time. Really like Taggart and Jardine's chemistry here, which sees some priceless exchanges with them, and have always found it more interesting and settled than with Taggart and Livingstone. The relationship between Jardine and Reid was always blossoming nicely and had blossomed by this point and then accentuated with Jackie further blossoming it, showing promising signs as to why it was one of the best things about the era when Jardine was in charge.

As to be expected, "Secrets" is thoughtfully scripted mostly with nothing ridiculous happening and things being taken seriously without being too morose. The story is involving in its complexity and intricacy with nothing being what it seems, making the most of the long length (have generally found the 2000s episodes too short and rushed) without padding anything out. Some parts are not for the faint hearted, but nothing feels gratuitous and the investigations are compelling and with enough twists to stop it from being obvious. The ending is unexpected.

Good acting helps, with Mark McManus being a suitably tough and blunt presence throughout and James MacPherson being every bit his equal. Blythe Duff continues to impress and Iain Anders is suitably hard-edged. Robert Robertson as ever steals scenes. Can't fault the supporting cast.

Concluding, good enough, but something missing. 7/10 Bethany Cox