Taggart (TV Series) Rogues' Gallery (1990) User Reviews

Certainly not a rogue episode

[RapidAssistant · 8/10 · 20 July 2006]

Originally screened during the festive period in December 1990, (and perhaps a fitting end to Glasgow's famed Year Of Culture), Rogues Gallery was a significant Taggart episode mainly as it saw DC Jackie Reid (played by Blythe Duff) shed her uniform and join Taggart and Jardine in CID "proper" as a plain clothes detective.

Plot Summary: The gruesome remains of a man's body are discovered in the crushed remains of a car that has just been compacted in a junkyard. The victim turns out to be a drug courier who has been working for a Glasgow gangster, but there are clues which seem to link the killing to the world of modern art and "yuppie" art dealers. When an identical murder occurs shortly afterwards, Taggart is convinced that the two killings have been done by the same person. However, all is not that it seems, and the reality turns out to be far more complicated than anyone could have imagined.

Overall, this is a strong outing for Taggart, and since it was written especially to be screened in one showing (rather than as 3 separate episodes), it is not overly long either. Mark McManus as always manages to get through proceedings with at least one memorable one liner ("Has anybody got a tin opener??", when he observes the forensic team trying to reconstitute the crushed car), whilst the embryonic brother-sister relationship between Jardine and Reid is begun to be developed by writer Glenn Chandler. As with all of the McManus-era Taggarts, the real star of the show is Glasgow itself, and with the city's reinvention as a trendy place to live and work, many of the gritty and dilapidated areas where these episodes were shot have largely been wiped out.

In the world of rogues and art

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 31 August 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.

"Rogues' Gallery" is very good. Maybe the pace could have been tightened in spots but it's Edita Brychta who comes off weakest, not much presence and she sticks out like a sore thumb, didn't feel her and MacPherson's chemistry either. However, 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, therefore more interesting with more development to Taggart.

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 is also blossoming nicely, 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, "Rogues' Gallery" is thoughtfully scripted with nothing ridiculous happening and things being taken seriously without being too morose. Taggart's personal life subplot has heart. 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. One doesn't predict the ending at all, which is clever and actually quite shocking and not convoluted or far-fetched.

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. Peter Mullan indeed gives the best performance in support, he is outstanding. Only Brychta doesn't work.

In summary, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Rogues' Gallery

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 16 April 2020]

Jardine has an affair with a woman who works in an art gallery who had her car stolen.

However Valerie Sinclair might be latching on to Jardine for other reasons. Her boss runs an art gallery, he might have financial problems and there could be a link with the Glasgow art world and drug smuggling.

Taggart has already come across two bodies found in compacted cars in a scrapyard.

This is short form episode as it was shown as a Christmas special.

It is another labyrinth episode where anyone could be a suspect. Peter Mullan plays a dangerous provocateur who has done time.

Then there are scenes of a severely disabled man. I am sure that cannot be random.

It is enjoyable enough. Although I find it hard to believe that Taggart was the only one at the police station who did not know of Jardine's nocturnal activities.

Jackie Reid who was introduced in a previous episode joins the detectives and it all ends in a tense finale.

Taggart investigates the art world.

[bethwilliam · 5/10 · 8 April 2006]

The episode opens with a body being found in the boot of a car being crushed in a scrap metal yard. A few scenes later the grizzly details are repeated when a second body is found. This leads Taggart and Jardine on an investigation that links drugs to the art world.

In this episode we have the second appearance of Blythe Duff who has been promoted from uniform to the detective branch as DCI Reid. Fans of the series will note how Jardine and Reid display a brother/sister relationship from the very start.

The outstanding performance from this episode comes from Peter Mullan who plays career criminal Peter Latimer. Mullan would go on to win acclaim in Braveheart and "My Name Is Joe." It took me a while to place Edita Brychta who plays Valerie Sinclair, Jardine's love interest. She would go on to play bit parts in American sitcoms like "Murder She wrote." Look out for her as one of the female wrestlers in "Man on the moon." This is not the best episode of Taggart. But it is not the worst. Most people believe Taggart was at its best with the trio of Taggart, Jardine and Reid. Somehow it is not the same today.