He Kills Coppers

For a mainstream drama on ITV, 'He Kills Coppers' is remarkably harsh, complex and realistic; a long way from conventional serial-killer cliché. An enigmatic villain, and the under-Britain he inhabits, is set against a story of corrupt policeman: there's certainly promise in the premise. Unfortunately, the acting isn't brilliant (Steven Robinson as the journalist is particularly poor) and the direction relies too much on the soundtrack to insert some otherwise missing emotion. The real problem is that the story seems abbreviated; a succession of events enticingly set out but never fully elaborated; what's left is perfunctory, a barely illustrated outline. It's a shame, as I can believe there was potential here.

Frighteningly believable, and it is based on real events.

Much has been made of the 1960s culture of police corruption and the criminal underworld, so this was old school. No drugs in sight!

There is a lot of offensive language, but in keeping, I would say, with the dialogue within this culture at the time.

It was jarringly brutal at times, not gratuitous, but "over in a flash" brutal.

Ralph Spall was excellent as the copper as was Mel Raido as the criminal.

Steven Robertson was as unbelievable as he was in Shetland. Really lightweight as the reporter Tony Meehan (was this a nod to the ex Shadows drummer?).

A few continuity errors, most notably the lack of aging from 1966 to 1995, particularly Maureen Lipman's character.

Ending spoiler: .

. .

Billy Porter would have shot Frank Taylor on the rooftop in the same way that he shot his other victims. Also, the police marksman could have taken him out a lot earlier than they did.

This feature is really rather poor and full of historical inaccuracies, screenplay aside. None of the performances particularly stand out despite a robust cast. It's essentially a documentary with a bigger budget but no voiceover.