Television Review: Happy Valley

I wanted to write this as soon as I'd seen the finale but time didn't permit. In hindsight, I'm glad I let my thoughts percolate for a little while - I've realised that the series as a whole was better than I thought a week ago. For those unfamiliar with the show, here's the gist. Happy Valley stars Sarah Lancashire as Sgt Catherine Cawood, a woman juggling her job with her dysfunctional home life. Her ex-heroin addict sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran) lives with her, as does grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah). He was the product of rape and his mother killed herself soon after his birth. Catherine's decision to look after Ryan led to the breakdown of her marriage and her relationship with her son. The other story in this is Kevin Weatherill's (Steve Pemberton). Having asked his boss, Nevison Gallagher (George Costigan) for a raise and been rejected, he makes the mistake of suggesting to a drug dealer than they should kidnap Gallagher's daughter and demand a ransom. This all starts to go pear-shaped rather quickly, especially when one of the men involved in the abduction turns out to be Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), the man who raped Catherine's daughter...

It's difficult to articulate how superb a series this was. Any programme that makes you simultaneously long for the next episode and dread it in equal measure has to be doing something right. Sally Wainwright created a little simmering cauldron through a perfect script, brilliant casting and plain old twists and turns. It proved to be compelling viewing, especially from episode three onwards. The satirical title may have masked the viciousness of what was to come but you weren't in the dark for long.

Sarah Lancashire, rather predictably, was absolutely amazing. I saw plenty of comments surprised at that fact but, really, although the role is drastically different to her portrayal of Caroline in Last Tango in Halifax, that's the place to look for proof of her ability. Equally, the rest of the cast was excellent, even those who only appeared in a few episodes (see Karl Davies's performance in the final episode as Catherine's son for evidence there). For me, though, one of the best performances came from Siobhan Finneran as Clare. Steadfast with an air of fragility, I was getting really concerned about her towards the end of the series, having so much thrown at her.

Happy Valley was said to be too violent and it's certainly not easy viewing. Two episodes in particular will have you closing your eyes. However, it's something to be said that it doesn't trivialise violence. It shows it in all its horrible detail, finally dispelling the myth that people who are beaten badly get straight back up and bounce back. If anything is damaging to society, it's the view that violence doesn't leave physical or emotional scars. I think Happy Valley altered that with some haunting scenes that left me sleepless for nights afterwards.

Best series of the year? Definitely. Good luck to everyone trying to top this.

Television Review: Scott & Bailey

I had high hopes for this series. After all, it's a detective programme centred around female police officers working in Manchester. It has Lesley Sharp and Suranne Jones in it and was co-created by the wonderful Sally Wainwright, a woman I'd admire even if she wasn't Yorkshire born and bred. However, I have to admit that several episodes of the six episode series left me a little ambivalent.

The series was touted as a show about two colleagues who were friends first and foremost. This really didn't come across in the first episode. Janet Scott(Lesley Sharp) seemed to know less about Rachel Bailey (Suranne Jones) than the audience did. That ruined the concept somewhat. I will concede, though, that as the series ran on the friendship between them solidified and actually contributed to the detective aspect of things. One criticism my father had (which I agree with) was that the show should really have been called Scott, Bailey and Murray since DCI Gill Murray was as much a part of this series as Scott and Bailey were. Not that I didn't appreciate three women taking the lead on murder investigations for a change.

Some of the crime stories were a little predictable. However, I do think they made up for some of that predictability with the grittiness promised prior to transmission. There was a particularly gruesome scene in episode four where a man was filmed being hacked to pieces. Although we didn't see much I still can't get that scene out of my head. To a seasoned crime pro like my father the plots were average. I liked them, even if it did feel like they were a sideline to whatever personal drama was going on during that episode.

Which brings me to my main criticism - and it isn't even completely the fault of the individual programme. I don't believe that in the UK we commission decent runs of shows. Scott & Bailey was only six episodes long, hardly enough time to engross your audience in the lives of two particular officers and do justice to the crime stories as well. If the personal condundrums had been spread over, say, twelve episodes or perhaps fifteen then each episode wouldn't have felt quite so cluttered. Eight months apparently passed between episode one and episode six - I would've loved to slow down a bit and experience a little more of those months while having more of the individual episodes devoted to the crime story.

The two storylines running throughout the series were Rachel's relationship with slimy barrister Nick Savage and Janet's quest to find the killer of her childhood friend. Overall these worked, although it took suspension of belief to comprehend than a detective as smart as Rachel would be taken in by such a man.

I can't criticise any of the cast. The regulars alongside an excellent supporting cast were enjoyable to watch (or disturbing as the case may be). On balance, I would welcome a recommission by ITV but I'm not certain how the ratings were (and that returns me to an argument about deliberate broadcasting clashes which I won't bore you with). ITV don't have a great record on giving things another try but with such a cast and no doubt some positive intentions for a second series I hope they fight against their history. We need quality drama in this country and not all great dramas have flourished after the first series.