“With
a force under pressure to perform
and a host of characters at odds with
each other, a sometimes gruesome and
occasionally light-hearted venture into
the murky world of Police corruption is
the setting for the highly-watchable,
gritty and hard-hitting cop series Line
Of Duty...”
A VITAL POLICE COUNTER-TERRORISM OPERATION goes horribly and tragically wrong
in the opening scene of the enormously popular police drama Line Of Duty
leaving an innocent man dead, a police officer traumatised and Detective Sergeant
Steve Arnott (Martin Compston: Monarch Of The Glen; Sweet Sixteen) ostracised
by his colleagues when he takes issue with the ensuing damage limitation.
Steve is transferred to the anti-corruption unit AC-12, to work with Superintendent
Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), who takes pride in his work. The team is investigating
the well-respected and successful Detective Chief Inspector Tony Gates (the
likeable Lennie James: The Walking Dead; Run), who has recently won the
title of Officer of the Year.
“Line
Of Duty
Series One is an
excellent Police drama
with plenty of
excitement, action and
drama to keep you
hooked...”
Tony's
team has regularly turned in the best crime figures for three years running
but is he hiding something? Ostensibly happily married with two children, Tony
is having an affair with former flame Jackie Laverty (Gina McKee). He puts his
neck on the line when she is involved in a hit-and-run while drunk at the wheel,
but he is soon to find all is not as it seems.
The ambitious DC Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure: Broadchurch), has had enough of
CID and wants to transfer to a unit with more action. But she also finds a complaint
levelled at her when she tries to follow a directive from above and fails to
follow up a series of break-ins that result in an assault.
Sitting pretty on the Fifth Floor, the powers that be issue orders without thinking
through the consequences. And it is those trying to follow those orders who
suffer. To the Divisional Commanders it is all about figures and their directive
to reduce knife crime. Unsolved crimes should not appear on the radar.
Mistakes are made and a chance to prevent a double murder is missed following
the killing of drug dealer Wesley Duke (Dylan Duffus). Drugs are being bought
and sold on a council estate and even a young boy, Ryan Pilkington (Gregory
Piper) has become involved with the drugs cartel run by the cold-blooded Tommy
(Brian McCardie), whom you cross at your peril. Ryan's mother Keely (Lauren
O'Rourke) is not interested in his welfare and the boy runs wild with no respect
for law and order.
At first believing that Tony Gates may not have stepped too far out of line,
Steve begins to realise something of the extent of Gates' wrong-doing. As he
begins to piece everything together with the help of Kate Fleming, he suffers
a barrage of insults from Gates' team, especially best friend Nigel Morton (Neil
Morrissey) and Matthew Cottan (Craig Parkinson: The Mill).
Steve and Gates become embroiled in a game of cat-and-mouse — whenever
Gates has his back against the wall he seems to wriggle out of trouble, turning
the tables on the investigator. But it is only a matter of time before things
will unravel in a startling and tragic way. As the stakes get higher it isn't
just careers on the line — it is lives.
Getting off to an attention-grabbing start, Line Of Duty Series One is
an excellent Police drama with plenty of action, excitement and drama to keep
you hooked. The mix of interesting and sometimes unpredictable characters works
well but the gruesome bits may be a little too graphic for comfort.
Following on from the success of Line Of Duty Series One, which attracted
over four million viewers and was BBC2's best performing drama series in ten
years, this hugely popular police drama will returns to the screens for a second
series on Wednesday 12 February (2014). Don't miss it.
Line Of Duty also features: Kate Ashfield as Jools; Paul Higgins as Hlton;
Darren Morfit as Brackley; Jordyn-Eve Davis Greene as Natalie; Saffron Davies
as Chloë; Aliston Lintott as Rita; Faraz Ayub as Deepak; Martin Buchan as Chief
Constable; Toni Midlane as Burton; and Fiona Boylan as Larkin.
Composer is Carly Paradis; Director of Photography is Ruairi O'Brien; Written
and Produced by Jed Mercurio; and Various Episodes are Directed by David Caffrey
and Douglas McKinnon.
*Line
Of Duty Series One makes its DVD debut in the UK from Acorn Media on 3 February
2014. Catalogue Number AV3121 | Running Time: 323 Minutes Approximately on 2
Discs | RRP: £19.99. Special Features: Behind The Scenes Feature | Actor Filmographies
| Photo Gallery.
"Line Of Duty Series One is an excellent Police drama with plenty of
excitement, action and drama to keep you hooked" —Maggie Woods
"Thrilling… It's the perfect miserable indoor accompaniment" —
The Independent
“With
a force under pressure to perform