Back in those far-off days when we in the UK had to make do with just two commercial TV channels it was a relatively straightforward matter for those channels to commission quality drama. All eyes were upon them so advertisers were happy to pay top dollar. In this modern digital age, however, catching the attention of the viewing public is a far more complicated business. Attention is now spread wide and advertising cash is, consequently, spread thin. Where once a viewing audience of fifteen million was not uncommon for a quality prime-time drama, five million is now considered perfectly respectable. ITV1, a channel that boasts an impressive back catalogue of classic drama, is now reduced to peddling cheap voyeuristic trash (often insincerely branded as 'investigative'), with an occasional one-off (and often formulaic) drama being thrown into the ring as a sop to the past. Drama series are now few and far between. Just recently the channel has devoted most of its resources to finding out whether Britain has got talent, although most of the money seems to have been showered on the talent-spotters themselves. This undoubtedly explains why ITV has decided to discontinue one of its best recent dramas after only two series.
Vincent was a series that first aired in 2005 and starred Ray Winstone as a down-at-heel private investigator. A second series aired the following year. And a third? Not in the foreseeable future, it seems. I guess what has happened is that either Mr Winstone is too busy or too expensive, or, more likely, that ITV schedulers have decided that if the viewing masses are served gruel for long enough they may just learn to like it (it seems those schedulers might not be far wrong). So, thank Heaven for DVDs.
***
Series Background
Vincent Gallagher (Winstone) is an ex-cop now running a team of private investigators in Manchester. They tackle anything, from insurance swindlers to benefit cheats, but the series itself deals (naturally) with the team's meatier and more dramatic investigations. Vincent is aided and abetted by his two senior assistants,
Beth (Suranne Jones) and John (Ian Puleston-Davies) as well as by the two 'office juniors', a sweet single-mum, Gillian (Angel Coulby), and a techno-geek, Robert (Joe Absolom).
When not devoting his time to investigations Vincent is struggling to come to terms with his ruined love life. As the series gets under way we quickly learn that his partner, Cathy (Eva Pope), has walked out on him and moved in with one of his former police colleagues, DCI David Driscoll (Philip Glenister). The tensions between the trio will dominate the first series as will the subtle and understated attraction between Vincent and Beth.
Episode 1
The team have been employed by an uptight husband, Gary De Silva (Marc Warren), who suspects his wife of adultery. When Vincent and Beth confirm their client's suspicions they unwittingly provoke a storm of violence. Things are made worse when Vincent's judgement is compromised by his compulsion to identify with De Silva's jealousy. Meanwhile, in his own life he can't accept that Cathy has left him and he begins to spy on her and her new beau, leading to heartache and painful confrontations.
Episode 2
A wealthy gent, Edward Harper (Rupert Frazer), calls the team in to investigate the death of his beloved son who was stabbed in a nightclub toilet. The main suspect, James O'Connor (Adam Rayner), was the victim's friend but there is not enough evidence to bring charges against him. The case is made even more difficult because the suspect's father is a heavy-duty villain, Terry O'Connor (Roy Marsden), who is not only the owner of the club where the stabbing occurred but also a man determined to protect his son at all costs. The investigators enter O'Connor's dangerous world and discover that appearances can be deceptive. Vincent also crosses swords with his love rival, DCI Driscoll, who is heading the police inquiry.
Episode 3
When a young woman who was part of a winning lottery syndicate is found murdered on a railway line near the site of the celebration party suspicion falls on one of her friends, Malcolm Bennet (Shaun Dooley), a man suffering from a personality disorder and who was seen to follow her out of the party. The team are called in by Malcolm's sister, Sheena (Kate Gartside), a fellow syndicate member, who is keen to divert suspicion away from her vulnerable brother. What follows is a tale of thwarted passions. Vincent's personal life also reaches an emotional peak when Cathy delivers some devastating news.
Episode 4
A woman finds large amounts of cash hidden in her husband's belongings and calls the team in to investigate. John follows the husband to Spain and reports that the man has linked up with a mysterious blond called Julia (Maggie O'Neill). On their return the gullible husband is pulled in by customs when cocaine is found in his luggage. Vincent sets off alone to find out more about the beautiful Julia and the pair begin an emotional game of cat and mouse. Beth, meanwhile, is not best pleased about her boss' seeming infatuation with the mystery woman.
***
Vincent was one of those increasing rarities in the world of modern TV drama: a series that wasn't painted by numbers. Sure, it contains a number of elements that could, superficially, be regarded as clichéd - the down-at-heel private dick, the contemptuous cop, the neglected woman - but in fact it is a whole lot more than that and a whole lot more subtle. The writers resisted the temptation to fill up all the corners with explanations and lead the viewer by the nose from beginning to end. We know almost nothing about the characters because we don't need to know. The whole of the drama is in the moment and in the tension of the moment.
Vincent Gallagher is certainly an attractive character, but in a rumpled, fortysomething, run-to-seed sort of way. He is a man struggling to keep up with the world around him and, at times, we sense he just can't be bothered with the race. We see him singing along to his old Sinatra records, eating his fry-ups and smoking his 'fags', and doing so with relish. Stuff the world and its shallow organic pretensions. Now that IS a cliché but an acceptable one. Much of the time we see our man shuffling around his patch, hunched and slightly seedy, with his pointy shoes leading the way. Oh for the time when life was simpler. He's as cynical and resigned as an ex-cop must be yet still he has a spark and a gleam in the eye. There's life in the old dog yet. He is still "the dog's bo*****s" and don't you forget it! Winstone won an International Emmy for his performance and the series itself narrowly lost out to the BBC's much-hyped Life on Mars.
Winstone is ably supported by good performances from his co-stars. Suranne Jones is particularly convincing as Beth, the down-home girl who is both big-hearted and hard as nails. We find out that she has a young son who lives in the US with his dad, a situation that hints at inner pain, and the way she subtly watches over her boss and steers him clear of danger shows that she cares for him while also considering herself more than his equal; and she is not scared to confront him when she thinks he is going wrong and confront him she does on a number of occasions. Ian Puleston-Davies also gives an able performance as John, and there are hints at a criminal past when we see him break into houses with a practised flair. Stand out performances in specific episodes include Marc Warren as the sinister Gary De Siva in Episode 1 and Roy Marsden as the thuggish Terry O'Connor in Episode 2. The best guest performance though has to be the ever versatile Maggie O'Neill in Episode 4. Her character, the mysterious Julia, is both hugely attractive and wholly amoral and we, like her gullible victims, find ourselves falling for her breathy charms. Vincent, though, is another matter entirely.
Some might wonder why a series starring the archetypical Londoner is set 'up north' in Manchester. The answer, seemingly, is that it was just far easier and more practical to shoot in Manchester than in London; Winstone is on record as saying so, at least. And it works. The Manchester backdrop is interesting and diverse, from the grimy back alleys to the shiny new developments. The whole series just seems to be keyed on atmosphere. The music is moody and slick and the episodes are full of long shots of people.... well, just walking about, going to and fro but generally getting where they want to go, as does the narrative. Vincent was a real winner as a series and whether ITV ditched it due to financial constraints or whether they genuinely believe that 'where there's muck there's brass' doesn't alter that fact. It's a shame nevertheless. Ant and Dec's accountant might not think so, however.
The DVD
The Series 1 DVD is a basic affair. There are two discs each with two episodes and you can either watch specific episodes or watch the whole thing consecutively. Apart from the obligatory (and irritating) anti-piracy introduction, that's your lot.
Series 1 and 2 can be purchased together in a 4-disc single package but, curiously, it does work out cheaper if the two series are bought separately.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Release Date: 2006-10-16, Rating Suitable for 15 years and over,
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