DVD Reviews

Prime Suspect: The Complete Collection – DVD Review

By June L. Oct 16, 2010, 15:39 GMT

Oscar® winner Helen Mirren is Detective Jane Tennison, "one of the great character creations of our time" (The Washington Post), in a series that won more than 20 major international awards and raised the bar for police dramas. Tenacious, driven, and deeply flawed, Tennison rises through the ranks of Britain’s Metropolitan Police, solving horrific crimes while battling office sexism and her own demons. “Rare is the drama that works so ...more

Prime Suspect is a British television program that chronicled the career of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison (played by Helen Mirren) from her first days on the job to her retirement. 

It was a ground breaking series in police drama on many levels, and won numerous awards both at home and internationally.  The entire seven series are gathered in one set from Acorn Media.

When Prim Suspect first aired in 1991, there were very few women in the position of Detective Chief Inspector and the stories showed not only the work of DCI Tennison, but also the personal side of her job.  In the initial series she had to put up with contentious members of her own department. 

Their sexist attitudes led them to trying to get her fired while working on a case that involved a rape and murder of a young woman.  Her determination to solve the crime leads her to discover mistakes in the evidence that may point to a coverup within the force. 

Presented on single disc containing two episodes, the running time is 207 minutes  and guest stars include Tom Wilkinson, Zoe Wanamaker, and Ralph Fiennes.
 
In Season Two, DCI Tennison no longer has to prove herself to her team, but the question of prejudice comes to the forefront as she deals with a murder inquiry in the African-Caribbean community.  Her partner for this job is a Black detective who is also her former lover. 

Surrounded by prejudice in the community and on the force, DCI Tennison may lose all that she has achieved.  This two part series aired in the UK in 1992, the US in 1993 and is 203 minutes.  Guest stars were Colin Salmon, Stephen Boyer and Philip Wright.  This series won an Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries, and Helen Mirren won a BAFTA for Best TV Actress. 
Series Three sees DCI Tennison transferred to the vice squad in Soho, and in charge of getting prostitutes off the streets.  The murder of a young man puts DCI Tennison into the world of child pornography and prostitution to solve the crime.  BAFTAs were won by Helen Mirren and by the series.  Series Writer Lynda La Plante’s script was nominated for an EMMY as was Helen Mirren for Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or Special.
 
Jane Tennison is promoted to Detective Superintendent in Series Four and is moving among stations to head inquiries.  This season has three individual stories, presented on two discs, The Lost Child, Inner Circles, and The Scent of Darkness. 

Helen Mirren won an Emmy (her first) for The Scent of Darkness which revisits the case in the first series as the murders are apparent copy-cats of that committed by the imprisoned killer.  This series aired in 1995 in the UK and 1996 in the US.

Series Five of Prim Suspect returned to the single story format taking DS Tennison out of London and to Manchester as a community relations officer at a local school.  She complains to her new boss and is assigned the investigation of the murder of a drug dealer. 

Tennison seems almost obsessed in pinning the crime on an area gang leader and further complicates her life with a romance.  This was shown in the UK in 1996 and in the US in 1997.

Series Six of Prime Suspect was produced after a seven year break.  It was set back in London and DCS Tennison is being urged to retire.  She takes on a case with international elements, the torture and murder of a young Bosnian refugee. 

As always there is more to the story than just the crime, as DCS Tennison uncovers secrets, and has to deal with departmental posturing.  This series was shown in UK in 2003 and the US in 2004.
 
Series Seven is aptly called Prime Suspect: The Final Act.  In this last case Tennison wants to end her career by solving the murder of a schoolgirl.  Juggling emotional bombshells in her private life, the death of her father, loneliness and the rigors of the job that have turned her to alcohol for solace, Jane Tennison is struggling. 

Will she be able to solve a final case and retire as an exemplary law enforcement professional.  This disc comes with extras including a 50 minute behind the scenes feature, a photo gallery and cast filmographies. 

Visit the DVD database for more information.