Did all the reviewers watch this movie? Normally this series is exceptional. The acting is first rate and is here also.Jane Tennison is demoted and goes to a district away from London and encounters a murder almost immediately. She is put in charge and meets the usual standoffish bunch of detectives who don't like outsiders and apparently have heard of her reputation of not sitting still (very sexist). She doesn't care and charges into the investigation.The plot involves a drug kingpin who also murders whoever stands in his way. A thoroughly despicable character who toys with the police and is always one step ahead of them. This plot is quite well done until the last 30 minutes or so. Talk about frustrating! Tennison knows there is a mole in the department and when she finds out who it is she sets up an interview with a witness knowing full well that the police department leak will give the info to The Street (the villain), who will of course then go after the witness's girlfriend.It's frustrating to watch as you realize that no police were posted to the girlfriend's house to watch her. So the villain goes and gets her and terrorizes her and is eventually saved. How hard would it have been to post a unmarked car or something like that? Sorry but the previous 4 installments were topnotch and this one was too until the wheels fell off.

It just gets better. What's to fault in this one? Is there anything? No. Curious how they interweave string quartet music through it - that's a new one. And it's stark - it brings a quality of immediacy and tragedy to it.Like all in this series, this has a long running time. Like everything in this series, nothing is set in stone. This is longer than many of the others. It's timed at 200 minutes which means a long time in front of the screen.But it's worth it. This is a strong drama like all of them, and not in the least because of Steven Mackintosh who plays one of the all-time creeps of silver screen or television.I checked his filmography and saw he's done quite a lot of work and I was surprised because I don't remember ever seeing him before. He really takes out the stops on this one.As always the story is well written and deftly directed. It's another masterpiece - and it's for television which is the surprise.And as always, you have to reckon Taylor Hackford's a lucky man.

This review is probably as much a testimonial to British film-making in general as it is to this episode in particular. Note the superb execution of the dialog by almost all the actors, utilizing the English language in a most articulatory and fluid manner (and this is supposedly mere police drama)! Jane Tennison's character, in particular, employs skillful use of the expansive and colorful vocabulary of her native tongue, without being pedantic. Note how she chooses the word "metamorphosed" when describing "The Street's" evolution from a juvenile delinquent to a hard core criminal. As an American citizen, I unfortunately find, in most cases, our typical cinematic fare to rate far below the British Isles when it pertains to the articulation and execution of the English language.That said, this episode in particular is one of the most realistic and hard-hitting crime dramas ever filmed. Note how often you actually see anyone smiling or laughing, except for some doses of dark humor. Helen Mirren shows her finely tuned artistic mettle here as she has to undergo the humiliating transfer to the "northern country", an area totally new to her. Her subordinates are already skeptical of her which makes her segue to her new post even more difficult. She knows this but it doesn't stop her from proceeding along in her indomitable "take-charge" fashion. But it's a few of the little things that separate this dramatic fare from others: note the episode in her apartment in the early morning when she is in a hurry to get going, with one shoe on and desperately looking for the other! A small matter, yet we see in Jane, the super-cop, a subtle vulnerability that is usually absent in similar characterizations. This is downright good writing, directing and acting.The rest of the principals deserve kudos for their work, especially Julia Lane as DI Devanney, David O'Hara as DS Rankine and a stunning, chilling performance by Steven MacKintosh as "The Street". No disrespect intended for the rest of the cast, each of whom carries out the demands of his role to the fullest. It's as if the entire cast is comprised of people already thrust into the social climate depicted in this drama, that they all have lived and seen first hand the shambles of the drug and violence infested inner city.But the gritty reminder that the world is far from being fair smacks us in the proverbial chops as the episode is concluded and some people "just don't get caught"!

Spoilers:At the end of Prime Suspect 4, Jane Tennison was subjected to disciplinary action for disobeying orders, despite her actions resulting in the safe rescue of an abducted woman and the capture of a serial killer. Her enemies used these events to destroy her career in the Metropolitan Police. However, she seemed to develop a personal relationship that could withstand her inner demons.As this series unfolds, Tennison is starting a new job, in exile, in Manchester. No mention is made of her previous relationship. What she finds is a depressed city riddled with crime, in the form of a young ganglord, "the Street". The Street seems untouchable, but Tennison vows to bring him down. She also encounters a young boy, Cameron, who wants law and order. Meanwhile, Tennison's new boss seems to appreciate her skills, as well as her body. Tennison enters into an affair, despite their professional relationship and the fact that he is married.Tennison uncovers a world of street violence, where drugs are mixed in private homes and criminals are cheered by the downtrodden. Her police team seems ineffective, and possibly corrupt. One of them is a promising detective, who is much like Tennison. She immediately finds herself at odds with Tennison, who she respects, but can't understand.Ultimately, this series comes across more like an old gangster movie than the police drama we've come to expect. The Street seems too invincible, for someone operating independently. Added to this is the intriguing, but implausible idea that the Chief Superintendent is in league with the criminal. Also, the affair with Tennison seems out of character for her. Although Tennison has been involved with police officers before, it seems that she would be unlikely to further jeopardize her career by sleeping with her boss. Maybe, at this point, she feels she has nothing to lose, but I don't think so. Again, I think this series has suffered from the absence of Lynda La Plante. The story is still engaging and the performances are good, but the result is less satisfying. Still, this series, even when stumbling, is at a far higher plane than its contemporaries.