For decades, the UK has produced so many high-class crime dramas, that it is impossible to "shoot without fail" all the time. Tastes develop, as well as circumstances, and viewers may move beyond the approaches and issues they used to like in Poirot or Morse, for example, or have begun to like "new age" in the form of Luther or Prey... Black Work is a kind of related mix, but worrying and grief overshadow other elements, including credibility, several male performers are too look-a-like, and the final 20 minutes or so add unnecessary sophistication. True, Sheridan Smith as P.C. Jo Gillespie is catchy and the background realism is up there, but I am able to "blurt out" dozens of more interesting (mini)series I have seen in recent years. To me, Black Work is more a long film than series, and when you see all 3 episodes in a row, you could realise that many scenes and dialogues could have been more compact.

This three part ITV drama fed off the recent major news story here about an undercover cop infiltrating a criminal gang over a period of years to the extent of getting involved romantically and having children with one of the associated females.This series took it many steps further, having the undercover cop killed and then focusing on the dead man's widow, played by Sheridan Smith, a fellow police officer who decides to investigate her husband's unexplained death which occurred just before the police bust the gang he's been painstakingly planted to uncover. The plot has many layers, with almost everyone against her, including the murdered officer's sullen ex-wife and rebellious teenage son, the black woman with whom he's lately gotten involved and fathered a daughter, her husband's loyal (to him) mother, not to mention a plethora of so-called colleagues, some better-intentioned than others, especially as things develop.Smith's affair with Matthew McNulty and its exposure courtesy of someone bugging Smith's home and car, the young gang member being framed for the murder, whose teenage girlfriend has mysteriously disappeared and the senior D.I. who attends the funeral only to vaguely threaten Smith and her children are all there in the mix, although I personally felt that every fifteen minutes or so a new suspect came into view only to be dismissed until practically the only one left turned out to be the insider who did the deed.Putting aside my disbelief about Smith's one-woman crusade for the truth and the clichéd characterisation of the good and bad cops on view, I still enjoyed the unfolding of the storyline. The acting was okay not helped by a certain over-familiarity with several of the leading actors, Smith, McNulty and Dougie Henshall in particular. That said, the mystery of the murder was tidily wrapped up in the end and the show fulfilled its brief as a satisfactory TV cop drama, without being good enough to make me think much about the wider issues arising from police undercover operations in general.

Given the fine cast that this show had, perhaps my expectations were a little high. I have seen each of the main actors in other police/crime dramas where they really stood out. For example;Sheridan Smith in Jonathan Creek, Douglas Henshall in Shetland and Phil Davis in Whitechapel and Silk. Sheridan Smith did a reasonable job as a WPC managing to stay remarkably composed through the trying circumstances of her husband dying and the revelations from his undercover work. Apart from her, the other talent was wasted. The premise of the plot was quite good, but the pace was slow and the resolution unsatisfying. Should this series go for an extended run I would like to see the major talent used in more fleshed out roles.

Amongst the risks is the danger of over - exposure on television,and Miss S.Smith,possibly through no fault of her own,finds herself on the borderline between being regularly and successfully in work and being chewed up(and eventually spat out) by greedy TV programme makers. Barely a decent period has passed between her appearing as a terminal cancer patient and her latest role as a police officer "Blackwork". Indeed her hair hadn't had time to grow back to its usual length,so she decided to play her character with an urchin - cut rather than wear a wig. Nothing wrong with that per se,but it illustrates the haste with which the "Industry" wants to proceed when they have decided to promote someone "from the chorus" as it were and ensure the viewing public whom presumably they believe to have the attention span of a goldfish do not lose interest in them. So the smart and talented Miss Smith takes centre - stage as the producers hope she will give a bit of a boost to "Blackwork" which otherwise is a bit of a dog. Same old stressed Northern cops,a Chief Constable who goes jogging (an uncomfortable - looking Miss G.James) and a creaky old plot about an undercover detective who might or might not have gone rogue. By the end of the first episode I no longer cared one way or the other. An elfin - looking Miss Smith moved from being miserable to being very miserable and back again at random. You can make an original and gripping TV show about cops oop north even in 2015("No Offence")but it has to be rather less of a one - person band and you need to fill it with characters that the audience can empathise with. The arrival of Mr P.Davis in episode 2 may help,but it shouldn't have been left to Miss Smith to carry the show until his arrival. She is clever,she can be subtle and moving,but frankly,"Blackwork" will not be a highlight on her C.V.