Despite being a great fan of detective/mystery shows, from Agatha Christie, 'Inspector Morse', 'Midsommer Murders', 'A Touch of Frost', 'Taggart' and 'Foyle's War' to 'New Tricks', 'Monk', 'Columbo' and 'Murder She Wrote' and others {also found myself really liking 'Messiah', apart from the mess that was the fifth and last series), it took a while for me to get round to seeing 'Cracker'.When being introduced to 'Cracker' quite late- in the past six years to be exact- this reviewer found the show every bit as great as the best of the above shows, in fact on par and perhaps even better, coming from someone who has loved Miss Marple, Poirot and 'Inspector Morse' since eleven years old this is incredibly high praise.'Cracker' is made and photographed with supreme atmosphere and classy style. It is also scored understatedly but never in a way that takes away from the full impact of the drama, the main theme is memorable, while the direction is controlled and creates tension, horror and suspense wonderfully.It is a brilliantly written show too, one of the best written of the detective/mystery genre and an example for any good TV show regardless of whether it's comedy, animated, mystery, drama etc. It's violent, and unflinchingly but always effectively and never gratuitously so (not for those easily disturbed), but also with its fair share of poignant emotion and grimly dark and deliciously acerbic humour. It's not just the quality of these individual elements though that bowls one over, but also how they are all balanced, never too much of one or too little of another.Also present in 'Cracker' is an absolute mastery of storytelling. Story lines that could easily have been clichéd, too safe or not covered new ground are intricate, layered, complex, harrowing ("To Be Somebody" really wrenches the gut in a way that few individual episodes of any TV show in existence have managed), touching (the end of "To Say I Love You") and weren't afraid to take balls that many shows before and during wouldn't have had the balls to attempt, like the psychological effects of a key female character's rape, killing off key characters and giving the good characters strengths and flaws and not making the villains irredeemably bad. Instead of being so much a whodunit like 'Morse', 'Lewis' or 'Poirot' for examples or a howdunit like 'Monk', 'Columbo' and some episodes of 'Diagnosis Murder', 'Cracker' is sort of a whydunit and a psychology of the villains' minds, which it deals with so intelligently and often powerfully.The characters are also incredibly well written, Fitz being one of the best-written and most fascinating characters ever to grace television in my opinion. 'Cracker' is superbly acted too. Robbie Coltrane is just extraordinary and to me, despite being a departure for him at the time, Fitz is his best role (no offence Hagrid fans, love that character too but Fitz is a much more interesting character). Barbara Flynn, Christopher Eccleston, Geraldine Somerville, Ricky Tomlinson and Lorcan Crannitch support him impeccably, while out of the villains Robert Carlyle's spine-chilling Albie Kinsella (some of his best ever acting) stands out by a landslide.Overall, incredible in every way. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I first happened upon this series years ago on A&E. I was transfixed instantly.The scripts are meticulous, the acting engrossing, the subplots just as incredible as the main story lines. You know almost up front who commits the crime and how the crime was committed, but getting to the end of each episode is still nail-biting. Coltrane portrays Fitz as both cynically burned-out on his job, and voyeuristically drawn to it (maybe partially to escape his own dysfunctional family hell).This is hands-down some of the best drama I've ever seen - on the big or the small screen - and Coltrane is wonderful to watch...it's hard to believe that this is even acting.Brilliant stuff. Highly recommended.Enjoy.

After watching the every single series at the time of broadcast and recently purchasing the DVD sets, I can not emphasise enough how much this is a beautiful example of English crime drama. Robbie is surely one of our finest actors of the last 10 years, and his cams in Hollywood blockbusters never do him any justice. Put him in this type of production and you really see what he is capable of. As the anit-hero lead, a womaniser, drinker and heavy smoker, you can't but fall in love with the character. If anyone else out there has a love relationship with Hannable Lector, you'll know what I mean here. If you want to see the best episode of all time, go for the one where Fleur Bennet takes the female lead as Nina. This episode will grip you buy the hair, and not let go until you are crumpled up in a heap on the floor at the end. Fleur Bennet is nothing short of superb. Asside from being unwantingly sexy and enticing (which the plot requires) she plays so well that you can only end up feeling exceptionally sorry for her character by the end. She is so fragile in her final scene, whilst so strong throughout. Watch this, you shall enjoy it.

I stumbled onto "Cracker" knowing nothing about it nor Robbie Coltrane. After getting into the series, I felt as if I'd died and gone to heaven. Previous writers have written very well about the brilliance of Robbie Coltrane's acting and Jimmy McGovern's writing. "Cracker" and so many other well-directed, -acted, -written British detective series beg the question: Why is Hollywood incapable of this stuff? With few exceptions, the U.S. film industry fails and fails so miserably. Except for the folks at HBO and the Boston PBS affiliate WGBH in collaboration with like-minded professionals in the U.K., "the suits" of the American film industry seem unwilling to gamble on a series like (the British version of) "Cracker." I also highly recommend "Foyle's War," "Touching Evil," and "Second Sight" if you're a fan of brilliant British detective series. "Prime Suspect" remains on my list to watch among some others, all British. I am forever thankful these are all available on DVD.