While a bit slow and mildly interesting this particular Trevor Eve "staring off into space while not saying anything" offering features one of the most glaring plot holes I have ever experienced...... In the second episode we discover that the female kidnap victim has been released at a bargain price, after being stolen from another set of two bit kidnappers, essentially to get access to her husbands formula for an anti-obesity drug worth billions.While this apparently takes too long for the professional kidnappers, they proceed to kidnap the daughter of the original victim to force the husband of the returned victim to reveal the formula....... What?? Why not simply kidnap the weak willed sissy of a husband? .... Why involve anyone else at all?? .... It is clearly apparent that anyone the least bit skilled in interrogation cold turn the punk husband in about two hours...... After all, the pros consisted of experienced international mercenaries supposedly...... I couldn't get by this particular glaring bit of story line and it definitely colored my appreciation for the entire thing.If one cannot accept the premise, one cannot accept the punchline.

There's not much to the story so they pad it with lots of shaky cam, extreme badly framed close ups, weird flashy edits overlayed with odd photo filter effects. You're supposed to be swept up in the urgency of harsh jagged cuts from scene to scene most of which are 45 seconds or less. The average shot is 1 second. There are all sorts of factual errors such South Africans kidnapping a Brit asking for dollars which is not a denomination in either country. Dominic's boss is a tool who screams and scolds him about nearly everything. And at the end of the day being a hostage negotiator doesn't look that hard. Pretty much paint by numbers. By the way if you're so valuable to your company they'd carry millions of dollars in kidnap insurance wouldn't they hire a bodyguard?

I do agree one or two parts are on the far-fetched side, and the ending could have been more. But Kidnap and Ransom made for quite gripping television and I was really impressed.Visually it is very striking, not just the photography which is skillful and the lighting which adds to the atmosphere but also the locations which are well chosen and used to great effect. The story is well paced and very gripping with some suitably tense moments, there is a cracking script and good direction.The acting also impresses, Trevor Eve is excellent in the lead as is John Hannah as the main villain. Emma Fielding is also smashing, evoking genuine emotion when she needed to. The characters are credible too, there is the odd cliché here and there, but with the writing and acting as good as they are I actually didn't mind.Overall, a very gripping, interesting and well-acted series drama and definitely worth it. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This ITV crime drama looked promising given that is stars dependable actors including Trevor Eve, Helen Baxendale and John Hannah. The premise is simple enough and given away by the title; Eve plays Dominic King, a negotiator who deals with kidnappers to ensure that payments can be made and the hostages released. In the opening scene we see him in Columbia where his latest case goes horribly wrong and all he gets from the kidnapper is the hostage's dead body. The action then switches to South Africa where a British woman is snatched; he is called in and is determined not to work with the police who are understandable not too happy with his attitude as they aren't just investigating a kidnapping but also the murder of her taxi driver. As Dominic deals with the kidnappers it becomes apparent that they aren't professionals but he manages to talk them into a deal and as the first episode approaches its conclusion it looks as if he will save the woman and we'll get a new story in the following episode… this isn't the case though as she is snatched again, this time by a far more professional group who want a lot more money and are prepared to do some fairly nasty things to ensure that they get what they want.While the story contained several clichés it was undeniably gripping and the leads all did good jobs; especially Trevor Eve and John Hannah who doesn't appear until the second episode. Emma Fielding who played kidnap victim Naomi Shaffer looked genuinely scared which helped keep things believable even when they were a bit far fetched in hindsight. I don't know if there will be further series of this but given the quality of this story I wouldn't be surprised if there are more outings for Dominic King.