Based on Jake Arnott's book of the same name. The TV series of the long firm is an asset to any DVD collection. It follows the story of Harry Starks, the temperamental club owner trying to make it big in the sixties, but he's well ahead of his time. His up's and downs are shown through his friends and acquaintances. Teddy, who Harry helps out of a Jam but he wants something in return, Ruby, who's husband goes to prison, but finds solace with Harry's down-trodden, confused boyfriend Tommy. There's also Jimmy's story ,a dealer who can't get over his wife's death and helps Harry solve a mystery, and Lenny, who finds himself teaching Harry all he knows, and ends up with nothing as a result.All the cast are terrific in their roles, especially Mark Strong as Harry starks. He can be friendly yet menacing, manipulative but careless, destructive but fragile all at the same time. There's also a scene with Harry and his father that's complete scene stealer. Each episode is unmissable.

Have you ever wanted to lead a politician around by the nose and have the upper crust of society come to your place for drinks? Have you ever wanted to tell your father to sit down and be nice to the rest of the family? Have you ever wanted to control a beautiful woman of undeniable attraction? Have you ever wanted to kick the crap out of someone that did you or one of your friend's wrong? Have you ever wanted to hunt down and destroy someone that did you or a close friend a deep injustice? Then you'll know exactly what kind of person Harry Starks really is and where he fits into society. Harry is you. Harry is me. Harry is the meanest and yet the meekest member of society. Harry is truly a person of myth and legend. Harry is the person you most want to be and yet the person you fear the most. If you are his friend, then he is the best friend in the world. If you are his enemy, then you really have no friends in the world. You either have to love Harry with all your heart or hate him for the gangster he is. This is a truly wonderful, exciting TV series and I hope that you will watch it to find out if you love Harry or hate him.

I would like to disagree with any previous comments on The Long Firm. I think this is an outstanding drama. The BBC should invest more money into dramas of this quality instead of spending money on D.I.Y shows and 'reality' TV shows.Mark Strong's portrayal of Harry Starks reminded me Ronnie Kray, Reggie Kray, Charlie Richardson all rolled into one. He was excellent as the 'Torture Boss'. He was menacing and unpredictable but also you sort of saw him as a anti-hero if you like. The program has taken large chunks of dialog from the book and had extra scenes and stuff written around it. All though I originally thought the show was excellent but after reading the book the book is out of this world a solid 10/10. I would recommend this book to everyone.I am hoping the following two books in the sequence 'He Kills Coppers' and 'True Crime' get made into series.

The BBC rest on their past reputation . There's little good I can say about the BBC in the 21st century as they force feed us TV dinners of quiz shows , hidden camera shows and DIY shows , recipes that leave TV critics like myself under nourished . But my compliments to whatever TV chef cooked up THE LONG FORM for our televisual delight Mark Strong plays Harry Starks a homosexual gangster in 1960s London .Episode 1 ) Harry and his new boyfriend travel to Nigeria to pull off a scamEpisode 2 ) Harry tries to set up a club while his new boyfriend Tommy has a sexual relationship with starlet Ruby Ryder Episode 3 ) A rent boy is found murdered and mutilated so Harry tries to track down his killers Episode 4 ) Newly released from prison Harry tries to start a new life in Spain with a limp wristed criminologistThat's the premise of each episode but it's impossible to describe how well they play out on screen . For much of the episode Harry is off centre and it's the supporting characters that carry the audience through the story . It also has a wonderful sense of dark humour like the bit where an obviously stoned Judy Garland tries to sing only to have the club goers pelt and boo her , or the scene where Harry is described as a deviant by a criminologist : " Deviant ? Deviant ! - Calling me a f***in' nonce ! "This show has you laughing out loud one minute and curling your toes the next with some graphic violence because there's nothing Harry enjoys more than tying someone up in a chair and inflicting violence on them usually with a white hot objectThere's little negative I can say about THE LONG FIRM . I could be pedantic and point out small errors like the episode set in 1967 has a clip from a DOCTOR WHO story from 1968 but that would be cruel . The ending is slightly disappointing but nothing is perfect and expect this show to pick up a major amount of awards at next years BAFTA's And if the BBC can produce drama of this quality then why do we have to put up with a unfufilling TV diet of garbage ? The BBC can still make classic drama when it wants to . I guess they just don't want to