1.8 I Need Light The adverts have been teasing audiences with hints of sex appeal, violence and style; something to spice up your Sunday nights a little. With the current trend of loving all things British and historical, and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher still fresh in our collective mind, what could be more iconic and on trend than a police procedural set in the heyday of Jack the Ripper? ‘Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Whitechapel.’ The first episode introduces us to a dark and grimy East London in 1889, where, six months previously, the Ripper has just killed his fifth victim. The gentleman in question is still on the loose and London is filled with secrets and shadows, hysteria and crime. Enter the uniforms; the level-headed and morally decent Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, played by Matthew Macfadyen (Spooks, Pride and Prejudice) and Sergeant Drake, played by Jerome Flynn (Soldier, Soldier, Game of Thrones and, er, Badger – although we’ll gloss over that one). The opening scene is very fast-paced – but don’t be fooled by the bowler hats and opening credits into thinking this is a rip-off of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. It’s not. The pair is introduced to us in gritty circumstances at an illegal fight. There are fast PoV changes – admittedly, not too unlike those in Ritchie’s Sherlock – but I’m a fan of this style. These are quickly juxtaposed with shots of dark alleyways and we are shown that a brutal murder has occurred. Also, there is no bad humour here and style is not put before substance. The subject matter is adult and is dealt with seriously and unsensationally, yet also entertainingly. Ripper Street has been trailed as being dark and intense, and this first episode does not let the audience down. It’s realistic, adult, and often bleak, but also sexy, exciting, and leaves you begging for the next one. Apparently a second series has already been commissioned without the first episode having been aired. With regards to the actual killings in the late nineteenth century, no one was ever found, charged or convicted. In this new drama, writer Richard Warlow says that you will never see Jack, nor will the series offer a solution to the case. This is not about the notorious killer, but three men investigating crimes in the aftermath of the brutal killings, in a side of London with its own hidden underworld, its own shadows and secrets. The running time comes in at around fifty minutes, ideal for the Beeb to air to our American friends overseas on BBC America, where the show premieres mid-January. Middle aged women of middle England-put down your Fifty Shades of Grey – I beg of you – and put on BBC One and tune in to Ripper Street. You won’t be disappointed. Oh my. You might even drop your Quality Street. Ripper Street continues on Sunday the 6th of January at 9pm on BBC One. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
