Truly Dreadful Film

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

You can't blame Robert Lindsay. After 5 years on sitcom 'My Family' he probably wanted to stretch his legs a bit,and this drama about a detective in the 50's would have been just the escape he wanted.And to his credit he's good in his role here and supported by some decent scripts. The problem this show faced was that it was shown on the wrong night. It was too complex in terms of plots for people to grasp on a Sunday night when they want something easy going to just wash over them ahead of going back to work on Monday.On any other night I think this show would have succeeded, but as it was ITV stuck it on at the right time, the ratings didn't hold up and then we were saying goodbye to Jericho as quick as we'd said hello.

Jericho's name alludes to THE classic Scotland Yard detective, Gideon. Gideon's Way was the best cop show on British television before the Sweeney. The main reason was the excellent writing and the great characters. Jericho picks these high standards up and develops them further by giving the series a dark touch. Also in terms of cinematography Jericho looks more like neo-noir than TV. So all in all it's a very classy production. Robert Lindsay proves to be not only one of the best actors of his generation but in the UK. He does high brow and entertainment with the same ease and elegance. After about 10 minutes you don't evcen remember that there ever was a series called My family. His Jericho is dark and brooding. The other great performance in this series comes from Peter Bowles. We know him as suave man about town from many TV productions but here he gives the performance of a life time as dark, menacing crime lord. Perfect!

Mystery! has done it again with this series, which is quite different than most of what's gone before. And that helps to make this one another hit.I'm a long-time fan of the Mystery! series and a particular fan of Inspector Morse. Anyone familiar with that series knows the high quality product that long-running series consistently put out. So I'm not an easy audience, given my perspective.But Robert Lindsay has made DI Michael Jericho his own. He IS Jericho. In the same way that the late great John Thaw made Morse his own character, Lindsay has grabbed Jericho by the throat and taken his identity from him. I haven't read any of the books so I don't know how the character comes across there, but Lindsay's interpretation is "spot on" from a television perspective.I'm currently in the midst of re-watching the first episode on DVD (thanks for that) after having caught at least 2 of the original airings last Fall (Ragged Claws and Johnny Swan). I was hooked from the start; and like Morse, Jericho holds up well on repeated re-watchings. So even after you know who done it, you're nevertheless caught up in the drama.The musical score and overall style of this series do indeed make it unique. It's all a bit "X-Files-esq," but I find both quite enjoyable and fitting, and, in my humble opinion, they help make the series stand out.Like Morse, Jericho has a solid side-kick who compliments his character perfectly. It seems they have an endless supply of fine "character actors" over there in the UK, and I'm thankful I get to see them when I can. Even the "bit parts" get solid treatment from fine British actors. One of my favs in the first episode is Shorty. He's a hoot -- and he's not even around all that long.Lindsay is currently also on my TV in his "My Family" series, but I refuse to watch him in that. I'm sure he's good (and I have seen some of it) but I don't want to lose that Jericho edge that I'm currently working on with him.I've given this series a 10, which is not to say it's an equal to Morse. But 10 to me means it's a standout with little or nothing to criticize. Beyond that, it's simply a matter of taste. I only hope they keep this series going for quite a long time.Thanks Gawd for Mystery! and all the rest of the great Brit shows. And, of course, also PBS. And thanks Gawd also for DVD so's I can have something to watch (and re-watch) when the mood moves me and PBS is into something else less enjoyable to me. Because if I had to live with only American TV, I'd give the medium up completely.

This series invites a direct comparison with Foyle's War, and Jericho definitely comes off second-best. It's clear that from a production point of view the creators of Jericho threw all they had at their disposal. There is an overdone music soundtrack which verges on the annoying. There are all the props to re-create the 1950's feel, including even two period London double-decker buses, and the costumes are first-rate, but somehow it seems to go wrong so much of the time. There is an attempt to relive film noir, but that's hard when you shoot in color. There are even typewritten subs for each location in the episodes -- a cliché long before this series was made.As DI Michael Jericho, Robert Lindsay seems to be lost, and he's not much helped by the scripts. Is Jericho supposed to be confident media hero, maverick detective, harried cop just doing his job, or neurotic failing to come to terms with the death of his father (which he relives far too often in flashback)? Even his dyed hair looks wrong -- only men of a certain orientation dyed their hair in the 1950's; and he's not enough of an actor to persuade us to forget that he plays a comic dentist in the series "My Family." In short, this is no Foyle's War, and Lindsay is no Michael Kitchen.