This isn't a bad show, it just doesn't hold up against so many others that its weak points stand out even more. We were looking for a crime drama/police procedural that was more episodic than a season-long storyline, and we found it in London Kills for the most part. Sure, there's the underlying plot with Bradford's missing wife, but that's not the primary focus of each episode... at least not until the season/series two finale that is.
What pulls me out of the show oftentimes is all the little things: the office is too sterile looking to give the sense anything beyond coding for a new startup is being done. A team of four inspectors is all that make up the "murder squad" in this part of London, and they also respond faster in their high-end cars than uniformed officers? The team is so good that they caution/arrest everyone they want to interview on mere suspicion, and nobody ever asks for a lawyer! So far those (amongst others) can be marked down as possible budgetary constraints; hiring more people to play lawyers and officers costs money. What isn't, or shouldn't be anyway, is the characters.
Billie was easily my favorite character in the first season, despite getting dumb and becoming involved with a witness that she gave her home address to. She's a DC in training; there's no way she wouldn't have been reassigned to one of the dozens of other units after that, not to mention the unlikelihood of a TDC being assigned to homicide in the first place. Then there's Rob, who at first seemed to be written as a foil to Vivienne's constant questioning of evidence, as well as Bradford's flunky. Now he's taken the lead as the most level-headed person on the show, if not a bit smug at times. For most of season/series two Bradford has been reduced to brooding in his office.
I can say that season two was a modest upgrade to season one IMHO, but the conclusion to David's missing wife was unsatisfying to me. For nearly six months she was held captive by one mentally ill man to take care of his sister's baby, and her only response to trying to get away was that he could overpower her? Um, try outsmarting the guy or busting open the windows to yell for help in suburban London! We also find out Bradford's "piece on the side" is actually a witness to an unspecified undercover case. Out of the thousands of police in London there's likely a whole team of people to hide and protect witnesses. Why is Bradford, the DCI of the homicide unit, doing this seemingly on his own, and why send some random person to check on her when he could've sent Viv instead since she was there earlier? Pseudo-drama at its finest! Cheers.
3 out of 4 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
