Line of Duty (BBC) **Spoilers**

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Sweet.Science wrote: »

Watched the first episode of season 6 last night

Seems to have ran it's course for me . Deja Vu from previous seasons are a the token new copper thrown in that could be bent

The unit is AC12, Anti Corruption 12, be a bit strange if they ignored all the bent coppers and started road blocks checking for tax and insurance.

Basq

So there's no chance Steve is going to pursue a local business owner with a dozen unpaid parking tickets?

Spinoff coming 2022 - "Fine Of Duty"

Sweet.Science

Sweet.Science wrote: »

Watched the first episode of season 6 last night

Seems to have ran it's course for me . Deja Vu from previous seasons are a the token new copper thrown in that could be bent

Are you also annoyed that Law & Order: Special Victims Unit never investigate burglaries?

Basq

Basq wrote: »

So there's no chance Steve is going to pursue a local business owner with a dozen unpaid parking tickets?

Spinoff coming 2022 - "Fine Of Duty"

I tell you what fella, I'll be handing down the standard 33 red notice to yer man and his 12 unpaid parking fines so I will. I didn't float up the Lagan yesterday.

Sweet.Science

People convincing themselves its anywhere near the standards of the 1st 3/4 seasons.

They dragged it from there . Going around in circles because of its ever increasing popularity.

Never ends well.

Season 5 should have been the end

Seathrun66

ShineOn7 wrote: »

A big thanks to all who recommended Unforgotten in this thread

It's the most addictive show I've seen since .... Line Of Duty

Tried the first episode last night, found the script a bit clunky, too much obvious exposition and they've made it unnecessarily zippier to appeal to a younger audience.
But a great cast (Tom Courtenay, Yosser Hughes, Ruth Sheen, Cheri Lunghi, etc in support, wow) and excellent locations. I'll give season one a try at least, looks like it's one that improves.

ohnonotgmail

Seathrun66 wrote: »

Tried the first episode last night, found the script a bit clunky, too much obvious exposition and they've made it unnecessarily zippier to appeal to a younger audience.
But a great cast (Tom Courtenay, Yosser Hughes, Ruth Sheen, Cheri Lunghi, etc in support, wow) and excellent locations. I'll give season one a try at least, looks like it's one that improves.

definitely worth watching the rest of season 1.

Seathrun66

Sweet.Science wrote: »

People convincing themselves its anywhere near the standards of the 1st 3/4 seasons.

They dragged it from there . Going around in circles because of its ever increasing popularity.

Never ends well.

Season 5 should have been the end

You're probably right, hard to top Thandie Newton and Stephen Graham. And even if this season isn't up to scratch there'll be at least one more as it's such a ratings success. Hard to think of many series that didn't outlast their welcome - Fawlty Towers, The Killing, The Bridge, Borgen. Even the Sopranos had a big dip in the middle and The Wire had its weakest series last.

I live in hope though.

Seathrun66

Seathrun66 wrote: »

You're probably right, hard to top Thandie Newton and Stephen Graham. And even if this season isn't up to scratch there'll be at least one more as it's such a ratings success. Hard to think of many series that didn't outlast their welcome - Fawlty Towers, The Killing, The Bridge, Borgen. Even the Sopranos had a big dip in the middle and The Wire had its weakest series last.

I live in hope though.

I still havent gotten over Lost.

FunLover18

Sweet.Science wrote: »

People convincing themselves its anywhere near the standards of the 1st 3/4 seasons.

They dragged it from there . Going around in circles because of its ever increasing popularity.

Never ends well.

Season 5 should have been the end

I don't think anyone is saying that this season is as good as previous, for one thing it's a hard thing to judge based on 1 of 7. But complaining about "deja vu" on a police procedural that has used the same formula for those supposedly superior seasons is daft.

saggycaggy

Seathrun66 wrote: »

Tried the first episode last night, found the script a bit clunky, too much obvious exposition and they've made it unnecessarily zippier to appeal to a younger audience.
But a great cast (Tom Courtenay, Yosser Hughes, Ruth Sheen, Cheri Lunghi, etc in support, wow) and excellent locations. I'll give season one a try at least, looks like it's one that improves.

I wasn't gone on Season 1 but really enjoyed Season 2, keep going with it!
Really enjoyed the ending of Season 2, wrapped it up nicely.

Sweet.Science

Seathrun66 wrote: »

You're probably right, hard to top Thandie Newton and Stephen Graham. And even if this season isn't up to scratch there'll be at least one more as it's such a ratings success. Hard to think of many series that didn't outlast their welcome - Fawlty Towers, The Killing, The Bridge, Borgen. Even the Sopranos had a big dip in the middle and The Wire had its weakest series last.

I live in hope though.

The last season of the Wire broke my heart . Maybe that's why i have trust issues with every show since . I just don't want to put myself out there like that again .

Hollyworth

I think it's perfectly reasonable to lambast this show for having a feeling deja vu. I know people are saying "eh... It's a show about bent coppers"

But that doesn't excuse the repetitive nature of the show. We opened this season with yet another police convoy gone awry. I never want to see that again. And if I see anymore brooding glances across the office I might chuck the TV out the window.

Hastings is at risk of becoming a caricature, and the attempt to give Kate applause seeking dialogue ("what kind of knobby signal was that?") is just cringe inducing.
This show now seems more focused on getting its acronyms trending on Twitter than telling a compelling story. I hope it gets back on track and stops listening to all of the praise lavished on it by the Twitter mob.

HeidiHeidi

The alphabet soup of acronyms is definitely the most annoying feature of late. It's like they're trying to see how many they can shoehorn in without completely ousting the actual dialogue altogether!

Ash.J.Williams

Hollyworth wrote: »

I think it's perfectly reasonable to lambast this show for having a feeling deja vu. I know people are saying "eh... It's a show about bent coppers"

But that doesn't excuse the repetitive nature of the show. We opened this season with yet another police convoy gone awry. I never want to see that again. And if I see anymore brooding glances across the office I might chuck the TV out the window.

Hastings is at risk of becoming a caricature, and the attempt to give Kate applause seeking dialogue ("what kind of knobby signal was that?") is just cringe inducing.
This show now seems more focused on getting its acronyms trending on Twitter than telling a compelling story. I hope it gets back on track and stops listening to all of the praise lavished on it by the Twitter mob.

in defence of kates nobby line, i'm sure i (and kate) wasn't the only person to think it as soon as flashed the lights

Sweet.Science

Sweet.Science wrote: »

People convincing themselves its anywhere near the standards of the 1st 3/4 seasons.

So, its not nearly as good as the first 3 or 4 seasons? The last season was number 5, and we've seen one episode of season 6.

You make it sound like we're on season 9.

HeidiHeidi

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

The alphabet soup of acronyms is definitely the most annoying feature of late. It's like they're trying to see how many they can shoehorn in without completely ousting the actual dialogue altogether!

You wouldn't like my job then.

FunLover18

Hollyworth wrote: »

I think it's perfectly reasonable to lambast this show for having a feeling deja vu. I know people are saying "eh... It's a show about bent coppers"

But that doesn't excuse the repetitive nature of the show. We opened this season with yet another police convoy gone awry. I never want to see that again. And if I see anymore brooding glances across the office I might chuck the TV out the window.

Hastings is at risk of becoming a caricature, and the attempt to give Kate applause seeking dialogue ("what kind of knobby signal was that?") is just cringe inducing.
This show now seems more focused on getting its acronyms trending on Twitter than telling a compelling story. I hope it gets back on track and stops listening to all of the praise lavished on it by the Twitter mob.

A different kind of police convoy that went awry in a completely different way that produced a different outcome.

Ash.J.Williams

Deleted User wrote: »

You wouldn't like my job then.

yup same here

Hollyworth

I honestly think that if LOD finished up last season with a satisfactory conclusion to the H saga, gave Kate and Steve fitting ends, and answered the questions we all have about Ted (he's in the masons???), then it would rightly be regarded as one of the greatest shows of all time.

I know a lot of people say season 5 was a dip in quality. For me, it was tremendous... Right up until the last few minutes with the morse code/story extending nonsense.
In fact, if season 5 was the exact same as it was and they just removed the morse code scene and revealed that Gill was the H they were looking for all along (hey, maybe Dot blinked for G and not H) that would have been a fine ending. Yes, there would still be unanswered questions about Ted, but it would be left up to our imagination.
I just can't see how they get another season (never mind two!!!) out of this story and these characters without losing all credibility and treading old ground.

Hollyworth

FunLover18 wrote: »

A different kind of police convoy that went awry in a completely different way that produced a different outcome.

But it's still the exact same set up.

Opening scene: a police convoy goes awry.

If every season of SVU opened with a woman being pounced on in an alley way then you'd soon think they've run out of ideas.

Hollyworth

Hollyworth wrote: »

But it's still the exact same set up.

Opening scene: a police convoy goes awry.

If every season of SVU opened with a woman being pounced on in an alley way then you'd soon think they've run out of ideas.

Every episode of SVU is a sexual based crime. Benson and Hedges investigate. The 'new' DA wont file charges, because they dont have enough evidence, they investigate further and find something else is a foot, then they go to the courtroom. Now and again someone gets shot on the court steps.

CSI: Miama - someone dies and the team figure out who did it

CSI: New York - someone dies and the team figure out who did it, but in the Big Apple

Yes its formulaic, but thats part of why people watch it, because they know what they are getting. Same reason people go to McDonalds.

Hollyworth

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Every episode of SVU is a sexual based crime. Benson and Hedges investigate. The 'new' DA wont file charges, because they dont have enough evidence, they investigate further and find something else is a foot, then they go to the courtroom. Now and again someone gets shot on the court steps.

CSI: Miama - someone dies and the team figure out who did it

CSI: New York - someone dies and the team figure out who did it, but in the Big Apple

Yes its formulaic, but thats part of why people watch it, because they know what they are getting. Same reason people go to McDonalds.

Yes but with SVU the set up to the story is always (well, mostly, it's been on the air over 20 years) different. Sometimes it's straight forward - a woman will be attacked walking home, others, the story is more complicated - like the episode about the guy who pretended he was a college administrator or whatever and a load of soccer moms slept with him to get their kids a place in the college, only for it to be revealed he was a conman out for sex. The question in the episode was whether or not what he had done was rape. What a great set up for an episode. But it still fit in with the premise of the show which is SVU investigating sexual assaults.

But with LOD, I've seen the same set up for a season three times now. A police convoy. Mercurio had an interesting set up in season 4 with the balaclava man kidnap, but now season 5 and 6 have started with a dodgy police convoy. I'm sure there'll be far more to it, but there's no getting around the fact that it's the same set up as before.

I know most shows have a formula, take Columbo, or any detective show for that matter. But the joy of something like Columbo was seeing the inventive ways the murderer would carry out their crime at the beginning of the episode, and watching as Columbo chipped away at them for the next 90 or so minutes. Yes, it was a formula, but they kept it fresh with original ways of carrying out murder and ultimately catching the baddie.

Yes, LOD has a formula: a guest actor is the focus of AC12 for the season. But it's three seasons out of six now that they've used the police convoy. Is there no other way for a cop to show they're bent?

FunLover18

Hollyworth wrote: »

But it's still the exact same set up.

Opening scene: a police convoy goes awry.

If every season of SVU opened with a woman being pounced on in an alley way then you'd soon think they've run out of ideas.

How is it the same setup when the first awry convoy was set up to kill someone and the second setup to allow someone to escape. The first was a blatant attack and it was clear that info had been leaked whereas this second one the convoy was diverted to take down another "crime". Keeley Hawes was under direct investigation after her convoy went wrong, Kelly McDonald is only under suspicion because there isn't a lot of evidence.

I agree with your previous post that it could have ended on season 5 but it feels like there's a lot of confirmation bias from people who have gone into this season expecting it not to be as good. As I mentioned before we've literally only seen one episode of seven.

Hollyworth

FunLover18 wrote: »

How is it the same setup when the first awry convoy was set up to kill someone and the second setup to allow someone to escape.

But that's still the same set up. The results were different, for sure. But, if you were to describe both scenes in a sentence for the TV guide (and season 5's opening for that matter) it would be that "a police convoy goes wrong."

If an episode of a TV show opens with a car crash and the driver dies, and then the next episode opens with another car crash and the driver lives, its still the same set up to the episode. You've started the show with a car crash. Yes, the stories will go in different directions because the crashes had different results, but it's still the same set up.

I just wish Mercurio would come up with something else. Is that all police do? Drive around in convoys giving each other brooding glances.

Hollyworth

Hollyworth wrote: »

Yes but with SVU the set up to the story is always (well, mostly, it's been on the air over 20 years) different. Sometimes it's straight forward - a woman will be attacked walking home, others, the story is more complicated - like the episode about the guy who pretended he was a college administrator or whatever and a load of soccer moms slept with him to get their kids a place in the college, only for it to be revealed he was a conman out for sex. The question in the episode was whether or not what he had done was rape. What a great set up for an episode. But it still fit in with the premise of the show which is SVU investigating sexual assaults.

But with LOD, I've seen the same set up for a season three times now. A police convoy. Mercurio had an interesting set up in season 4 with the balaclava man kidnap, but now season 5 and 6 have started with a dodgy police convoy. I'm sure there'll be far more to it, but there's no getting around the fact that it's the same set up as before.

I know most shows have a formula, take Columbo, or any detective show for that matter. But the joy of something like Columbo was seeing the inventive ways the murderer would carry out their crime at the beginning of the episode, and watching as Columbo chipped away at them for the next 90 or so minutes. Yes, it was a formula, but they kept it fresh with original ways of carrying out murder and ultimately catching the baddie.

Yes, LOD has a formula: a guest actor is the focus of AC12 for the season. But it's three seasons out of six now that they've used the police convoy. Is there no other way for a cop to show they're bent?

You are making my point for me, but focussing on only one object. Episode 1 of LOD, they introduce the baddie. AC-12 then chip away, as you put it and get to the facts with some WTF moments along the way, the last episode is in the interview room, with another 1 or 2 WTF moments. Thats the format.

Episode 7 will be along the lines of Steve interviewing kate in the interview room.

Steve: Kate, Document Register IDC-48 shows you were aware of blah
Kate: As I am A Detective Sergeant I am entitled to be questioned by a rank one senior or above.
Hastings: Ah Whist your guff girl, youre under investigation for Christ sake!

I just wish Mercurio would come with something else. Is that all police do? Drive around in convoys giving each other brooding glances.

Pretty much. When did you last see a cop walking the beat?

Hollyworth

[Deleted User] wrote: »

You are making my point for me, but focussing on only one object. Episode 1 of LOD, they introduce the baddie. AC-12 then chip away, as you put it and get to the facts with some WTF moments along the way, the last episode is in the interview room, with another 1 or 2 WTF moments. Thats the format.

Episode 7 will be along the lines of Steve interviewing kate in the interview room.

Steve: Kate, Document Register IDC-48 shows you were aware of blah
Kate: As I am A Detective Sergeant I am entitled to be questioned by a rank one senior or above.
Hastings: Ah Whist your guff girl, youre under investigation for Christ sake!

The fact that you've been able to nail down the likely path of this season shows me that the magic is gone. Haha.

Like jumping in bed with the Mrs after 20 years of marriage. Happy to take what I can get but just going through the motions.

Hollyworth

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Pretty much. When did you last see a cop walking the beat?

I'm not sure. Maybe they could make an Irish version of LOD. The bent copper could be a Garda who travels outside his 5km on his day off to go to his mother's house for a cup of tea.

In the interview scene his superior would say, "how did you manage to slip past our checkpoints, fella?... We have this CCTV footage of you putting petrol in your car with your mask under your nose."

Seathrun66

Hollyworth wrote: »

But that's still the same set up. The results were different, for sure. But, if you were to describe both scenes in a sentence for the TV guide (and season 5's opening for that matter) it would be that "a police convoy goes wrong."

If an episode of a TV show opens with a car crash and the driver dies, and then the next episode opens with another car crash and the driver lives, its still the same set up to the episode. You've started the show with a car crash. Yes, the stories will go in different directions because the crashes had different results, but it's still the same set up.

I just wish Mercurio would come up with something else. Is that all police do? Drive around in convoys giving each other brooding glances.

Don't police set out in convoys for all major operations? And isn't this a cop show where major operations are required several times a season?

Exclamation Marc

Established and acclaimed long running show runs storyline conceptually in keeping with previous seasons = "It's stale and boring, they need to shake it up."

Established and acclaimed long running show runs storyline conceptually different to previous seasons = "It's awful and not what made it good, they should stick to what they know best."