Saturday 21 November

BLOGS

blogCategory
Previous
Back to blog
Next

Place of Execution

Lee Ingleby as DI George Bennett in Place of Execution
  • Posted at 6:15pm
  • 18 September 2008
  • by AlisonGraham-RT
  • 3 comments

I don't have any time for people who witter on about there never being "anything worth watching" on the telly. The statement itself is rubbish and what makes it worse is that it's generally uttered by bores who add the all-important rider: "…apart from Newsnight and The West Wing. Oh, and I LOVE The Sopranos. And have you seen The Wire - it's brilliant…"

What they are really saying here is "push off, peasants, watch your soaps and your X Factor and your Strictly Come Dancing. I am much too clever and important and I watch only the programmes that make rigorous demands on my towering intellect". Believe me, if I never, ever see or hear another reference to the supposedly arcane brilliance of The Wire, I will die a happy woman. Boys, it's just a cop show. Get over it.

So, let's make a rude gesture to these tedious people by revelling in some of the really good popular mainstream television that's around at the moment, the sort of stuff you don't have to seek out on the obscurest of cable channels at 2:40 in the morning.

We talked about The Children a couple of weeks ago, which, apart from a daft ending, was one of the best straight-down-the-line thrillers/murder mysteries I've seen in a while. And now I'll add another name to that short list, Place of Execution (Monday 22 September, 9:00pm, ITV1).

It's based on a Val McDermid novel, but don't let that put you off. She's best known for her gruesome, blood-spattered Tony Hill books (and if you're a fan of the TV adaptations, they are on ITV1 on Fridays) but Place of Execution is an altogether more downbeat and thoughtful story.

Juliet Stevenson plays journalist Catherine Heathcote, who's making a documentary about the decades-old unsolved case of teenager Alison Carter. Alison vanished from her home in a remote village in 1963, and all that remains of her is a brief snippet of home-movie footage, which transfixes everyone who sees it, including Catherine.

But the deeper she digs for her documentary, the more disturbing the details surrounding Alison's disappearance. Catherine's main interviewee is the long-retired detective who led the hunt for Alison, but after giving an interview, he mysteriously pulls out of the project, refusing to say why.

Place of Execution is really well done, with a good sense of place and period. What's particularly gripping is its spareness - there's nothing showy or extraneous, and the performances are low-key. The tension builds slowly because the story is allowed to breathe, and its grip is very tight indeed.

**

Alison Graham is TV editor of Radio Times - read her column in the latest issue of Radio Times magazine, on sale now.

Link to this post
Post a comment | 3 comments

Comments

  • Posted on 08 October 2008
  • at 10:30pm
  • by tiny

place of execution exelent, well made, good story , and well worth watching

  • Posted on 07 October 2008
  • at 11:47am
  • by Nick

And the winner of the Burchill Award for inverse snobbery goes to...

Well Alison, as a proponent of those who anaesthetise their minds on a diet of bad telly you really are right about lumping in Place of Execution. Like all the Val McDermid crime adaptations it's got style and a pretty good cast. What it hasn't got is any sense of place, believable dialogue or characters. It's chock full of historical and procedural innaccuracies, which is fine if you're after camp TV like Midsomer Murders or whatever Saturday evening BBC family drama, the BBC are currently flushing my licence fee on, but I think this aspires to more, it wants to be taken seriously as a drama, which is frankly laughable. That's why people like me are such "bores", because we actually find the HBO dramas like the Wire and the Sopranos refreshingly well researched with believable characters. Believe me I keep tuning in to ITV and BBC (crime) drama in the hope I'll be suprised but I'm not holding my breath.

I think it's patronising to think that ordinary people don't want or deserve good drama - so it's you saying "push off peasants". Rude gesture back at you.

  • Posted on 21 September 2008
  • at 7:10pm
  • by Susie

Can I make a comment about 2 other programmes? What breaths of fresh air are 'Lost in Austen' & 'Merlin' - both totally crazy but so good - entertaining, well written, acted etc and funny!! wonderful.

Post a comment

Do you have something to say about this post? Share your thoughts…

Post a comment

(first or nickname only)

Please do not include any personal or personally identifiable information about yourself or others (including email addresses). All information you submit about yourself or others can be viewed by others.

Thank you for your comment

Thank you for your comments. All comments will be looked at by a moderator, however, due to the numbers of comments we receive, we can't promise that all will be posted on the site.

Post another comment

More


Advertisement