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Parky calls for better British cop shows

Michael Parkinson
  • Posted at 1:10pm
  • 16 June 2009
  • by WilliamGallagher-RT

"The Wire is not about reassurance or redemption," says Michael Parkinson in the new issue of Radio Times. "Journalist David Simon spent time with Baltimore's police department and what he witnessed became two of the best television police series of all time - Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire."

The self-professed cop show fan wants to see British TV get it right: "Now Morse has gone, we need a substantial series based on a cop."

Our current crop of cops don't make the grade. "Will Ashes to Ashes continue with the theme of parallel worlds, or will it realise that in Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt there is a character able to carry a series without need of a gimmick?"

He's also unimpressed with Law & Order: UK, but sees some hope for the future. "Law & Order didn't work for me, mainly because the legal team seemed soppy. But in Bradley Walsh's shabby copper there's something worth developing. You look at his face and his sad eyes and want to know more about him. What better starting point?"

Do you agree with Michael Parkinson's comments? Are British crime dramas dull and superficial? Should we - could we - produce a cop show to rival The Wire? Post a comment below and let us know.

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