I'll go along with the cliché comment. Life is full of clichés isn't it? That's why they become clichés I suppose. To some extent we expect them, even anticipate them. The protagonist in this case is black, struggles with broken relationships and family trauma, is threatened and subjugated in the workplace, yet comes through triumphant. If we are prepared to suspend our disbelief we can nevertheless get satisfaction out of watching him do all these things. I agree, we know in advance that he will eventually liaise on a different level with the police solicitor, and that's part of our enjoyment; the dramatize irony built into the script allows us to know something that the protagonists don't. In the end we will be pleased that we were proved correct. Sit back and let it wash over you! Incidentally, I agree too with the Tyne Bridge observation, and have you noticed how lately every drama set in London has a night shot of HSBC Bank and the Isle of Dogs?
Review of 55 Degrees North
