So pleased all episodes were available on iPlayer. Watched them back to back until early hours of the morning as the plot was so compelling. I nearly didn't watch it at all as it doesn't seem to have been promoted by the BBC (I can't recall seeing a trailer). Martin Freeman will undoubtedly receive an award for his acting. I'm not from Liverpool but to my ear his accent sounded authentic and consistent. The plot follows a several nights that the character Chris Carson is on duty responding to crimes in the city. This gives us insight into his mental state and moral compass after many years of doing the job. Contrasting, with Carson's perspective is that of the probationer, Rachel, who lacks his experience and believes everything should be done by the book. We also gain insight into how Carson''s job affects his relationship with his wife and other pressures in his life (money worries and a mother dying of cancer) By the end of the episodes, I felt compassion for most of the characters dealing with the cards that life has dealt them. None of the main characters were stereotypical cops and villains, each was complex. Only after watching all of the episodes did I find out that the writer was ex-police himself - this explains why he was able to achieve this credible portrayal of the moral dilemmas faced by those breaking the law and upholding it. Excellent piece of writing.
Review of The Responder
