Prime Suspect

Infobox television
show_name = Prime Suspect


country=United Kingdom
caption = "Prime Suspect 1" titles
format = Police procedural
picture_format =
runtime =
creator = Lynda La Plante
starring = Helen Mirren
channel = ITV
first_aired = 1991-04-07
last_aired = 2006
num_series = 7
num_episodes =
producer = Granada Television/ ITV Productions
related =
imdb_id = 0098898
tv_com_id = 3927

"Prime Suspect" is a British police procedural television drama series made by Granada Television for the ITV network in the 1990s and 2000s. The screenplays for the first and third serials (and the story for the second) were written by Lynda La Plante, and in 1993 she received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work. The following year, Allan Cubitt's screenplay for "Prime Suspect 2" brought the series a second Edgar.

Overview

Helen Mirren portrays no-nonsense female Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Jane Tennison (later promoted to Detective Superintendent), surviving and thriving in a male-dominated profession. The character was said to be based on Jackie Malton, who acted as an advisor to the authors.

The programme was part of a trend for programmes/films with women both in leading roles and holding senior authority positions. One UK television example is "MIT", a spinoff from "The Bill" on ITV.

The first series features sexism in the workplace as a significant subplot and a barrier to the investigation. Sequels have tended to downplay this theme, relying on straight procedure or on other subplots - for example, institutional racism in "Prime Suspect 2", paedophilia, child abuse, and prostitution in "Prime Suspect 3". Tennison's difficulty in achieving a balance between her work and her life outside the job, and her difficulty in maintaining stable relationships, are a recurring issue within the series. At the close of "Prime Suspect 3" she arranges to have her pregnancy terminated. As the series progresses, she increasingly relies upon alcohol to help her cope; this culminates in the final episode of the series in her visit to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, where she finally acknowledges and confronts her addiction.

"Prime Suspect"'s format is multiple episodes: each case runs around 3½ hours (excluding commercials) usually aired in two parts or four parts. "Prime Suspect 4" was an exception at 4½ hours in three separate cases.

The first five series were produced at a steady pace of one every eighteen months, until Helen Mirren left the role to avoid typecasting (according to a PBS interview). She returned to the character after a seven-year gap.

"Prime Suspect: The Final Act" was an ITV and WGBH co-production. Part one first aired ( [http://www.pbs.org/previews/masterpiece_primesuspect7/ preview] ) in the UK on 15 October, 2006 and in the U.S. on 12 November, 2006 on the PBS program "Masterpiece Theatre" with Mirren starring opposite Tom Bell, Gary Lewis, Stephen Tompkinson and Laura Greenwood.

eries

"Prime Suspect"

Now working in the vice squad targeting Soho, DCI Tennison's investigation takes her into a child prostitution and pornography ring following the death of a rent boy. Tom Bell returns to the series as Bill Otley.

* BAFTA TV Award: Best TV Actress, (Helen Mirren)
* BAFTA TV Award: Best Drama Serial, (Paul Marcus, David Drury, Lynda La Plante)
* Emmy Award: Outstanding Miniseries, (Sally Head, Paul Marcus)

"Prime Suspect 4"

DSupt Tennison, under pressure to retire, investigates the murder of a Bosnian refugee and ends up digging into the past war crimes of recent immigrants.

"Prime Suspect: The Final Act"

While dealing with her alcoholism and the death of her father (Frank Finlay) Tennison solves the case of a murdered teenage girl before retiring.

* BAFTA TV Award: Best Original TV Music, (Nicholas Hooper)
* Emmy Award: Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or Movie (Helen Mirren)
* Emmy Award: Outstanding Writing - Miniseries or Movie
* Emmy Award: Outstanding Directing - Miniseries or Movie

poof

In 1997 a short spoof episode, "Prime Cracker", was produced for the BBC's biennial Red Nose Day charity telethon in aid of Comic Relief. A crossover with ITV stablemate crime drama "Cracker", the spoof starred Mirren and "Cracker" lead Robbie Coltrane as their characters from the respective series, sending-up the perceived ultra seriousness of both shows.

External links

* [http://www.itv.com/BestofITV/crime/PrimeSuspect/default.html "Prime Suspect"] at itv.com
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/primesuspect/index.html "Prime Suspect"] at PBS
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/493056/index.html "Prime Suspect"] at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/P/htmlP/primesuspect/primesuspect.htm "Prime Suspect"] at the MBC's Encyclopedia of Television