Which do you prefer? I'll plump for "Line of Duty" - "The Shadow Line" was far too mannered for my liking. Yes, "Line of Duty" does the "shaky camera" thing that's become so fashionable, but, other than that, it seems to be to be a more more solid and far less pretentious piece of work.
www.jumpedtheshark.co.uk
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No question The Shadow Line.
shareDidn't watch much of the Shadow Line due to it being excrutiatingly dire. So I guess Line of Duty has the edge as I can watch it but not without giggling a great deal. The latest preposterousness is the Islamic terrorist rouse (used numerous times, the last in an old episode of Law and Order.) You can't beat the classics. So just recycle, recycle, recycle.
I never thought I'd say this but British telly looks a bit dated compared to some American cable shows.
Gary-161; American network TV looks dated compared to some American cable shows. I'm a huge HBO/Showtime/AMC fan but you greatly underestimate Line of Duty, it's a real gem. The best thing the BBC have done in years.
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Ford,
I absolutely agree that some of the ITV shows you mention are excellent, but I'd urge you not to 'diss' the BBC so readily. Just exploring the same general category of shows (i.e. prime time drama) one could easily cite Sherlock; Spooks; Waking The Dead; and so on. Dalziel & Pascoe was at least the equal of Frost, and Cranford (although less popular) was arguably way better than Downton. Among the lighter dramas, Hustle and Life on Mars were (IMHO) at least as good as Doc Marten and so on. And although I think it has lost its way a bit, Silent Witness is pretty good.
The BBC will always suffer because of the expectation that it will produce content that other broadcasters cannot, or will not, produce. It gets slammed by the commercial stations (and the government, I might add) if it tries to be too populist.
By the way, I can't imagine ITV wanting to produce Little Dorrit, Great Expectations or Bleak House - yet the BBC did a fabulous job with all three. Not to mention the current Shakespeare series.
Tim
PS - have you read the poem about your namesake and Jerome K Jerome?
Early to rise, and early to bed, makes a man healthy (though socially dead)
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Excellent points, Andrew!
Have you also noticed the ITV tendency - on the rare occasions that they attempt to produce factual shows - to 'front' them with one or other of their contracted 'stars' and include their name in the title in the hope that their fans tune in?
I can't wait for "Railway Modelling with Robson Green" or "Sarah Lancashire: How Filthy Are London's Sewers?"
Tim
Early to rise, and early to bed, makes a man healthy (though socially dead)
It's been a while, but I prefer "The Shadow Line"; the performances felt much more memorable than those in LoD. LoD also seems a little too OTT with its premise of too much bureaucracy, which doesn't particularly mesh with the main plotline. Will have to see the last episode to decide properly though I guess.
Plus, I loved the intro song from TSL :) It really sounded perfect with the show.
Shadowline has the absurd style to it. Not to everyone's taste but it worked.
Its that man again!!
I enjoyed both but preferred The Shadow Line; Mr Gatehouse was such a good character.
I'm only going to say this once: stay out of Camberwick Green - Sam Tyler
Definetely The Shadow Line. Line of Duty felt too forced when it came to trying to be realistic about modern policing. It was like it was trying to be The Wire but the messages weren't subtle. The Shadow Line was one of the best British crime dramas I've seen for a while and the acting was brilliant for more of the cast.
shareShadow Line was deeply pretentious and completely unrealistic. Line of Duty felt authentic, tough and gritty. There's no comparison in my opinion.
shareLine of Duty felt authentic, tough and grittyYou jest, surely? At least as far as the 'beat' policing and council estate went, it was more Operation Good Guys* than Brit Cops.
Blarhh, did you actually watch Line of Duty? Because the way you are describing it bears no resemblance to the show I watched. I've never seen any of the Police shows you mentioned. I normally hate British cop shows and only watched this because a friend told me it was good. I cut my teeth on the likes of The Wire and The Shield. I like the Swedish TV version of Wallander and the French cop show Spiral. And I would describe Line of Duty as gritty and in the same class as those lot.
Surely you must admit that Shadow line was more than a bit silly.
Blarhh, did you actually watch Line of Duty?Did you read the part of my post were I said "At least as far as the 'beat' policing and council estate went". The rest of it was gripping etc., but that is what made it so ridiculous when lines like 'for christ's sake Simon, risk assessment first' are spouted... do you think that is how police officers react when spotting a burglary suspect?
I like the Swedish TV version of Wallander and the French cop show SpiralI must have missed the bit were Gilou and Laure sigh and roll their eyes because they have to fill out 'yet another form', and the bit were the Ystad police are unable to leave their cars because a couple of 12 year olds are being mean to them.
I loved them both, but I prefer The Shadow Line just a little bit. Productions like these imho confirm that mini-series have the best story lines and characters, because success does not kill them, as it gets more and more unbelievable with every season.
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