Line of Duty

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Oct 9, 2006
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Any one know what is going on with this show. I have watched two episodes I think , one was like a repeat, I'd seen the week before now a week or so after I recorded the next one that looked like a beginning of a new series , I discover that it is set way before the shows I watched in the last 3 to 4 weeks.
The programming is amazingly confusing, its on the ABC . Its great, but the programming is all over the place.
 

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moto748

Premiership Player
Apr 19, 2010
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Are you guys getting this? After what appeared to be a less than great first ep, S3 is really hitting its straps from the second episode. Terrific writing, and plot twists galore. A real treat. I think a good familiarity with the events of S2 will be useful, too.

Best thing on UK TV by a mile.
 

dylan123

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 3, 2008
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Actually forgot all about this show, is the full season out? If not, think I'll hold off until it is - be nice if it was put on Netflix but I assume that will be a long wait.
 

MC Bad Genius

No, not THAT MC Bad Genius. The other one.
Apr 15, 2008
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I’m so surprised that such a quality show has had only 11 posts on it. A friend (who has really similar taste in TV to me) recommended this a few times to me over the past year, referring to it as one of his favourite shows of all time, up there with The Office (UK version of course). Anyways, I started watching it last month and I’ve absolutely burned through it while my pregnant wife has been having 10+ hour sleeps every night. It is absolutely compelling viewing and I’ve only got the final episode of Season 4 left to watch. Turns out my friend was right, it is incredibly top-shelf TV and has quickly turned into one of my favourites.

For anyone who hasn’t watched any of it, here’s my quick snapshot of it to try and get you interested:

It’s a British cop show that instead of focusing on criminals, follows the work of an anti-corruption unit. In the parlance of the show’s moral centre, Ted Hastings: “There’s only one thing I’m interested in, and that is catching bent coppers” and although that might suggest that there is a clear divide between the goodies and the baddies, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Each season (which are only 5 or 6 hour-long episodes each, in the great British tradition of quality over quantity) focuses on a particular investigation of an officer, all of which have various shades of good/bad in them that make the truth about their actions incredibly ambiguous. There is a lot of good old detective work on display, but the pinnacle of each season are the long but utterly captivating interrogation scenes, which have the added layer of those being investigated being cops themselves and knowing how and when to turn the tables. The moral ambiguity stretches to the officers within the AC-12 unit themselves, which further complicates the investigations in each season.

As you’d expect, there are a lots of twists and turns that happen in each season, but the writing is exceptional, which means that they don’t feel cheap or forced. But there will be some VERY unexpected twists amongst all the turns, which makes it almost impossible to stop after just one episode. And each season links between each other despite them generally being separate storylines, so the more you watch, the more invested you become. Which is definitely helped by the characters all being drawn quite brilliantly so you’ll love and hate them at different times, but they’re also acted in that perfect British understated way. It’s not the scene-chewing you’d get from something like Billions, is what I’m trying to say.

Anyways, I STRONGLY recommend you watch it. If for nothing else, it will give me someone to talk to about it rather than just reading recaps on British newspapers from a couple of years back, as it really didn’t seem to get much coverage over here (or in the US). The first three seasons are up on Netflix and Stan, I'm pretty sure.
 
Oct 9, 2006
13,346
5,231
Perth
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Hawthorn
Other Teams
Perth Wildcats basketball
I’m so surprised that such a quality show has had only 11 posts on it. A friend (who has really similar taste in TV to me) recommended this a few times to me over the past year, referring to it as one of his favourite shows of all time, up there with The Office (UK version of course). Anyways, I started watching it last month and I’ve absolutely burned through it while my pregnant wife has been having 10+ hour sleeps every night. It is absolutely compelling viewing and I’ve only got the final episode of Season 4 left to watch. Turns out my friend was right, it is incredibly top-shelf TV and has quickly turned into one of my favourites.

For anyone who hasn’t watched any of it, here’s my quick snapshot of it to try and get you interested:

It’s a British cop show that instead of focusing on criminals, follows the work of an anti-corruption unit. In the parlance of the show’s moral centre, Ted Hastings: “There’s only one thing I’m interested in, and that is catching bent coppers” and although that might suggest that there is a clear divide between the goodies and the baddies, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Each season (which are only 5 or 6 hour-long episodes each, in the great British tradition of quality over quantity) focuses on a particular investigation of an officer, all of which have various shades of good/bad in them that make the truth about their actions incredibly ambiguous. There is a lot of good old detective work on display, but the pinnacle of each season are the long but utterly captivating interrogation scenes, which have the added layer of those being investigated being cops themselves and knowing how and when to turn the tables. The moral ambiguity stretches to the officers within the AC-12 unit themselves, which further complicates the investigations in each season.

As you’d expect, there are a lots of twists and turns that happen in each season, but the writing is exceptional, which means that they don’t feel cheap or forced. But there will be some VERY unexpected twists amongst all the turns, which makes it almost impossible to stop after just one episode. And each season links between each other despite them generally being separate storylines, so the more you watch, the more invested you become. Which is definitely helped by the characters all being drawn quite brilliantly so you’ll love and hate them at different times, but they’re also acted in that perfect British understated way. It’s not the scene-chewing you’d get from something like Billions, is what I’m trying to say.

Anyways, I STRONGLY recommend you watch it. If for nothing else, it will give me someone to talk to about it rather than just reading recaps on British newspapers from a couple of years back, as it really didn’t seem to get much coverage over here (or in the US). The first three seasons are up on Netflix and Stan, I'm pretty sure.

There is more of this show you may not have seen. I believe there are at least 4 seasons to see. I 'm waiting on the next one.
 

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Mar 14, 2002
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Gasometer Wing
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Yes; the first few eps of S01 were where some may have dropped off.

But then, boom shakalaka, smashed the whole 4 seasons in a fortnight.

MC Bad Genius the final is awesome.

Such a pity that there is a big gap between S04 and S05.

I googled S05 last week and it read like the Writer/s were still navel gazing about S05 plots??
 

MC Bad Genius

No, not THAT MC Bad Genius. The other one.
Apr 15, 2008
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So I watched the final episode a couple of nights ago and it was fantastic (as Gasometer suggested it would be). So now, let the discussions begin:

What was your favourite season?
1 - Tony Gates
2 - Lindsay Denton
3 - The Caddy
4 - Roz Huntley

Who is your favourite member of AC-12?
Steve Arnott
Kate Fleming
Ted Hastings

For me, I thought Season 2 was the best, purely because Lindsay Denton was such an amazing character and it highlighted just how morally ambiguous all the characters are. But of course, I loved all 4 and never felt like any was a step back from other seasons.

And my answer to the second question has to be Ted Hasting, yes, like the battle. I mean, surely everyone's favourite is Ted Hastings, right?
 

Drummond

Brownlow Medallist
Jun 13, 2005
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Agree with the sentiments in here. Only got into this about a month ago.

Amazing show. Just finished S4 and what an ending.

One of the best shows I’ve seen. Acting and writing top notch.
 

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