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I've just watched from that start over last few weeks and finally caught up.
Its a shame its got so daft after what I thought was the high point of series 2 and 3. Not uncoincidentally that was the Lindsay Denton era and Keeley Hawes really impresses me - she's such a classy actress and was head and shoulders above everyone. Look at 'its a sin' for even more nuance.
Its still great fun, even though the show itself is so po faced it seems like the writers are having a laugh and indulging the 'LOD bingo'.
Series 1 was a joke after Eric Gates says with all the seriousness in the world "if you're coming after the king you best not miss". Pure cringe but still funny. It deffo seemed amateurish though
Like I said, Keely Hawes raised it for the next couple of seasons and Daniel Mays was great as well. Series 4 was a big downturn for me and Thandie Newton looked great but I'd say was miscast. Series 5 was just getting daft plotwise and the OCG just looked crap so all the menace and mystique went.
I love it for Ted Hastings who has had all the best lines, although his cheesy line on last nights episode about hastings being the name for an old battle was laugh out loud funny.
the only dodgy regular actor for me is martin compston although Vicky Mcclure has been disappointing too - and she was amazing in This is England. There was a scene in this season where Arnot went round to Stephs house and they had some footy banter that was acting straight from a B movie.
They should've let martin compston act in his regular voice if it would help him seem less wooden but he might ve insisted on putting on a SE accent just to get more regular work. There's plenty of Scots in the show - although DCC Hilton/Jamie from the Thick of It put on an english and was one of the worst actors in the show.
anyway, im rambling now. We'll have to wait for a UK version of the Wire i think
Bent coppers!
(good shooting by Steve mind)
Anyone else laugh out loud at Steve's sharp shooting?
Crossed posts....
Dentons daughter?
Who was the picture of? Who is Jo’s blood relative? 🤔
Picture was Jo.
Lovely traffic free roads. Until the van starts swerving...
top trolling on the picture, the blood relative must be on the LHS of the page. 10 million people swearing as they miss with the pause button time and again and then it's Davidson anyway!!
I have to admit, after a late start to the series this week and getting up to speed tonight, it is basically crap. It's like 1% was written by the folks who made the The Wire, and 99% is from the makers of The Bill.
"Our shadowy and incredibly highly connected criminal conspiracy needs to off a witness, what shall we do? I know, we'll put them in a police car, drive it into a lake, which will also kill a police officer. That should arouse no attention at all"
Who is Jo’s blood relative?
Tommy Hunter
Need a bent Bbc exec to explain what’s going on.
Possibly she is related to Tommy (rip) from golfing and ocg fame
Lucky the villains were only using Airsoft. I mean they must have been since they couldn't penetrate the panels on a van.
Got it!
Justin
or Jimmy
There was a picture on the mantle piece in Jo’s flat that the camera focussed on in prev episode. Young Jo with another young girl... red herring or not? Chief superintendent lady?
Unless....Jo Davidson’s mother was Anne-Marie (photo from a previous series is v similar to the one on JD’s sideboard at which she threw a wine glass) and the blood relative they found was John Corbett (son of Anne-Marie); and we think (know?) Hastings had a thing with Anne-Marie which makes Jo Davidson his daughter!
Lucky the villains were only using Airsoft. I mean they must have been since they couldn’t penetrate the panels on a van.
Likely to be an up armoured van.
Alpha1653
Full MemberLikely to be an up armoured van.
Would be about the only transit van on the planet with one!
The thing that i picked up in that scene was that when it panned out on the crash site the orientation of the van and the building with the 'sniper' were off, the angle where Steve was would have been at the overpass, lets not even mention why there's a random sniper in that building, as if they'd planned to crash the van in that spot!
they had stingers to ensure that the van stopped in the ambush location.
Likely to be an up armoured van.
Mainly armoured on the roof it seems!
they had stingers to ensure that the van stopped in the ambush location
They pulled the stinger before the white van hit it.
, lets not even mention why there’s a random sniper in that building, as if they’d planned to crash the van in that spot!
Kind of assumed that was the point of the ambush? I'd also hope that any Police van used to move such a high profile target would be armoured. Those convoys are pretty impressive when you see them moving in real life.
Davidson can't be related to Hastings or any of the serving officers or that would have shown on the initial cross check of the Police database? So the Tommy Hunter theory looks likely - not sure which Corbett would now be on?
When Chloe mentions that the leak of the convoy could have been from AC-12 (I mean, why would the prison know the route of the convoy) that was completely brushed over by Ted, unless its a double-bluff by Chloe as she's the leak....?
I thik the shoot-out sequences in LoD are always massively OTT, there was the one where Kate took out Cottan in the Range Rover with a single-shot a couple of series a go, and then Steve's shot tonight was straight out of 60's James bOnd, and far too many bullets exchanged.
BUT is Ted the real H, that's why they're getting rid of him? or is DC Syad is the real H at the top of the tree....
BUT is Ted the real H, that’s why they’re getting rid of him? or is DC Syad is the real H at the top of the tree….
I've got to be honest, after five and a bit series I've got to the point where I don't really GAF. It's gone from being a sharply-scripted, taughtly-plotted thriller to being an appallingly-scripted, absurdly-plotted nonsense.
I will of course watch it to the end, because MrsIHN will want to. I'll just have to keep my tutting and scowling to a minimum, because apparently it 'spoils it for her'
I’ve got to be honest, after five and a bit series I’ve got to the point where I don’t really GAF. It’s gone from being a sharply-scripted, taughtly-plotted thriller to being an appallingly-scripted, absurdly-plotted nonsense.
This. It's nowhere near as compelling as it used to be.
If I was head of senior police and head of the OCG and Ted was being a nucisance, Ted would have been killed off a few series ago, make it look like a botched burglary.
The pain killer addiction of Steve was far too predictable and easy. My prediction is he will cross the line whilst high on painkillers and will resign so that it doesn’t screw with the case.
The pain killer addiction of Steve was far too predictable and easy.
The addiction that could have been entirely avoided by him going to his GP and saying "can you prescribe me some painkillers and anti-inflammatories for ongoing pain management of a chronic back injury?".
Why do people get so upset about little continuity errors? Don’t spend the entire episode trying to find problems/pick holes and it will be more enjoyable.
I enjoyed it last night, none the wiser as to what’s going on though! Thought the ambush scene was excellent and a jive ending to the episode as well.
Getting a bit fed up of the constant looking down from a window/mezzanine shots though!
It’s gone from being a sharply-scripted, taughtly-plotted thriller to being an appallingly-scripted, absurdly-plotted nonsense.
A fair criticism, I'm watching it for shots and giggles rather than any sense of gripping drama now
Edit : well done auto correct, I'll leave that!
Yep, I just view as some daft, fun entertainment now rather than real drama. If either the wife or I tut under our breath the other will give out our "It's not real life" line 😉
Stopped watching after Ep.2. It's dreadful. I feel sorry for the cast. It's so appallingly written, totally unnatural, stilted dialogue, lack of any real humanity in the characters, it's like a computer wrote a drama series. It's trying to be all 'edgy' and 'noir', and failing miserably. All so predictable really. Shame.
I thought it was great - very entertaining - best one so far of this series. Still intrigued by what hold they have over Davidson - clearly a family member connection of some sort...
Loved it. Realistic? Nope. I'm not that interested in watching a show about a bunch of coppers filling in forms at the station and then driving around in a van.
For once I thought the armed coppers did quite a good job. Normally they get wiped out by the crims. Recruitment standards in OCG’s must be slipping!
Love it, but its held in the same regard as Midsummer Murders ont' other side. Entertaining way to spend a Sunday evening in front of the box, but not much of a foot in reality.
Mrs F and I think it could be John Corbett as the blood relative and the shootout was a convenient way to get hold of some OCG firearms that have been 'workshopped'!
Love it, mainly because it's so hammy and bonkers.
Far too much use of buzz words - CHIS etc. And this OCG are better organised and equipped than SPECTRE. If she’s not Blofelds daughter then I’ll be disappointed.
For once I thought the armed coppers did quite a good job. Normally they get wiped out by the crims. Recruitment standards in OCG’s must be slipping!
I was surprised they were so keen to start searching for links through the workshopped weapons rather than the half a dozen dead bodies all over the road!
Davidson can’t be related to Hastings or any of the serving officers or that would have shown on the initial cross check of the Police database?
Not sure. I thought they said cross referencing of police DNA samples with the criminal database was not routine when she started, so it wouldn’t have been picked up. But Corbett’s on the database as a suspect given he went rogue in the last series hence the link is now established. But Hastings’ DNA isn’t in there as he’s excluded for not being a suspect...but that’s the next twist to come I reckon.
But yeah,Tommy Hunter is more likely.
I've been binge watching it from the start over the last couple of weeks as my wife is a fan and wanted me to get into it. I've enjoyed it, you could certainly play Ted Hastings cliche bingo! There's only one thing we're interested in... etc! Definitely regularly hammy, but entertaining enough.
I was also surprised that they survived the ambush! And sharp shooting from Steve!
Given that she is Scottish, I'm going with Tommy Hunter as Davidson's father.
Love it, but its held in the same regard as Midsummer Murders ont’ other side. Entertaining way to spend a Sunday evening in front of the box, but not much of a foot in reality.
I think Midsummer Murders is closer to reality, Line of Duty is just buzzword bingo
How about this for the most tenuous Line of Duty connection ever? Local journalism at its finest.
https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/19232133.windermere-plays-part-hit-thriller-line-duty/
Spiral was similar, seeing as that’s been mentioned.
Now you need to go and sit quietly and reflect on what you've just said. When you're truly sorry you can join in again.
Of course Starmer threw in an ac12 reference in yesterday's PMQs
Bit of a tumbleweed moment
It reminded me of Gordon brown mentioning he was a fan of 'The Arctic Monkeys'
Spiral was similar, seeing as that’s been mentioned.
Ah, I didn't see this
Now you need to go and sit quietly and reflect on what you’ve just said. When you’re truly sorry you can join in again.
Then I'll go with him, and come back entirely unrepentant. We made the mistake of watching the whole of Spiral, end to end, over the last few months. By the end I was getting pretty sick of watching French policepeople, and a particular French lawyer, just be really effing stupid, again and again and again and again...