Double Exposure Part One

A builder falls to his death, the foreman believes it was negligence on behalf of the management. A young mum is traumatised when someone lights a fire at the front door.

I enjoyed this one, it's definitely a complex mystery, it asks the question when someone has a seemingly unbreakable alibi how can they possibly have committed a crime it seems so obvious they committed.

It's perhaps not a classic, but all of these early episodes offer something, this one gets better as it progresses. There's so much, almost too much, we've got the fire, the monk, the football, a lot happening.

Clever stock footage of the old firm derby, and just look how short those shorts are. A fixture that's still massive.

Some great casting, Meera Syall and Deepak Verma are both very good, finally adding a more multi cultural element to the show. Taggart was pretty good at spotting young talent, Jason Isaacs of all people, he was very good, but star of the show had to be Sandy McDade, excellent as stressed mother Lisanne Archer.

7/10.

Have always adored detective dramas/mystery series. This has been apparent from an early age, half my life even, when getting into Agatha Christie through Joan Hickson's Miss Marple and David Suchet's Poirot and into 'Inspector Morse'.

Whether it's the more complex ones like 'Inspector Morse' (and its prequel series 'Endeavour') and anything Agatha Christie. Whether it's the grittier ones like 'A Touch of Frost' (though that is balanced brilliantly with comedy too). And whether it's the light-hearted ones like 'Murder She Wrote'. 'Taggart' is one of the biggest examples of the grittier ones, especially the Mark McManus years and the earlier James MaPherson episodes.

"Double Exposure" is good. Maybe the pace could have been tightened in spots and occasionally it's slightly bland.

Its weak link is the ending, which felt rushed, too conveniently wrapped up with not enough time to go and is not that much of a surprise.

However, what made 'Taggart' such a good show when it was in its prime is evident here. The characterisation here is meatier than seen pre-Jardine era, therefore more interesting with more development to Taggart.

Really like the slick, gritty look and Glasgow is like an ominous character on its own. The music matches the show's tone and has a good amount of atmosphere while the theme song/tune is one that stays in the memory for a long time. Really like Taggart and Jardine's chemistry here, which sees some priceless exchanges with them, and have always found it more interesting and settled than with Taggart and Livingstone. The relationship between Jardine and Reid is also blossoming nicely, showing promising signs as to why it was one of the best things about the era when Jardine was in charge.

As to be expected, "Double Exposure" is thoughtfully scripted with nothing ridiculous happening and things being taken seriously without being too morose. The racial angle is handled surprisingly sensitively and tactfully, there is always the danger of such a heavy subject being preachy but that's thankfully avoided, even with a quite overt "evil incarnate" character. The story is involving in its complexity and intricacy with nothing being what it seems, making the most of the long length (have generally found the 2000s episodes too short and rushed) without padding anything out. Some parts are not for the faint hearted but nothing feels gratuitous and the investigations are compelling and with enough twists to stop it from being obvious on the most part

Good acting helps, with Mark McManus being a suitably tough and blunt presence throughout and James MacPherson being every bit his equal. Blythe Duff continues to impress and a Iain Anders comes into his own once again. Robert Robertson as ever steals scenes. The supporting cast is dead on too.

Concluding, good episode albeit not a great one. 7/10 Bethany Cox