4 out of 5

Creator: Allan Cubitt

Covers season 1

1 part creepy character study, 1 part police procedural, and a good dash of playing with gender and sexuality expectations, ‘The Fall’ could be seen as another slow-burn mystery thriller from the UK, but it’s eyes open approach – we always know who the killer is and where he is, reminiscent of ‘Cracker,’ with which the show shares a producer – is a refreshingly frank and frightening way to approach the genre.  For the five episodes of season 1, we watch DS Gillian Anderson play with the clues that may lead to apprehending serial killer Jamie Doran (perfectly cast to be off-puttingly attractive while he’s plotting your demise), whose MO is to slowly strangle his victims, then pose their bodies delicately for discovery.  The episode to episode proceedings won’t be unusual for crime viewers, but by keeping the plotting tight to only five hours of airtime, we’ve gotten rid of all the whodunnit red herrings that too often feel like filler on television.  Which is why it’s odd that the writers include a subplot with a prostitution ring.  This will certainly pay off later, but it’s uncomfortably wended into season 1 in a way that never really clicked or felt interesting.  Casting an American in the lead role is a curiosity, but Gillian sells the part of the strong female lead, and the way the scripts dangle and manipulate our grasp of male and female sexual and workplace politics set the show another notch above the norm, adding that extra layer that makes it fascinating beyond the thrill of the chase.