TV Review:
The Met
This week’s #TuesdayTip is another TV Review. The Met, available on BBC iPlayer, was one of the stand-out fly-on-the-wall documentaries in recent years.
The show follows various teams from London’s Metropolitan Police Force. First of all, it is worth noting that although the voice over on the open credits mentions the unprecedented difficulties facing the Met, with an implicit mention of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, it doesn’t feature this case. Nor is it a quick PR exercise churned out by the Met. This is the fourth season of the series and some of the cases featured pre-date the Everard tragedy by some years.
The range of crimes featured varies far more than many of these series, with not just murders being investigated. Some episodes follow two unrelated cases (linked perhaps by similar topics), whilst others focus on a single crime.
Included are investigations into the murder of a teenage boy, a missing persons case, the rape of a young woman and murder of a homeless man. A serial sexual predator is identified and prosecuted, and we see inside the elite covert Flying Squad as they try to catch a criminal gang. One of the more unusual cases involves the stabbing of a motorcycle stuntman filming a music video.
Throughout, the victims and their families are well-represented, and treated with dignity by the police. We see a combination of state-of-the-art policing, good old-fashioned detective work and forensics. As always, we see the compassion and professionalism of the vast majority of police officers and staff. There’s no doubt that they are as horrified and affronted by the actions of the devils in their midst, like Wayne Couzens, as the public are.
All-in-all, a well-produced, highly watchable series, with something for writers and casual viewers alike.
The show follows various teams from London’s Metropolitan Police Force. First of all, it is worth noting that although the voice over on the open credits mentions the unprecedented difficulties facing the Met, with an implicit mention of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, it doesn’t feature this case. Nor is it a quick PR exercise churned out by the Met. This is the fourth season of the series and some of the cases featured pre-date the Everard tragedy by some years.
The range of crimes featured varies far more than many of these series, with not just murders being investigated. Some episodes follow two unrelated cases (linked perhaps by similar topics), whilst others focus on a single crime.
Included are investigations into the murder of a teenage boy, a missing persons case, the rape of a young woman and murder of a homeless man. A serial sexual predator is identified and prosecuted, and we see inside the elite covert Flying Squad as they try to catch a criminal gang. One of the more unusual cases involves the stabbing of a motorcycle stuntman filming a music video.
Throughout, the victims and their families are well-represented, and treated with dignity by the police. We see a combination of state-of-the-art policing, good old-fashioned detective work and forensics. As always, we see the compassion and professionalism of the vast majority of police officers and staff. There’s no doubt that they are as horrified and affronted by the actions of the devils in their midst, like Wayne Couzens, as the public are.
All-in-all, a well-produced, highly watchable series, with something for writers and casual viewers alike.
