Commissaire Bancroft

I rated the 1st series of this a 5, but there is a night and day difference in the quality between the 2 seasons. I'm not sure the reason, but gone are the dodgy accents, the awfully miss-cast actors and actresses have been replaced by quality - Charlotte Hope in particular - that suit the role that's been written for them, and Sarah Parish has evolved brilliantly into the role - helped by a plot that stops trying to turn her into something she cannot be but instead allows her to fit into the role and show off her abilities.

The story Is moodily brilliant - shocking and gripping. It's all incredibly well done. There's still holes - it's not the best thing I've ever seen - Joe leaves a lot to be desired and some of Bancroft's antics remain too far from police policy to ever be deemed possible - but it's entirely watchable and enjoyable.

The biggest problem this show will have is that the first series is needed to be watched to fully understand the background of the story - and the first series is a complete and utter car crash. There will be a lot of people that will give up a long time before they've given the second series a chance. Which would be a real shame.