Search - Touching Evil 1 Boxed Set (The Lost Boys/To Death and Back/What Amathus Wants) on DVD

A Compelling British Mystery Series

jmatsu | Seattle, WA USA | 10/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Touching Evil on PBS' Mystery! when it first came out and my husband and I were totally hooked. Touching Evil is a gripping and stylish British mini series about a crack team of detectives, the Organized and Serial Crimes (OSC) unit. The series examines the effect evil has on the people it touches on a day-to-day basis--the men and women who are sworn to fight it. The mini series is six hours long, composed of stories about three different crime sprees. Each series of crime is distinct, but the way the crimes affect the members of the team forms a thread tying all the episodes together. The story comes full circle in the end.

This is a gritty drama about serious crimes. It's not gory or graphic but some crimes are disturbing--the series IS about killers. The first episode is the most disturbing, dealing with a serial killer who killed two children years ago and recently kidnapped three more. The first episode centers around the desperate efforts of the team to find the children before it is too late. The use of children isn't gratuitous--it ends up being the cornerstone of the whole series.

The series is centered around a different kind of detective--Dave Creegan. Complex and conflicted, Creegan wants to be anything but a detective, preferring a job that would allow him to hide from society. However he is also driven by an intense desire to make the world a better place. Creegan's sole purpose in joining the OSC is to save lives. He cannot comprehend why anyone could be satisfied with anything less. He abides by rules only so long as they don't get in the way. His unwillingness to be constricted by rules make him a liability, while his brilliant mind and uncanny perceptiveness make him the undeniable hero. Throughout the series, the viewer is led to wonder how far Creegan would go to protect the innocent.

Robson Green plays Creegan to perfection, depicting him as someone cold, yet caring, vulnerable, idealistic and extremely sympathetic. Green gives Creegan a razor-sharp intensity, further accentuated by his quick, clipped speech and wide, piercing eyes.

In the first episode Creegan joins the OSC, a tight-knit group of dedicated coppers who follow the rules and try to do the job right. Creegan has the support of the CO, who knows him from before, but he is a mystery to the rest. He doesn't let them in. His aloofness at first seems like clumsy manners, but Creegan had a near-death experience long ago that scarred him both inside and out, making it hard for him to function as part of a team. Initially it seems that there is The Team and there is Creegan--and the challenge lies in bridging the gap between the two. As events unfold, it of course isn't that simple. Is the team as solid as it seems?

Although the series centers around Creegan, the other characters are important. The actors do a good job of making them interesting and believable. Though not as openly conflicted, they are fully developed with their own priorities and concerns. DC Mark Rivers is the rookie constable, earnest and affable. His partner D.C. Jonathan Kreitman is older, more experienced, with sharp, suspicious eyes and a grudging demeanor. DI Susan Taylor is hardbitten, capable, ambitious and totally above reproach. There are other members too, but these form the core.

They balance and complement Creegan. It's not him being the brains and the rest the brawn. The rest of the team is essential to the process of solving the case. They care about what they do. Their professionalism and dedication help to hold it all together.

One thing I truly love about this series is that the actions of the characters make sense. They do things that seem logical for detectives or are at least consistent with their character's idiosyncracies.

There are a few key things that are a stretch. One is the incredible amount of manpower that the police have at their disposal. They have dozens of officers available to assist in interviewing or searching. I doubt that real life can muster that type of force, but it does make for impressive camera shots. Sometimes their use of technology is weak (in one case they could have used triangulation to trace a radio signal), but it led to some interesting scenes, so I could overlook it.

The biggest problem is that their treatment of the legal system is...silly...(especially if you've ever seen Law and Order). In this series, the legal system ALWAYS comes up short. The police do their job, but the law disappoints. I admit that this is extremely contrived, but the rest of the show is so enjoyable, that I can overlook this too.

Other than the legal aspect, the tightly written script flows smoothly and flawlessly. Every scene is necessary to the plot. Like any good mystery, this script is also challenging to the viewer, who has to follow the action and decipher the clues. Don't blink or you'll miss something!

Although I give high marks to Touching Evil, I was disappointed with the quality of the sequels (Touching Evil 2 and Touching Evil 3). I enjoyed seeing the characters reprise their roles, but I thought the plots were ridiculously contrived and lame. The main characters would occasionally do something smart, but usually do things that I hope no real cop would even consider. It was such a waste. The problem could be that Paul Abbot, who created the series and wrote the better sections of the first mini series, didn't write the sequels."