Taggart Devil's Advocate Part One (1983–2010) Online

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.

"Devil's Advocate" is a very good episode, not quite one of my favourites.

If there were less talk and an occasionally tighter pace it would already be better. The character of Stuart and his actor Colin McCredie were not particularly interesting or straight away settled at this very early stage of his appearances, a bit bland.

Enough that of what made 'Taggart' such a good show when it was in its prime is evident and a lot works here, just that it could have been better at the same time.

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. The relationship between Jardine and Reid was always blossoming nicely and had blossomed by this point and then accentuated with Jackie further blossoming it, showing why it was one of the best things about this period of 'Taggart'.

As to be expected, "Devil's Advocate" is thoughtfully scripted mostly with nothing ridiculous happening and things being taken seriously without being too morose. 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. The ending is clever if not the most unpredictable of the show.

James MacPherson continues to fill Mark McManus' big shoes with aplomb and Blythe Duff continues to get better and better with each episode. Love the chemistry between the two. The supporting cast are solid and Robert Robertson as ever steals every scene he's in.

Overall, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox