All New Drama – Ripper Street
The BBC has once again brought quality programming to the North American market. This weekend, Ripper Street burst onto Canadian TV on Space Channel (and on BBC America in the US), and the pilot episode set a high standard for what we can expect for the rest of the series.
Set about a year after the Whitechapel area of 19th century London was terrorized by Jack the Ripper, the show is centred around Detective Inspector Edmund Reid (Matthew Macfadyen – Spooks, Pride and Prejudice), one of the original investigators of the grisly murders. A murder scene is staged to look like Jack is back and, haunted by the fact the Ripper was never caught, Reid is once again forced to deal with the panic of a community. Aided in his investigation by his partner Sergeant Drake (Jerome Flynn – Soldier Soldier, Game of Thrones), and an army surgeon and former Pinkerton agent of questionable ethics, Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg – The Ex List, Misconceptions) the three have to race against time to solve the case and avoid the ensuing chaos.
The mystery of Jack the Ripper is one that has fascinated people for generations, and Ripper Street has brought us a new angle from which to view the intrigue. In an era full of violence and superstitions, the police were stymied in their efforts to catch the murderer by false accusations and a media with no regulation. Here we get to see the knock-on effect of that, many months later, where it is easy for criminals to throw the law off their scent by using well publicized calling cards of the Ripper. Some great early forensic methods are employed by Jackson as he uses his powers of deduction in a very Sherlock Holmes style to determine their victim’s origins and cause of death, proving that it is unlikely the famous butcher is behind the latest crime.
Macfadyen and Flynn are extremely comfortable with the language of the day which makes their performances not only believable, but easy to comprehend. Each of them have their own intrigues that I’m sure will feature in upcoming episodes – Reid’s burn scars and tense relationship with his wife, bachelor Drake’s apparent affection for the prostitute Rose – and I’m interested to see how their relationship with Jackson develops.
Overall, the premiere was gritty and visceral, and showed that the producers are not afraid to show the violence of the era as true to life as possible. They gave us enough character exposition to keep us interested while making us feel a need to learn more. I thoroughly enjoyed the interesting premise as well as the wonderful performances by everyone on the cast, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what the rest of the series brings.
Ripper Street airs on Space on Saturday at 9e/6p
