I have just watched one of the season 1 episodes "the Placer" and was astonished by the sheer quality of the writing. The episode covers an undercover mission by Jack Reagan, seeking to infiltrate a gang of armed robbers. What is amazing is the depth of moral uncertainty the writers infuse across almost every story beat. The cops are bending the rules to bring down the bad guys - but they aren't immune from the negative impacts of that rule-bending - even down to innocent people losing their jobs etc. I have seen many feature films (and read many scripts) which don't come close to the moral complexity and sheer speed of plotting evidenced in this episode. Minor characters are well drawn, with a strong sense of their reality extending beyond the boundaries of the episode - something almost never encountered on modern TV. Even the final denouement is shot with panache, putting most other TV cop shows to shame. The likes of Line of Duty (in the UK) pale into insignificance compared to this. I remembered the Sweeney from my childhood (my father was in a similar job to Jack Regan and so there are huge resonances) but having spent many years working as a screenwriter, the sheer quality of this piece enthralled me. Well worth a watch, if you can track it down.
Review of The Sweeney
