Intelligence – Season One (Acorn Media)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Episodes: B-

 

 

I was not a big fan of the hit TV series Da Vinci’s Inquest, but Chris Haddock has now done better with his new series simply called Intelligence.  With a name like that, one expects another MI-5/Spooks, but instead, is about a detailed investigation of organized crime types and the long, hard road by one police department to stop an operation starting with the top man (Ian Tracey,) who is not the most pleasant man to begin with.

 

Instead of a clean, by-the-book investigation, this show details how rough, uneven and frustrating such a long, drawn out case can be.  After all, this is not 24 where you torture someone and pretend to get true results 100% of the time.  Instead, this show (set in Vancouver, Canada) is far more mature, realistic and if you think about it, a new twist on the kind of storytelling we’ve had since Gangbusters was a radio drama.  Also, Canada looks a little different for a change, which is good.

All 14 hour-long shows are here and Klea Scott plays one of the main investigators in a star-making role, but the rest of the cast offers some chemistry including John Cassini, Matt Frewer and a solid guest cast that has some real energy to it.  Now we’ll see how long the show can go on before falling victim to the weekly grind, stretching the storyline beyond believability or backing itself into a corner it cannot get out of.  For a change, it will be interesting.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a bit weak from being an HD production, then a tradedown, but it is one the consistent side.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no major surrounds, but is a clear new recording.  Extras include text bio of series creator Haddock, text character descriptions, text cast filmographies and 13 behind-the-scenes clips.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo