DCI Banks: Series 1 [DVD]

They just keep getting better

Music magpie always buy from them where I can because you are guaranteed a quick delivery efficient service and an excellent product when you buy with them.

i missed this when it was on TV and had been ooooh and aaaaaaaahing about whether to buy it or not, but after reading reviews on here, i took a chance and thank god i did. the pilot two parter aftermath started off well, did kinda lose it at some points (not in a bad way) still enjoyable. then the Playing with fire, which was brilliantly enjoyable. kept you guessing.Friend of The devil another fantastic episode which has a link with the pilot episode (aftermath)then the final one Cold is the grave which in my opinion is the best one, and i am hoping for a second series. the acting, directing is brilliant and well adapted from Peter Robinson's DCI Bank novel series. i thought this type of show was dying, after wire in the blood had finished and their hasnt really been any really absorbing detective dramas in awhile. Stephen Tompkinson who i know from BBC's old show In Deep. plays DCI Banks well, though a bit emotionless at times. i havent read any of the novels so i dont know if it keeps to the books or not. so again i am happy that this exists. as waking the dead, wire in the blood, messiah, have all but faded out. with most channels more concerned with ratings and the pointless reality shows yada yada yada... am glad to have taken a chance on this show. great drama from ITV... all we need now is more. i would like to see some adaptations of Peter James Roy Grace novels. but hey have to wait and see...... hope this review is helpful, sorry havent done any of the plots to the stories. im just lazy :)

I have given this series five stars, because it deserves five stars. I love police dramas and this series is up there with Waking the dead, Silent witness and anything by val mcdermid and a lot of other great British serials.Stephen Tomkinson is just a natural as DCI Banks. ITV could not have chosen any better. He just moulds into the role and there is nothing pretencious about the guy which makes him so believable. The cases are hard and at times not easy to watch as we see the worst in human beings. This is not done for show or ratings, but merely to show how evil people can get. Dci Banks comes across as your average copper and he is far from that. There is a lot more to him than meets the eye and his character developes with the series.Hopefully ITV will continue this great series as it has tremendous potential. With so much rubbish on tv today this series was a breath of fresh air and i recommend it most highly. So put it in your Christmas stocking!Not for the faint of heart!

Peter Robinson's books are finely crafted stories, with depth to the characters and meat on the plots. The DVD version is ok but skims the plots and makes little attempt at developing the characters. Stephen Tompkinson's intense, dour and emotive interpretation would not have been my choice to represent the character in the book and it's best not to compare, accept it for what it is and ignore the book character. As the episodes progress, one starts to get used to Tompkinson's interpretation of Banks and he does make the part his own.Andrea Lowe is definitely poorly cast/directed as Annie Cabot, being simply too glamorous to be believable in a no-nonsense police officer role. She is the sort of cosmetic 'beautiful' female character you find in US or Australian series.In the books, the relationship between Banks and Cabot is carefully orchestrated but in the first DVD episode, they leap from antagonism to affection in the blink of an eye! A pity there's not more depth in their associationship.And yes, it's unfortunate that the DVD series isn't in chronological order. Robinson's work deserves better.But in saying all that, the DVD is quite entertaining, fast moving and worth a viewing. Just try not to compare a run of the mill detective series with the books, which are far superior.

These discs do contain all four storiesHowever a menu issue meant I could not access half of them in the first player I used - they can all be accessed via the menu in a different player

This first series of D.I. Banks I feel is the best. They very closely follow the plots of the books and Stephen Tomkinson fills the role perfectly from the get go. There are gripping storylines and some chilling scenes but there is also humour in the script and the 'cop with a conscience' D.I. Banks has a satisfyingly ambiguous relationship with Annie Cabot. The procedure is spot on and the acting very good. But it is the relationship between the main characters which makes you reach for the next episode.

I really like the Inspector Banks books by Peter Robinson. On the surface, these aren't bad as cop shows, but taken together they have to represent a pretty dark season. And in the three or fours shows, I think they lose 2 uniformed cops murdered, 1 drummed out, a pathologist who turns out to crazy, and the chief superintendent who ends up killing himself, (and one detective who really should be dead, she's so dumb). so if you're looking for a job, go to eastdale...