Skip to content
The Capture is a new cop drama which begins with some CCTV of a man kissing woman, then a bus goes past, and then something is seen but what is it? We’re not shown, but once the opening credits are over, it goes back to 18 hours earlier…
Here, soldier Shaun Emery (Callum Turner) is seen getting out of the clink, after six months, after new evidence comes to light in a murder trial for which he was convicted following a tour of duty in Afghanistan. On the basis of the evidence, it looks like a cut-and-dried correct sentencing, but things aren’t always what they seem and so he’s back out into the world.
Enter cop Rachel Carey (Holliday Grainger) who shows early on how resourceful she is. In fact, she’s considered a ‘fast-tracker’ since she’s risen through the ranks quickly, and not everyone think she’s deserving of it. That could be becauase she’s a very unlikeable character, as she snaps at her fellow colleagues. Then again, so do most of the characters in this. Try that in a real office and everyone wil think you’re a complete twit.
So, Rachel is far from a unique character in cop dramas, but in terms of how the suspense of the drama plays out, it makes for a reasonably engaging hour. It’s also good to have a cast which isn’t stuffed full of well-known people, as that can often be a distraction from the drama.
How the story plays out over all six episodes, I cannot say as of yet (especially since I haven’t seen them! 😉 )
As for what is seen on the CCTV, well, I won’t say here as you’re meant to watch the drama and find out yourself, but it’s safe to say that it’s one of those dramas that doesn’t tell the viewer what’s going on, even though the characters are allowed to be more clued in than we are until the reveal comes. What I can say is that the billing asks that since the evidence wasn’t conclusive in his first case, will this also be the case second time round? Watch it and find out.
As an aside, the iPlayer confirms that Ron Perlman (Hellboy) is coming later in the series, and IMDB also lists Famke Janssen (X-Men) as making an appearance.
UPDATE Episode 2: The “complete bollocks” alarm bells rang early when Rachel entered Shaun’s cell on her own to tell him that circumstances had put him on a murder charge. He’s a VIOLENT prisoner and she’s put herself in a room where she can’t quickly get out. At the very least, she’d take him into an interview room again and put him under caution. But then it’s a TV drama…
Elsewhere, I was sick of Rachel’s side story about bedding the boss, and when it came to the main aspect of the story, I don’t really care enough to stay and see how things turn out.
I doubt that, in reality, CCTV can identify people to give a %age accuracy, and overall, this series acts like it’s trying to be ’24’ but without the excitement. Again, this looks like one of those six-part series which should really be a three-parter at most.
So, I wasn’t impressed, but then Ron Perlman was introduced at the end of episode two, so I might just stick around for one more…
UPDATE Episode 3: Well, it was amusing to see Ron Perlman playing Ron Perlman, but beyond that, it was pretty dull. There’s too much of the ol’ switcheroo, such as when Rachel & co. attempt to break into the place where Ron and Shaun are, but what a surprise – they’re not there!
We’ve seen this all too many times before… Zzz
The guy playing Shaun is good, though. As well as the hair stylist for Rachel’s boss’ hair.
The end of the third episode did give us a bit of a cliffhanger, but I don’t know if I care to stay on even longer, since this only delivers in the last few minutes of each episode and at no other time.
UPDATE: Nope, that’s enough of this dross for me!
The Capture continues next Tuesday on BBC1 at 9pm. It isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. If you missed it, you can watch the each episode on the BBC iPlayer for 30 days after transmission.
Episode 1 Score: 6/10
Episode 2 Score: 3/10
Episode 3 Score: 2/10
Director: Ben Chanan
Producer: Derek Ritchie
Writer: Ben Chanan
Music: Ian Arber, Dave Rowntree
Cast:
Rachel Carey: Holliday Grainger
Shaun Emery: Callum Turner
Commander Danny Hart: Ben Miles
Hannah Roberts: Laura Haddock
Patrick Flynn: Cavan Clerkin
Arms Dealer: Hiten Patel
Karen Merville: Sophia Brown
Alex Boyd: Ralph Ineson
James: Nicki Vickery
Charlie: Barry Ward
Bus depo mechanic: Lee Byford
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.