Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Burling, Luke Allen-Gale, Edoardo Ballerini, Jonathan Barnwell, Lucy Cohu, Oliver Cotton, David Dawson, Amanda Drew, Rebecca Grimes, Rod Hallett, Shauna MacDonald, Ian McElhinney, Charlene McKenna, Clive Russell, Gillian Saker, David Wilmot.
At long last the murky and disturbing past of Captain Homer Jackson and brothel madam Long Susan becomes exposed and it is one that Detective Reid might not be able to deal with as the thrilling Victorian crime drama Ripper Street reaches its penultimate episode in the story A Man Of My Company.
Both MyAnna Burling and Adam Rothenberg have played these two intriguing characters with a sense of increasing disturbing curiosity and though the hints have been slow in coming, A Man of My Company finally sees the ugly mess unleash all and both are certainly not what they ever seemed. The catalyst for their unveiling is the arrival of a shipping magnate in London who not only has the unfortunate dubious taste in his choice of bodyguards, partly psychotic and more than ready to commit murder in the name of revenge and instruction, but who also has been playing an underhand game in the acquisition of another business.
It was with certain sadness that the character of P.C. Hobbs, played by Jonathan Barnwell, met an unfortunate and shocking demise as he was given his first undercover assignment. It seems that no matter how time has moved on in the 130 years, the innocent, whether man or woman, police constable or prostitute, always get caught up in a bigger game which gets them killed.
The final scenes of A Man Of My Company were in perfect keeping of the great high noon stand offs made popular in many American Westerns, however the underhand way in which both protagonists try to get the other killed was well written and shocking. Where the Pinkerton man gets a shot between the eyes that meant he was able to escape the noose, Captain Jackson has bigger troubles as he is framed for a gruesome murder in the worst kind of copy-cat killing in the same way that Jack the Ripper had committed in the previous summer. Perfect glee on the face Detective Abberline as he thinks he has finally got his man, the look of horror of MyAnna Burling as she wonders who she has been living with, both wonderful moments of television.
The news that Ripper Street has been re-commissioned for another series is excellent news as this absorbing programme has been a major hit of the winter 2013 schedule.
The final part of Ripper Street is next Sunday.
Ian D. Hall