Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Buring, Charlene McKenna, Lydia Wilson, David Wilmot, Clive Russell, David Dawson, Josh O’ Connor, Louise Brealey, John Heffernan, Leanne Best, Francis Magee, Raymond Waring, Dermot Magennis, Kelly Campbell, Anton Giltrap, Andy Giltrap, Andy Gathergood, Mark Mooney, Tim Hibbard.

There are moments when the general public must wonder what goes on in between the ears of those in charge of the B.B.C. when they allow quality drama such as Ripper Street to be disavowed, to be treated to the point of shame that the makers must wonder what exactly they did wrong except bring in respectable audiences and the shuddering heads of yet another television expose into the world of drunken antics of the young and the restless takes their place in the schedules.

Thankfully the period of exclusion, of banishment, didn’t last long as the magnificent series returned to its former glory, even it did mean it had picked up a glossy new coat and a bag of sweets for its trouble being shown on an on demand channel first.

Ripper Street is first and foremost an eye-catching and mouth-watering experience for it is policing in the raw, it is the capturing of early truth not tempered by modern methods such as C.C.T.V. and the mystery of such minds who took down the criminals of the time with such zeal played out.

What makes the drama even more appealing is its setting of Victorian Whitechapel, the unholy of all London boroughs and a far cry from the place of sanguine enjoyment and charm that emanates from its place behind The Tower of London and before the partial gentrification of places such as Brick Lane. In the opening episode of the third series, Whitechapel Terminus, the grim reality of London’s historical undesired borough, a borough blighted by murder, mystery, strife and mayhem since the dwellings beyond the city of London were created, came once more dashing into view as a criminal gang set out to rob a train carrying a fortune in bearer bonds on Detective Inspector Edmund Reid’s patch.

There may have been the slight nagging doubt that its time away from terrestrial television may have seen the programme pick up bad habits but with a supporting cast kept intact and with the main stars, Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothernberg and MyAnna Buring all giving performances that made the exile seem such a pointless exercise, or worse, criminal neglect, the habits didn’t appear and beside the glossy shiny coat that wrapped itself around the show, the technical aspect and the story line were more than a match for anything that may have been on television all week.

A welcome return to arguably one of the best serial dramas in years, even if it did mean going round the long way to see it again.

Ian D. Hall