Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Tala Gouveia, Jason Watkins, Max Bennett, Gerran Howell, Charlie Chambers, Liv Sacofsky, Danyal Ismail, Pearce Quigley, Claire Skinner, Joanna Riding, Joan Iyiola, Stefan Adegbola, Grace Francis.

There is a subsection of the police procedural crime fiction that the armchair detective will rave about, as if solving a murder wasn’t good enough for them, that they can battle their own wits against the investigator in charge, it is when the villain is so conniving, so  devious in their passion to prove they are just as clever as the one chasing them, if not more so, the complications presented to the viewer are boundless and enthralling to decipher.

In perhaps the finest episode yet of the West Country based drama McDonald & Dodds, Clouds Across The Moon, the sly and scheming come together with such a sense of purpose that the ingenuity of it all birders on television magic. The opportunity to really open the character of Dodds especially as he pitted his faculties and intellect against, if not a Moriarty figure, then someone who is as roundly cunning to the point of evil.

Clouds Across The Moon takes the initial action of the series away from the secure setting of Bath and to the mystical and popular setting of Glastonbury, a move that is inspired and one that captures the hidden joy of the series with sobriety and a hint of devilish glee.

A detective is only as good as the villain they are hunting, and perhaps that is why the series, whilst gaining an upper hand in the last six episodes, has been seen to be a little safe, not willing to go that extra mile and place a large, and deserved, statement on its future.

In the actor Gerran Howell, the series finds its way to the top, the sheer madness in the eyes is enough to convince the viewer of his intent and is heartening for the viewer to find someone who truly can play the game as much as any detective in question.

Directed by Sasha Ransome, Clouds Across The Moon is a captivating look at how villainy is often a game, a case of misdirection, not content with placing the evidence away from them, they draw you in, the cat and mouse experience where the mouse believes, truly trusts that the outcome will be in their favour.

An excellent piece of detective fiction, a fantastic high point for McDonald & Dodds.

Ian D. Hall