Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Ben Miller, Emma Naomi, Barney White, Andy Gathergood, Juliet Aubrey, Frances de la Tour, Sarah Woodward, Douglas Reith, Ben Onwukwe, Rupert Turnbull, Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Keith Dunphy, Juliet Stevenson, Lucy Anna Richardson, Barbara Verbergt, Tom De Beckker, Phil McKee, Sara Vertongen, Gaetan Winders, Alannah de Loor, Leo Long, Muna Otaru, Miles Jupp, Clare Perkins.
A television detective must have a flaw to convey a sense of security with the viewer, and in a period when flaws are accurately shown as a different kind of strength, the connection between viewer and the solving of a complex crime has perhaps never been keener.
The observant armchair detective now will look to the actions of the hero with as much intrigue and puzzle solving acumen as they do for the true reason behind the crime, never mind the who and what with, it is always why? Why did the murder commit the crime, why is the detective as damaged as they are.
Whilst not a detective in the traditional sense, Professor Jasper Tempest carries the weight of his own profession as the leading criminologist to which the local police force can call upon to aid their fight against the causes of crime in the alleyways and bedrooms of Cambridge. It is this weight of experience and his own pomposity, as well as the debilitating nature of his OCD and fractured memories of losing a parent, that gives him the means and motive in which to stand alongside some of the more complex characters who see crime as more than just a product of impulse.
The second series of Professor T seeks to delve deeper into the character of the man and those around him, the peculiarity of the cases presented as ones of protection between husband and wife, of the locked door mystery when there are four family members arranged on the living room sofa, and Jasper’s own inner turmoil which culminates the series when placed against the rotten nature of police corruption.
It could be seen as crass to use OCD as a character driven plot, but as with the United States of America drama series Perception, a perceived imperfection of self is actually the defining way in which the murders and crimes are solved; it is the uniqueness of the observer faced with the out of the ordinary situation which makes the social jigsaw puzzle a compelling one to solve.
With so much attention on Ben Miller’s portrayal of the university professor it could be easily forgiven of the audience that they have overlooked some rather decent performances by others within the cast, including Emma Naomi as Lisa Donkers, Frances de la Tour as Jasper’s free spirited and artistic mother, Adelaide, and Sarah Woodward as the Professor’s put upon personal assistant Ingrid Snares, it is to these additions that the series retains its humanity, the bond between brilliance of the mind and the soul in flux always entwined.
A decently presented second series of an intriguing drama, Professor T is as engaging as it is insightful of the fringes of the human condition.
Ian D. Hall