Commander Set 2

Amanda Blake returns to command 4 final feature-length crime mysteries with her usual toughness, pudginess, terseness, & non-compassion. Played by Amanda Burton, she wants DCI James [Mark Lewis Jones] to `think of her as your mentor.' James called her `frost-on-legs' behind her back. But together they fight tough crimes filled with violence, graphic scenes, blood, and language. So limit the kids in this fast moving, yet finely woven and written intrigue. Better than set 1. Blake has her emotions in check, almost, until the end. A host of guest stars join 3-episode DS Hall [Paul Brightwell] with that character being a primary focus in the final episode.

SDH SUBTITLES available for each compelling cop drama with complex multi-plots
1 THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: 2 parts;
Heart break/terror of mental illness revealed as Blake proves to be a real crab. A 2-yr-old girl's preserved body found in an abandoned psychiatric complex. A schizophrenic [Matt Day] and violent drug user are suspects. Celia Imrie [`Bridget Jones']plays a step-mom, and Simon Williams [`Upstairs, Downstairs'] a derelict dad. Blake spews blistering words at drug squad's DSC Marsh [Richard Dormer]. Evidence is mingled in 2 cases from 2 depts. and ends with a psychotic nude finale. Not for kids.

2 FRAUDSTER: 2 pts;
Millionaire cad [Oliver Cotton- `Beowulf'] is arrested, released, & found in his pool dead by suicide, wife, mistresses, or irate client. The deceases attny [Greg Wise- `Cranford'] helps the cops. The wife [Penny Downie] gives a brilliant performance in not being helpful.

3 WINDOWS OF THE SOUL: 2 pts;
Boxing clubs of East End finds Father Thomas stabbed 29 times-he died. Ghastly! Not for... The murder comes 5 yr after major rioting in the "estate" or community. The priest ran a boxing club with many capable of powerful violence like, `Jacko' Bannerman [Gary Stretch], his son `The Beast' [Toby Kebbell- `The Conspirator'] & another young fighter Terry [Gerard Kearns-new & raved over by series creator Lynda La Plante]. Add rumors of child abuse and a suspect Wade [Christopher Fulton-The Brief Complete Collection] ex-con who stabbed his wife 50 times-she died. You see a brutal bloody conclusion.

4 ABDUCTION: 3 pts;
An elderly woman's death is ordered handled quick & quiet, since suspended DS Hall is the prime suspect. DCI James' wife Zoe [Joanne Adams] is birthing, and what pop up but 2 hi-profile cop-involved cases mingling in the situation room. Impetuous Commander Blake only adds to the intrigue. Stars Claire Skinner and James D'Arcy add to a collection of menacing suspects. An imploding episode.

Not yet enough even after seeing The Commander Set 1; try Amanda Blake as a tough female prosecutor in The Helen West Casebook in region one DVDs.
All good teen to adult fun for murder mystery crime drama fans.

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Amanda Burton carries herself well in the second season.

Without giving too much away, I can state clearly that most of the dramas are significantly better than the first season, primarily because it was missing much of the drama. The earlier shows were a little too involved with her personal life and its dilemas, errors and catastrophes.

The set appeared to build on the first series, again developing charachters and focusing more on the case loads than the bedroom. To think that a woman of this level in an organisation such as this would have such a repeatedly self destructive personal life is almost beyond comprehension, and that's what stopped it getting five stars.

The plus points in the series were that the acting was generally high quality, the sets accurate and believable, the storylines [excluding the personal life] sellable to the viewer.

It makes a good change from the standard fare NYPD blue, CSI, NCIS that is often available.

Silent Witness was a better effort on the part of Ms. Burton, not because of any deficiency of talent or application of craft, but the storylines were simply so much better crafted.

Overall I'm not sorry I bought these, but they will sit on the shelf for a while before [if] being watched again.

I struggled to give 4 stars overall, but felt three stars were a bit stingy. If you like the personal drama intertwined with the caseloads, you migh want to give it more.

I purchased this set based on my enthusiastic appreciation of the stories/episodes in set I. Set II; The Commander did not disappoint me and really was as good, if not better, than the first set. Now I am on the hunt for Set III and hope that it will be produced soon. It is a story that should continue.