Taggart Set 2

Expect failure when pre-guessing the culprit. Sometimes even the true crime is a surprise. The complex mystery to crime fighting is likely what makes this TV series so successful (1983 debut continued to the present, that's 27 years).

The Glasgow brogue is heavenly heavy; like that in another Scottish series: Monarch of the Glen.
Aye, if i' wasne fer mud'ar, there'd no be da wee inves'igatin'. Ya cannae no love it.
SUBTITLES are there to help the hearing impaired AND assists the accent-challenged (like me).

A lasting experienced cast is in this set of 8 70-minute episodes from 2004.
DS Jackie Reid (Blythe Duff) is the female team member. DC Stuart Fraser (Colin McCredie) the young cop. DI Robbie Ross (John Michie) good looking ladies' man. DCI Matt Burke (Alex Norton-"Murphy's Law" Capt Bellamy in "Pirates of the Caribean: Dead Man's Chest") the boss. These first 4 represent a total of 8 decades with this shop. Then there is the forensic expert, Gemma (Lesley Harcourt) who wears low necklines barely able to contain themselves.

DVD set is unrated BUT.....episodes contain foul language, blood, violence, sexual content, drug use...NOT FOR CHILDREN or the sensitive or squeamish. It is sinister, tough, big-city Glasgow, dark, grim/ghastly crime were seeing here. Maybe too strong for some.

Episodes details without spoilers (for those liking the long reviews):
1 Penthouse and Pavement...A novelist and ladies-of-the-night are murdered. What or who's the common link?
2 Atonement...A woodworker looses a hand and life. Multiple suspects with motive create a huge question.
3 Compensation...Murder by arson but who? Developer? Farmer? Pigs?
4 Saints and Sinners...A senior lawyer is assassinated. But who cares? Somebody does! Why?
5 Puppet on a String...Attempted murder via a syringe attack is followed by the mailing of a severed ear from a corpse. Both are repeated. They're not related--or are they?
6 The Wages of Sin...Taxi driver execution drives the detective team to the underworld rather than over the streets.
7 The Ties That Bind...Librarian's car hits a pedestrian then goes into the river. But the dead driver was tied up & dead prior to the accident.
8 In Camera...DI Ross takes his sexy girl on a weekend event. A corpse arrives at the secluded get-away before they do.

I tripped over Taggart Set 1 and have watched most of the episodes making up Taggart Set 2. It's brilliant stuff that has more character development than serialized American cop shows like CSI or Law & Order, and definitely pushes the borders of what is accepted on prime time television.

The episodes ask us to re-evaluate our opinions on quite a few fronts: family, self-worth, the value of human life, sexism in the work place, the effects of our actions on our children, and vengeance, just to name a few.

Bored of re-runs or wishing you could watch episodes that fleshed things out more than the average 42 minutes of American running time? Taggart is a good start!

Taggart grows on you. Once you get to know the team and learn how they react to various situations, they're enjoyable to watch in action. Taggart is somewhat rough in the best of times, and can be grating to the sensitivities. He's a good cop- bad cop to his own people as well as to the variety of miscreants they deal with. Overall,it's an enjoyable hour.