Prime Suspect 1

"I don't like 'mum,'" Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) chastises a colleague, "I'm not the bloody queen." Tennison can be forgiven if she sounds like she has a chip on her shoulder, since she's the branch's first female DCI to take on a murder case, much to the disdain of her fellow officers, who are still beholden to Tennison's predecessor--a man who succumbed to a heart attack in the middle of an increasingly complicated investigation. Part gritty police procedural and part character study, this BAFTA award-winning 1991 British miniseries boasts a commanding performance by Helen Mirren (Calendar Girls) in one of her most notable roles. Not always likeable and never courting audience sympathy, Mirren etches an indelible portrait of a woman in relentless pursuit of a serial killer while combating condescension and outright hostility from her peers and coworkers. Meanwhile, her personal life suffers as her live-in lover (Tom Wilkinson, of In the Bedroom fame) begins to resent her intense devotion to duty. Look for a young Ralph Fiennes as a punk in this Masterpiece Theatre-aired production that is prime television viewing, indeed. While extra-less, and exhibiting the same wear-and-tear on the transfer as the earlier Anchor Bay release, this is still highly recommended. (D. Liebenson)