Finally, the very hazy third series clicks into focus and we get a great episode. It turns out to be largely a bottle episode and is all the best for it, as it highlights the strengths of the main characters in a battle of wits with the brilliantly insane Laura Haddock (Lady Vera Montacute) and her psychopathic husband Charles Edwards (Lord Montacute) The latter pair seemed to force the regular cast to fight their acting corners as the guest stars skillfully let their characters' mask of upper class entitlement slip by degrees to reveal the decadence and self-loathing beneath. Meanwhile Reid, Drake and Jackson got chances to show their skills as detectives rather than walking relationship disasters. The "return" of the brutal Drake of the first two series was particularly clever. Even less featured characters like Sgt Atherton (David Wilmot) and PC Grace (Josh O'Connor) and Daniel Kendrick as the slimy Tom Denton had great character moments proving that RIPPER STREET is best as an ensemble piece based on its founding principles of a Victorian police procedural. Lately it seems to have tried to cram too many characters into its expanded running time and has become flabby and self-indulgent. Even, dare I say it, maudlin and over-sentimental. In other words, you don't need to hold our attention with train crashes every week. Now, can we have a return to the wonderfully florid faux-Victorian dialogue of the first two series? What we have now is more Victorian-lite but Hollywood- friendly Dick Van Dyke stuff.
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