DCI Banks (TV Series) Playing with Fire: Part 1 (2011) User Reviews

Playing with Fire: Part 1

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 4 May 2020]

DCI Banks investigates murder on a canal boat destroyed by fire.

Leslie Whittaker's burnt corpse is found, a bookseller who might had been involved in forged art.

Later another body is found in the river, Christina Aspen who was also taken out by the fire on the next boat. She seemed to have being whacked out on drugs which is why she never awoke when the fire damaged her boat.

Christina's father is a doctor with a young wife. Although it seems Whittaker was the likely target, the doctor's wife is behaving oddly.

Set in a grey and glum Yorkshire, this is a steady first episode. Banks has trouble with one of his female detective's who seems to undermine him. One of the suspects is racist towards his officer and Banks reacts badly to it.

There is lot to like as long as you accept this is formulaic with a grim up north attitude.

Why Are People Burning

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 8 January 2019]

Banks is investigating the death of a man on board a canal boat. He and his compadre investigate a doctor who is married to a very young woman. It is revealed that this was done by an arsonist. Banks has a problem with volatility and it comes to the fore again. The cliche in this show is the supervisor who is on his case. He also has the young woman who is hard to trust.

Ok, but miles away from the books

[moggie992002 · 6/10 · 17 July 2021]

I know that when you read a good novel it creates pictures in your head that are way better than any TV company can manage but......they really do miss the mark in so many ways.

Setting the stories in a later time frame than the books for a start. "The Americans" managed to do a good job of recreating the 1980s, but the producers here haven't even attempted to place Banks in the 1990s, or even the first 5 years of the 21st century.

Banks himself is written wrong. In the books he cares deeply about the victims, gets emotionally involved with the case and beats himself up when he feels he's let them down. But he doesn't spend most of the story letting this emotion prevent him from doing his job, unlike on TV And his relationship with his team is wrong - there's no warmth, no humour and no evident teamwork.

It could have been done so much better. After all, the books are superb.......and maybe that's the problem. ITV cop shows are often guilty of getting lost in clichés (strained team relationships, maverick lead detective, idiot superior officer) and that seems to have happened here. But then, we do have to keep the advertisers happy, don't we?