User reviews

This is an interesting beginning for Jane Tennison. It explains why she became the woman that she was.

What I liked about this first episode is, it gives you an insight into how a young person starts out in the world of work. It shows just how tough it is when you start at bottom, and how you make many mistakes at work.

The interesting thing I notice in this television drama is, how attitudes have change in british society since 1973.

It was a different world back then unlike now in 2021.

It is interesting to compare this television drama to season three of Special Branch which was made in 1973.

Prime Suspect was a massive show and a hard act to follow. But this series - set in 1973 as the title suggests! - is great. Maybe not as iconic or as groundbreaking as the original (worth noting it's based on a book by Lynda LaPlante, who created the original series) but if you watch it for what it is - a brand new, big budget, cracking crime drama - it's head and shoulders above the competition.

Being a prequel to a show as big as Prime Suspect, I think a lot of people have been harsh on this series, comparing it to Life On Mars (which anyway is a parody of The Sweeney) and the Helen Mirren version (which is THE toughest act to follow). The comments about Stefanie Martini being too pretty, in a show about sexism, seems to be making the point that not much as changed since 1973!

This episode is a great opener. Lovely period detail and a stylised, cinematic feel to it all. It doesn't focus too much on the nostalgia, but just sets out to tell a good story. This kind of show is rare these days, especially in Britain, where new shoes seem to have to have a shocking plot twist every 5 mins to hold the audience's attention. This one is like a good book and is well worth your time.

Also, episode 1 sets up a lot that pays off in episode 2. I wasn't disappointed. My grin is growing larger with each episode. Well done, ITV.

Excellent start to the series. The period detail is great. It all looks beautiful. The music is AMAZING! I found the cast and the story really good. I wanted to know what happens next. I liked everyone. Stefanie Martini is very good as WPC Tennison. People saying she's not Helen Mirren but they have forgotten that Mirren played DCI Tennison 20 odd years away from this Jane, so we've got a few years to go. This is about how she started out and there are flashes in Martini's performance of the DCI she'll become. I loved the book, I love this series too.

Loved every minute of it. I can't wait for the rest of the series. :)