Accused: Series 2 Episode 2 - Mo's Story

This was a interesting tale of a mother, Mo, who defies the wishes of the local gang and her friend's, Sue's, son Sean is murdered in retaliation, for her to only discover her son was forced to pull the trigger and is made to cover up the crime.

I felt the story was very well portrayed, written and thought through. Tackling a quite moralistic question between protecting your children and doing the right thing. It also showed the exploitative nature of gangs and their terrifying influence on a community through their presence and the whole 'not to be a grass thing'. It showed how a group of people shouldn't hold a community literally at gunpoint. But at heart of it is this question between loyalty and doing the right and it's told in way that you could not but help see and emphasis with the motives of the characters.

I thought Anne-Marie Duff's performance as Mo Murray was very good, but I do have to give the most credit to Olivia Colman for her moving and powerful performance as grieving mother Sue Brown. Her powerful and angry speech towards Mo at the end of the episode was superb showing her talent for drama as well as comedy which she might be more well known for.

Episode 3 will air next Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One

Silent Witness - Series 15

This series was the first time I've properly watched a whole series, with having seen odd episodes in the past and I found myself being drawn into the stories.

One important element that makes the stories interesting is the basis of the show, where it being centred around the role of the pathologists in the justice system. This makes it different from many other shows and the displays the remarkable technology that is used to gather evidence, identify victims and convict criminals. This is shown throughout the series, especially in the second story, Domestic, where a machine is used to create a replica of the murder weapon just from the bruises it left and then in the last story, And Then I Fell In Love, where a victim's face is digitally reconstructed in order to obtain an identification. Obviously because of this focus on forensics the show doesn't hid away from gore in terms of the crime scene, the autopsy and the victim's, sometimes, mutilated body. But it's done in a way to not overpower the viewer with scenes and the lighting used makes it look very stylised and clinical.

This series saw the tackling of many subjects such as sexually abuse, the issue of DNA identification, the need for resolution in the aftermath of death, the extremes of the believe towards exorcism and and the murder of inmates in prison. With these in mind it displays that the show isn't afraid to be dark especially in the third story, Paradise Lost, where a convicted murder has a strong control over a terrified mother trying to find her missing daughter. Also alongside these stories, which are told in a very smart way often with a psychological edge to them, is the development of the central characters of Leo, Harry and Nikki. Often these characters had a connection with case such as Harry knowing the family involved in Domestic and Leo helping a friend out in the fourth story, Fear, where exorcism and the fear of evil spirits takes centre stage.

Overall I thought the series was great success and was really good at exploration these hard and interesting issues through a sensitive and a clear way.

Accused: Series 2 Episode 1 - Tracie's Story

Jimmy McGovern's Accused returned for a second series last week and I was really looking forward to it after the success of the first series.

And I wasn't disappointed as I thought the opening episode, entitled Tracie's Story, was brilliantly written and acted. The story, centring around a love affair between a cross dresser, Simon Gaskell aka Tracie Tremarco, and a married man, Tony Baines, which ends in a tragic conclusion.

The format of the series remains the same. Starting with the central character, in this instance Simon/Tracie, in the dock for a yet unknown crime. Throughout the story we learn how and why, with little inserts of the court scenes and then finishing on the verdict of jury. I think that this works quite well because it made me feel like I was one of the jury members being presented with the evidence and being drawn into the journey of the character.

I thought the cast were great, especially the performances of Sean Bean as Simon/Tracie and Stephen Graham as Tony. I thought it brought a more sensitive light to Bean's perception as an actor and I had a feeling afterwards that it felt real and human. But in general I think that is the success of the McGovern's work, where the character's are the centre point. They have feelings, faults and make mistakes. His work and this story especially is good at confronting attitudes towards issues and lifestyles such as cross dressing. And I thought this well used near the end when the judge allowed for Simon to take the stand as Tracie and give a very powerful and inspiration monologue. I think it is a good source of education for an audience and I liked the use of the poetry weaved throughout the episode.

I look forward to the rest of the series and to see what characters will emerge.

Accused, Episode 2 can be seen on Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One