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Marcella: Season 1
Score: 83%
Rating: Not Rated
Publisher: Acorn Media
Region: 1
Media: DVD/2
Running Time: 378 Mins.
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/TV Series
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH

Marcella: Season 1 (that's "Marchella" not "Marsella") introduces us to DS Marcella Backland (the delightful Anna Friel of Pushing Daisies fame), a stay-at-home mom who, 10 years before, was an incredible cop hot on the heels of the Grove Park Killer, although he was never caught. She paused her career to raise her children, but gets the shock of her life when husband Jason (Nicholas Pinnock, Midwinter of the Spirit) announces that he is leaving her. Fortunately, around the same time, DI Rav Sangha (Ray Panthaki) comes around to ask her some questions about the old case, since some new, recent victims have appeared with the same MO and he hopes she can recall some details. Well, not only does she remember the case well, she calls old friend, former colleague and Rav's boss DCI Laura Porter (Nina Sosanya) and asks for her old job back. The kids are away at boarding school and she feel she can make a difference in the case. Unfortunately for her new teammates, she seems fixated on their old suspect, Peter Cullen (Ian Puleston-Davies), who could be a viable suspect, but the team, and especially Rav, remain unconvinced.

Meanwhile, there are shady dealings going on at Jason's place of work, DTG Construction, helmed by the lovely Grace Gibson (Maeve Dermody, Serangoon Road, And There There Were None), but under the ever-watchful eye of matriarch Sylvie Gibson (Sinead Cusack), who really runs the show. And then there's Grace's older brother and Sylvie's stepson, Henry Gibson (Harry Lloyd, Game of Thrones), who is only working there as a token bestowed on him by Sylvie and she takes every opportunity to remind him of that. Henry is trying to keep the company on track, but Sylvie is determined to undermine the city's contract, taking away the promised green space in lieu of moneymaking shops. As head of legal, it's Jason's job to keep them out of hot water, and sometimes he resorts to less savory ways of accomplishing this.

As Marcella focuses on the new/old case and the new victims, we learn a bit about some of her past personal issues, including the death of one of her children, and having the occasional fugue state where she black out, loses time, and has done God knows what in the meantime. This will come into play multiple times, especially since she has one of these episodes upon confronting her husband's new girlfriend and the woman turns up dead, another apparent victim of the Grove Park Killer. Was Marcella involved somehow? If only she could remember. So now she has to work the case, while keeping herself out of the line of suspicion, and she is probably also a witness to at least part of the crime, but can't remember it.

This is only the tip of the iceberg of Marcella: Season 1, but to be honest, there are so many storylines and characters that are interwoven that you might just get confused until you piece where they all fit in together. I definitely enjoyed what I saw, but there were a couple of loose ends for me and I still don't really know exactly what happened during Marcella's blackout... but I guess that's part of the mystery. Suffice it to say that the character of Marcella as played by Anna Friel is a delight to watch and I enjoyed the other team members that surrounded her. From single-minded DI Rav, to no-nonsense DC Alex Dier (Charlie Covell), to socially-awkward but oh-so-crucial tech expert DC Mark Travis (Jack Doolan), they all coalesce to make a great team. There is even some room for future danger for Marcella as an old colleague has an inkling about her involvement on that fateful night. Will he hold it over her head in the future? Only Season 2 knows for sure! I kind of hope the homeless lady in the tunnel becomes a future victim. If you watch the show, you'll know what chaos that could cause and it could be delightful.



-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ashley Perkins
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