TheLittleSongbird The first three 'Prime Suspect' series were absolutely brilliant. 'Prime Suspect IV' changed the format from two episodes compromising of one case for each of the previous three series to three different cases and actually did it very well.'Prime Suspect V' consists of one case once again with two episodes, aptly titled "Errors of Judgement". So back to the original format and this time dealing with murder on the drug scene. To me, "Errors of Judgement" was wonderful and the best since 'Prime Suspect III', and it was always going to be a daunting task having a series up that the first three series' level. And that is despite also loving the three cases making up 'Prime Suspect IV' ('The Lost Child', 'Inner Circles' and 'Scent of Darkness')."Errors of Judgement" is stylishly and cleverly filmed, with slick editing and atmospheric lighting, and there is a consistently wonderful atmosphere throughout. It is very gritty, if not quite as dark as 'Prime Suspect III', and effectively claustrophobic. It is very hard to forget the music score too. The scripting, like its predecessor, is some of the best there is of any mystery/detective drama, being superbly constructed and intelligent, plus it is hard to not be impressed by the cunning subtlety of the conflicts.Story-telling is very compelling and twisty, with an atmosphere that is gritty and harrowing but also intricate and honest. The city life and drug scene aspects really hit hard and are suitably seedy. It is a complex story that keeps one guessing right up to the end while also being easy to follow. Tennison's personal life is balanced very well and never descends into melodrama despite the errors she brought on herself in 'Scent of Darkness' and here.Jane Tennison continues to be an interesting character, the character and the depiction of the police force was very ahead of the time back in the 90s and holds much fascination now even if not so novel.Helen Mirren gives a typically magnificent performance in the lead. Julia Lane and David O'Hara are truly excellent also, but Steven Mackintosh's bone-chilling performance lingers long in the memory.Overall, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

arsenal-aaron As good a show these days as it was back in 1996.Always interesting to see what the actors are doing these days.Not just the main cast but the minor players as well.All cast are on top form with stand out performances from Steve Macintosh ,David O Hara, Julia Lane and the ever dependable Helen Mirren .A great script but with a grubby feel of city life with a realistic look at the drug scene. Really enjoyed it again even after eighteen years as it has dated very little.I bought the box set from Amazon and this is by far the best story line from the entire set. 8/10

Wirefan122 Did all the reviewers watch this movie? Normally this series is exceptional. The acting is first rate and is here also.Jane Tennison is demoted and goes to a district away from London and encounters a murder almost immediately. She is put in charge and meets the usual standoffish bunch of detectives who don't like outsiders and apparently have heard of her reputation of not sitting still (very sexist). She doesn't care and charges into the investigation.The plot involves a drug kingpin who also murders whoever stands in his way. A thoroughly despicable character who toys with the police and is always one step ahead of them. This plot is quite well done until the last 30 minutes or so. Talk about frustrating! Tennison knows there is a mole in the department and when she finds out who it is she sets up an interview with a witness knowing full well that the police department leak will give the info to The Street (the villain), who will of course then go after the witness's girlfriend.It's frustrating to watch as you realize that no police were posted to the girlfriend's house to watch her. So the villain goes and gets her and terrorizes her and is eventually saved. How hard would it have been to post a unmarked car or something like that? Sorry but the previous 4 installments were topnotch and this one was too until the wheels fell off.

Rick Blaine It just gets better. What's to fault in this one? Is there anything? No. Curious how they interweave string quartet music through it - that's a new one. And it's stark - it brings a quality of immediacy and tragedy to it.Like all in this series, this has a long running time. Like everything in this series, nothing is set in stone. This is longer than many of the others. It's timed at 200 minutes which means a long time in front of the screen.But it's worth it. This is a strong drama like all of them, and not in the least because of Steven Mackintosh who plays one of the all-time creeps of silver screen or television.I checked his filmography and saw he's done quite a lot of work and I was surprised because I don't remember ever seeing him before. He really takes out the stops on this one.As always the story is well written and deftly directed. It's another masterpiece - and it's for television which is the surprise.And as always, you have to reckon Taylor Hackford's a lucky man.