Chain: Episode 4 – “David Lynton” (1990)

In the final installment of Chain, Cassidy and McRae of course attempt to bag the ring leaders of their big fraud case.  They might even succeed, if some of McRae’s overly-zealous methods don’t blow the whole thing.

 

Throughout this miniseries, Cassidy has been slowly changing – working with McRae forces him to be a bit more flexible in regard to officially-sanctioned protocol, his eyes are opened to some major corruption and darkness in society, and the case consumes more of his time, energy, and emotional investment.  And yet, in many ways he’s still the same.  Even though he’s started moving towards resembling McRae, this episode highlights the enduring differences between them.

 

When both men are chastised by their superiors for certain aspects of the case, Cassidy’s immediate reaction is understanding; he admits that, were he in their position, he wouldn’t be terribly pleased either.  On the other hand, McRae automatically assumes that their superiors are “on the take” and have their hands in the fraudulent cookie jar.  That’s the big sticking point – Cassidy gives people the benefit of the doubt, while McRae thinks the worst of people.  It’s what Cassidy stands to lose if he stays on this road, down which McRae has maybe gone too far to ever come back.

 

A final casting note:  I’m not very familiar with his work, but I realized watching the credits that one of the supporting characters in the series is played by Michael Troughton.  Why am I telling you this when I didn’t even know his work well enough to recognize his face, you may ask?  Because he’s the son of the one and only Patrick Troughton, the tremendous Second Doctor.  (Also – Patrick Troughton’s grandson totally played Harry Potter’s cousin Dudley!  These utterly meaningless bits of Who trivia are 100% vital, naturally.)

 

Parting thoughts…

 

Accent Watch

 

I wonder if PC’s accent has gotten softer over the years.  His early Scottish characters tend to sound more overtly Scottish than the later ones.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – Not necessarily.  I didn’t find it terribly exciting; kind of a generic Law & Order with a focus on white-collar crime.

 

PC-wise – Eh, possibly.  It’s a decent-sized role, and he has some fun stuff.  Overall, though, the writing for McRae is pretty archetypal.

 

Warnings

 

Add in some drug references.

Chain: Episode 3 – “Miss Brinkwell” (1990)

 

I’m finding it just a little convenient that the random cases we see Cassidy trying at the start of each episode wind up dovetailing into the larger fraud investigation.  The link here is more tangential than in episode 2, but it’s still there.

 

The Miss Brinkwell of the title is a septuagenarian with potentially-vital information.  Once again, I’m not quite sure how it all fits together – when they start going on about fraud, my eyes tend to glaze over – but it’s something to do with property being intentionally undersold.    While it’s true that I’m not watching with the world’s most attentive eye, it seems that the mystery should be further along with only one episode to go.  I still can’t tell how the disparate elements of the case are going to fit together.

 

This episode does feature some nicer character stuff for Cassidy and McRae.  Both of our heroes are feeling the case wear on them.  Cassidy is deeply unsettled by some of the things he’s seen, and his wife is upset about his recent spate of increasingly-late nights.  Meanwhile, McRae has dived headlong into the case, even going for the trope of working until the wee hours and falling asleep in his office.  The two men have a good scene together in McRae’s hotel room, commiserating and opening up a little.  I think Cassidy senses a risk of becoming more like McRae if he stays with the case much longer.

 

Wrapping things up tomorrow!

Chain: Episode 2 – “Vicky Elliott” (1990)

 

The central mystery of the fraud case, naturally, deepens as we work our way through the miniseries.  To be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure what it’s about.  I know there are Swiss bank accounts, gentrification seems to be involved in some way, and now there’s evidence of super-secret exchanges taking place on foreign soil.  First Cassidy and now McRae have received discouragement from their respective hire-ups on their pursuit of the case.  Whether that means their bosses are in on it or just don’t believe them, I don’t know.  McRae seems to lean towards the latter.

 

At the start of the episode, I was a little surprised to find Cassidy prosecuting the eponymous Vicky, a cheerful young criminal who seems out-of-place in the fraud stuff of the previous outing.  Ultimately, though, it makes sense that Cassidy is hearing other cases; it seems that McRae is, more than anything, keeping him on ice for when he needs a prosecutor, rather than treating him like an actual member of the team.  However, we quickly return to the mystery at hand, with even more than money, jobs, and development at stake.

 

McRae proves himself to be a definite big-picture sort.  He comes into conflict with Cassidy here over his behavior – his tunnel-vision focus on cracking the case ignores other’s people’s time, commitments, and safety.  McRae is equally comfortable making outrageous demands on those under him and putting a potential informant in jeopardy, all for the sake of the truth.

 

His behavior seems at odds with his overall manner.  He’s a tireless, one could argue obsessed, investigator, but while he brings the intensity when he’s questioning someone, his default setting is almost languid.    It’s strange; he’s obviously thrown his full attention at the case, and yet the way he speaks and moves is so blasé.  Is he trying to project an image of unflappability?  Does he just think it makes him seem cool or enigmatic?  Who knows?

 

It’s interesting to me, the way the other officers/agents/whoever-they-are kowtow to him.  His accent clearly marks him as “not from these parts,” so he can’t have been there long.  Add to that his youth and the fact that he looks a bit like a teenager in his dad’s suit, and it’s evident that he hasn’t had much time to make a name for himself anywhere.  So why does everyone respect him so much and defer to him?  I wonder if we’ll learn more about his background and how he got where he is.

 

Susan Brown, who guest starred in Torchwood:  “Children of Earth” with PC and recently showed up in Broadchurch, appears in this episode.  Also cropping up is a very young-looking Ian Hart, Professor Quirrell himself.

 

Warnings

 

Add in some sexual content here.

Chain: Episode 1 – “Lennox” (1990)

 

I haven’t yet made up my mind about this old BBC miniseries.  In terms of writing, it reminds me a lot of early Law and Order episodes.  Actually, to be more precise, it reminds me a little of Community’s Law and Order homage, in that the Law and Order-ness of it all gets a bit ridiculous. 

 

Chain follows the story of well-to-do crown prosecutor Michael Cassidy, an assiduous worker and devoted family man.  When he’s approached to prosecute a company embroiled in a labor dispute, he gently turns it down.  Unfortunately for him, he’s in high enough demand that he can’t get out of it.  As he begrudgingly sets about his duty, he realizes that the case is far bigger than he knew.  I assume the associated intrigue, conspiracy, and dirty laundry will last the whole four-part miniseries.

 

PC plays Robert McRae, the man so eager to have Cassidy on his team.  I’m not entirely sure if McRae is a detective or some sort of special agent – I know he deals in fraud cases, and I know he likes to play the enigmatic card at every chance he gets.  Not one for protocol, he doesn’t seem to have a problem with bending the law in pursuit of the greater good.

 

Let me tell you, McRae is the Community-does-Law-and-Order-est of them all.  He’s both a dogged investigator and a somewhat infuriatingly-smooth operator.  He has a penchant for answering questions with knowing rhetoricals, he’s fond of nonchalant quips, and he bizarrely insists on calling Cassidy “Batman.”  I get the type they’re going for, but they may have gone a bit too far.  There is an amusing interrogation scene in which he variously plays good cop, bad cop, and mysterious figure who isn’t officially with the police and thus isn’t bound by their rules.

 

Eagle-eyed Whovians may recognize Cassidy; Robert Pugh is actually a two-time Whoniverse alum.  He first appeared in series 2 of Torchwood (absolutely heartbreaking in “Adrift”) and was later featured on Who itself in the Silurian two-parter from series 5.

 

Opening remarks for Chain:

 

Accent Watch

 

Very, very Scottish.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – Too early to say, but it’s not really standing out so far.

 

PC-wise – So far, not necessarily.  It’s more than a little cheesy.  To be fair, though, pretty entertaining.

 

Warnings

 

Some profanity, and a couple scenes of violence.