Put Ripper Street out of its misery… Please

After a hiatus for Christmas, we’re back. Unfortunately, so is Ripper Street, the first episode of which has been criticised for its depictions of sex and violence. Here, however, is why you shouldn’t give it a second chance.

 

Macfadyen and Flynn prowl the streets of London

Matthew Macfadyen, we’re sure, is a nice bloke. He’s certainly a decent enough actor.

So why, in the name of all things televisual, does he turn in the same performance over and over again?

He did it in Spooks. He just about got away with it in Frost/Nixon, repeated the trick in Pride and Prejudice, and he’s at it again – albeit with sideburns and a dodgy suit – in Ripper Street.

We didn’t catch the opening episode, so some references in this second instalment were a bit muddling (clearly something deep and emotional had gone on between Macfadyen’s character and his wife, who seems to live in a church), but even so, we reckoned we could keep up.

And we did – even though the plot (such as it was) was paper thin. A popular toymaker met a sticky end in a back alley. A short time later, a small but perfectly formed baying mob dragged a young boy, seen exiting said alley moments before the man’s body was found, to the cop shop.

From there, Macfadyen and his sidekick – Jerome Flynn, who seemed to be always looking in the middle distance (maybe he’s waiting for Robson Green to turn up) before dishing out the odd half-hearted beating here and there – took on the case.

Ripper Street does look lovely – the production values are pretty high, but someone somewhere forgot to look closely at the script. Dropping in the occasional oddly structured sentence does not a period piece make, and it’s not Ripper Street’s only flaw.

It’s set on what looks like the other side of Albert Square, and the bustling crowds in the background might look busy, but they’re strangely quiet. This drama has all the looks of something solid and mouthwatering – but there’s just no depth or substance to it.

As for Matthew Macfadyen? Well, unless something really extraordinary happens, we won’t be seeing him breaking so much as a light sweat here.

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT

WHAT’S IT CALLED?
Ripper Street

WHEN IS IT ON?
Sunday, January 6

WHAT CHANNEL?
BBC1

WHO’S IN IT?
Matthew Macfadyen (Spooks, Frost/Nixon, Pride and Prejudice)
Jerome Flynn (Soldier Soldier, Badger, one half of Robson and Jerome)
Adam Rothenberg (Mad Money, Person of Interest, Elementary)
Myanna Buring (who’s in everything at the moment)
Joseph Gilgun (Misfits, This is England 88, Emmerdale)

WHO SHOULD WATCH IT?
People who, maybe, don’t have access to The Paint Drying Channel.

WHO SHOULDN’T WATCH IT?
Anyone who’s become used to the idea that drama should be interesting, diverting and intelligent

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
If you must…