"McCallum" (1995) TV series 1995-1998

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

28 December 1995 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Gerard Murphy	...	DI Bracken / ... (9 episodes, 1995-1998)
James Saxon	...	Fuzzy Brightons (9 episodes, 1995-1998)
Richard O'Callaghan	...	Bobby Sykes (9 episodes, 1995-1998)
Alex Walkinshaw	...	DS Small / ... (9 episodes, 1995-1998)
John Hannah	...	Dr. Iain McCallum (8 episodes, 1995-1998)
Zara Turner	...	Dr. Angela Moloney (8 episodes, 1995-1998)
Richard Moore	...	Sir Paddy Penfold (8 episodes, 1997-1998)
Suzanna Hamilton	...	Joanna Sparks (4 episodes, 1995-1997)

Runtime:

120 min (1 episode) | 60 min (6 episodes) | 90 min (1 episode)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Australia:M (original rating)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Scottish Television Enterprises

Goofs:

Factual errors: Forensic experts like the ones in this series are usually employed by the Home Office, not by the Metropolitan Police themselves.

Soundtrack:

Cry Me A River

Solid But Not Outstanding British Procedural

The series is centered on Forensic Pathologist Dr Iain McCallum (John Hannah) who is a Scot working in London. He works on a team that is suitably quirky and dysfunctional but is also a very tight knit group. He drives a motorcycle, tangles with authority and has a somewhat tumultuous relationship life with his live-in girlfriend Joanna (Suzanna Hamilton). The stories are centered on criminal cases investigated by the Forensics and Pathology team working with the police.

The strengths of the series include a solid cast and some very interesting characters, of particular note is John Hannah probably best known for playing Jonathan in The Mummy and its sequels. The series also make very good use of the London locations, focusing mostly on the more rundown and disreputable areas. The morgue/forensics laboratory is appropriately dark and dingy, far removed from the hi-tech antiseptic look of most American procedurals.

The weaknesses as I see them seem to have to do with focus or direction of the series; it seems at times to want to concentrate on the cases and at other times on the character development and unfortunately for the most part it doesn't adequately service either. For me the cases also rely far too heavily on coincidence to connect McCallum closely with them. Less of a problem are the more typical complaints seen in procedurals, McCallum is involved in a great many criminal investigations and the police with whom he works seem to be constantly one step behind our hero.

One minor quibble in that some of the incidental music does not appear to be original, some of it sounds distinctly like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The series ran for nine episodes over two seasons