Prime Suspect 4 (1995)

With its novel focus on shorter, self-contained mysteries, Prime Suspect 4 should have been a standout installment of the long-running BBC series. Indeed, the new format brings with it new themes -- especially a greater emphasis on the personal life of London detective Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren). The first story line juxtaposes a child's abduction with Tennison's feelings over her recent decision to abort a pregnancy, while the final arc traces her troubled romance with a shrink who, unbeknownst to her, is writing a book about one of her cases. Although these additions give Mirren plenty of room to explore her character's complexities, they leave little room to flesh out the already abbreviated mysteries. The result is a season that feels far more like a conventional cop show than the sprawling epics of seasons past and future. That said, the middle episode, "Inner Circles," features some sharp twists and interesting social anthropology as it juxtaposes the lives of England's richest and poorest residents. Unfortunately, the opening and closing episodes devolve into the kind of over-the-top coincidences and unbelievable plots that give crime drama a bad name. The final story line, "The Scent of Darkness," proves especially belabored -- like some third-rate sequel to a serial-killer classic. Prime Suspect 5 and Prime Suspect 6 would return to the original series format, suggesting that the producers recognized the failure of their experiment. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide