TV Review – Bodies

What IMDB says:

Four detectives in four different time periods of London find themselves investigating the same murder.

What I say:

A naked body is found lying in Longharvest Lane, Whitechaple. The date is 1890. And 1941. And 2023. And 2053.

Confused? Don’t worry, you actually won’t be. The series presents all facts and action in a way that makes it easy to follow.

Detective Shahara Hasan, a hard-working single mother. She finds the body, and a young boy with a gun standing over it. She’s followed later that day by another young man, and he draws her ever deeper into what’s happening.

Detective Charles Whiteman, is a man with movie star looks, but honestly, the first time I saw him, I thought he was a spiv. Which was just as well really, because it turns out that is exactly what he is. A phone call tells him to collect the body from the lane and get ride of it. Of course, things don’t go according to plan, because I wasn’t the only one on to his illegal activities. His caller signs off with the phrase, Know you are loved.

Detective Alfred Hillinghead, loving husband and father, finds the body, but only after a photographer has. A very attractive blond photographer, a young man, he is more and more caught up in as those dastardly Victorian repressions begin to boil over.

Detective Iris Maplewood doesn’t find a body – she finds a badly injured man, and she gets him to a hospital, alive. She also gets blood on her shirt. To analyze this blood, she goes to see her brother, who is in a wheelchair and clearly not a part of the smarter society in which Iris lives. What’s really weird is she then finds the man who is, was and will be that body. Which leads to some strange conversations.

Julian Harker is a very wealthy man, though his origins are not quite as pristine as he’d like you to think. He has servants, a medium for a mother (sort of) and a vision of the future that allows his fortune and his influence to grow.

Then there is Elias Mannix. A teenager with troubles, one who has never known love. Will he detonate?

These are the main characters to watch, but they aren’t the only interesting ones. And the body isn’t the only person seen in multiple timelines. 

What this show demonstrates, surprisingly well, is that although the science around the various detectives changes, the job of actual detection doesn’t. It still involves talking to witnesses, taking statements and making logical deductions. It also demonstrates that the power of wealth can destroy the ‘little guy’ in any time period. Evil is what evil does, and this time it’s wearing a smile and making others sure to ‘know they are loved.’

The performances given by these actors are absolutely incredible, there’s not a dud on screen. Stephen Graham is utterly spectacular. The way he moves his character through the action makes his so watchable and believable. The two female cops couldn’t be less alike, but similarly they keep you watching and in fact, all the officers do even as they end up in deep doggy-do-do.

Cinematography wise, this does some very find comic strip framing of images that remind the viewer (or indicates if the viewer didn’t know) that this was originally a graphic novel by Si Spencer. Now I will admit that I haven’t come across this graphic novel before, but I have read others by Si Spencer and they were all brilliant. If you have read the graphic novel, try not to be annoyed by the changes, they are, after all, relatively minor.

Overall, what this incredible series does is deal with some very sensitive issues of family, and what it means not to know that you are loved. There are subplots regarding freedom of choice or lack thereof, racism, antisemitism, homosexuality and physical disability. The very last episode is also a very interesting exploration of how much difference perception can make.

This is one of my favourite series, cleaver, clear, and if you think about what it’s saying, it will really make you think.

Where to Watch: It’s on Netflix.

Watch it.

Enjoy it.

And know you are loved.