Taggart (TV Series) Instrument of Justice Part One (1993) User Reviews

Taggart and the case of the murdered Procurator Fiscal.

[bethwilliam · 7/10 · 18 October 2006]

Sean Brady has turned Queen's evidence against crime boss McLintock. On the way to court his car is ambushed and a policeman is left seriously injured. Brady escapes and flees leaving the prosecutor with a hole in his case against McLintock. Taggart falls under suspicion because he authorized the route and Internal Affairs takes a hard line against him.

Twenty four hours later the Procurator Fiscal (similar to our Chief Prosecuter) is found murdered in his office. A guard is also murdered.

Detective Chief Superintendent Ellen Gordon takes control of the case and directs Taggart to find Brady. However, Taggart is not convinced the murder of the prosecutor is linked to the McLintock case and starts looking into background of the murdered guard. He is not surprised to discover he is using a false identity.

This is a reasonably good episode of Taggart and fans will not be disappointed. The original episode was screened in three parts. The chemistry between Taggart, Jardine and Jackie is priceless. Especially the interaction with Internal Affairs.

Juidicial instrument

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 28 September 2018]

Have always adored detective dramas/mystery series. This has been apparent from an early age, half my life even, when getting into Agatha Christie through Joan Hickson's Miss Marple and David Suchet's Poirot and into 'Inspector Morse'.

Whether it's the more complex ones like 'Inspector Morse' (and its prequel series 'Endeavour') and anything Agatha Christie. Whether it's the grittier ones like 'A Touch of Frost' (though that is balanced brilliantly with comedy too). And whether it's the light-hearted ones like 'Murder She Wrote'. 'Taggart' is one of the biggest examples of the grittier ones, especially the Mark McManus years and the earlier James MaPherson episodes.

"Instrument of Justice" is an excellent episode, if not quite one of my favourites, the pace could have been tighter in spots. What made 'Taggart' such a good show when it was in its prime is evident here. The characterisation here is meatier than seen pre-Jardine era, therefore more interesting with more development to Taggart and everything here just works.

Really like the slick, gritty look and Glasgow is like an ominous character on its own. The music matches the show's tone and has a good amount of atmosphere while the theme song/tune is one that stays in the memory for a long time. Really like Taggart and Jardine's chemistry here, which sees some priceless exchanges with them, and have always found it more interesting and settled than with Taggart and Livingstone. The relationship between Jardine and Reid was always blossoming nicely and had blossomed by this point and then accentuated with Jackie further blossoming it, showing promising signs as to why it was one of the best things about the era when Jardine was in charge.

As to be expected, "Instrument of Justice" is thoughtfully scripted with nothing ridiculous happening and things being taken seriously without being too morose. The story is involving in its complexity and intricacy with nothing being what it seems, making the most of the long length (have generally found the 2000s episodes too short and rushed) without padding anything out. Some parts are not for the faint hearted, but nothing feels gratuitous and the investigations are compelling and with enough twists to stop it from being obvious. The ending is unexpected and clever.

Good acting helps, with Mark McManus being a suitably tough and blunt presence throughout and James MacPherson being every bit his equal. Blythe Duff continues to impress and Iain Anders is suitably hard-edged. Robert Robertson as ever steals scenes.

In conclusion, excellent. 9/10 Bethany Cox